Protected local food
Shimonoseki Fuku
下関ふく
Shimonoseki is the centre of Japan's tiger pufferfish trade. Fish from all over Japan are chosen here by expert wholesalers and cleaned of their poison by skilled hands.
Key facts
- Registered as a protected name
- 12 October 2016
- Region
- Chugoku, Kyushu & Okinawa
- Official name in Japanese
- 下関ふく
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 山口県下関市及び福岡県北九州市門司区
Why Shimonoseki
Tiger pufferfish (torafugu) arrive in Shimonoseki and across the strait in Moji, Fukuoka. Wholesalers choose the fish, keep them alive until they are prepared, then remove the poisonous parts with skills built up over a long history. The cleaned fish, called migaki fugu, go to restaurants all over Japan.
Locals say fuku rather than fugu, a name that sounds like the word for good luck. Eating fugu here goes back to when Ito Hirobumi, Japan's first prime minister and a Yamaguchi native, officially allowed it.
Good to know
- Eat fugu only at licensed restaurants, and never try to prepare it yourself: parts of the fish are deadly.
- Classic dishes are fuku-sashi, sashimi sliced so thin you can see the plate, and fuku-chiri, a hot pot.
Questions travellers ask
Is fugu safe to eat?
Yes, at a proper restaurant. The poisonous parts are removed by trained, licensed cooks before the fish is served.
Why is it called fuku in Shimonoseki?
It's the local name. Fuku also means good luck, so it's a happy word.
Where it comes from
More protected foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.