Protected local food
Awajishima Three-Year Torafugu
淡路島3年とらふぐ
Tiger pufferfish (fugu) farmed for three years in Fukura Bay on Awaji Island, Hyogo. Up to twice the size of usual farmed fugu, firm and full of flavour.
Key facts
- Registered as a protected name
- 29 January 2024
- Region
- Kansai
- Official name in Japanese
- 淡路島3年とらふぐ
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 兵庫県淡路島福良湾
Three years instead of two
Most farmed tiger pufferfish are sold younger. Fishers in Fukura Bay, at the south of Awaji Island in Hyogo, worked together on the hard task of raising them for three years, and were the first in Japan to make it a business. Their fish are 1.5 to 2 times the size of ordinary farmed fugu.
Raised in a fast current
Fukura Bay is close to the Naruto Strait, which has Japan's fastest tidal currents. The fish swim harder, and their flesh becomes firm with a good chew and a rich taste. The fugu sells for high prices.
How to eat it
Try tessa, paper-thin fugu sashimi, and tecchiri, a fugu hot pot, finished with rice porridge in the broth. Fugu must be prepared by licensed chefs, so eat it at proper restaurants and inns.
Good to know
- Winter is fugu season on Awaji. Many inns around Fukura offer full fugu dinners, and the Naruto whirlpools are nearby.
- For another famous fugu, see Shimonoseki Fuku. In Hyogo, also try Kobe beef.
Questions travellers ask
Is fugu safe to eat?
Yes, when prepared by a licensed fugu chef. Only eat it at restaurants with a license.
Why three years?
The extra year makes the fish much larger and firmer, with a richer taste.
Where it comes from
More protected foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
- Ako: the town that made Japan's finest salt
- Awaji: the first island in Japan's creation myth
- Inaba and Tajima: landscapes made by the Sea of Japan wind
- Itami and Nada: the birthplace of Japan's clear sake
- Kitamaebune: the merchant ships that made Japan's port towns rich
- Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage: Japan's 1,300-year journey of the heart
- Tamba-Sasayama: a castle town in a folk song
- The Kanmon Strait: retro ports on both shores
- The Silver Carriage Road: 73 km to Hyogo's mines
- The Six Ancient Kilns: pottery born and raised in Japan
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.