This Is Japan
Explore everyday life in Japan
From the Sea of Japan to the Pacific Ocean, and the many, many rivers in between, there is no shortage of places to go fishing in Japan. It could be, I imagine, somewhat of a fisher’s paradise. But what if fishing isn’t exactly your thing? What if only on the rare occasion you get the urge to take a little drive with your family, your friends, or your date and have a little fun, share a little snack, and do a little fishing? Well, if you’re that kind of person, Japan has you covered.
I have been to fishing parks in Japan, typically set in the mountains, where you can cheaply rent a simple fishing pole and some bait, then choose from a number of small, well-stocked ponds, and go fishing. Though the ponds are full of fish, the equipment that you use, which is literally a hook tied to a string tied to a thin pole, makes catching them slightly challenging. The premise behind these fishing parks is that you will buy the fish you catch. Though some people choose to take their catch home, most people pay to have their fish cleaned, spitted, and roasted over a bed of hot coals. Entrenched in Japanese culture is the idea of going somewhere with your family or friends and sharing a light meal together. That is why most people, after their fish have been roasted, sit at tables talking and enjoying the mountain scenery while sharing the experience of eating their fresh and delicious roasted fish.
Similar to the fishing parks mentioned above is another kind of outdoor fishing park, one which I have yet to go to. At these parks, you first buy however many fish you want and then you have them released into a shallow pool where you, or your children most likely, chase them around with nets until you catch them. As with the fishing park mentioned above, the assumption here is that once you have caught your fish, you will have them roasted and you will sit down and eat them with your friends or your family.
Japan also has indoor fishing parks which, until recently, I had never heard of. That changed two weeks ago, though, when a coworker of mine recommended I take my son fishing at a local fishing center that has not only two fishing pools in it, but a cat café as well.
At this particular place, for one thousand yen (about $10 USD) you can rent a fishing pole for an hour and catch as many fish as you can. This fishing pole, which is of the variety described above, comes with a bobber attached to its line and more fish food than you can use. There are also nets available for scooping up the fish that you snare, and baskets to keep your fish in once they are caught. Rather than eat the fish that you catch, the concept behind this fishing center is that, depending on the amount of fish you catch and their size, you will receive one or more chances to reach into a box and pull out cards with points written on them. With the points you receive, you can buy toys, snacks, and candy. In a way, this system was very reminiscent for me of American game centers in the 80’s and 90’s where you received tickets for the number of points you earned while playing games like Skee Ball and were then able to trade those tickets in for various prizes.
Though my son quickly lost interest in fishing, my wife and I had a good time, and we all had fun choosing snack food and candy together and then eating it in the car on the way home.
This is an ongoing series that will explore various aspects of daily life in Japan. My hope is that this series will not only reveal to its followers, image by image, what Japan looks like, but that it will also inform its followers about unique Japanese items and various cultural and societal practices. If you are interested in getting regular updates about life in Japan, please consider following me at @boxcarblue. If you have any questions about life in Japan, please don’t hesitate to ask. I will do my best to answer all of your questions.
Asia almost goes together?? The similar fishing place is in South Korea too :)
Is there? That's interesting. I wonder if they have places like these in other Asian countries as well.
A lot less instant than fish and chips but instant enough to keep the children interested. I tried to get my boys interested in fishing in Sydney Harbour. Rewards were too low for them to stay interested. And the scenery did not do much for them either. I loved it all
My son's only four, so fishing is something that he says he wants to do, but he gets distracted pretty quickly. For me, fishing from a boat is the best. I've never been very good at river and stream fishing. With these fishing parks, though, you get nibbles all the time so you're always on your toes. It's fun.
din son blir glad från fisken
I'm going to have to look this one. Fisken sounds kind of like fishing, though:)
LOL my thoughts. As a german I interpret it as "your son had much fun at fishing". Lets see what google says...
"your son will be glad of fish"
It seems like Google doesn't know how to translate the fran word. I'm guessing that your translation is about right.