TokyoTomo Travel Guide

You can never miss crabs when you are talking about seafood in winter. Especially, captured only in the Japan Sea, the taste of Zuwai-gani is Exquisite. With its long legs and succulent meat, this type of crab goes well with any recipes. Boil, grill, or nabe (one-pot dish), for example. Interestingly, Zuwai-gani changes its name by region; “Matsuba-gani” in Tango and Sanin, and “Echizen-gani” in Fukui and Ishikawa Prefecture. To distinguish the brands, these days the fishermen’s union in each area put the name of the landing port onto the crabs after they are captured. With these color-codes of the port of origin, you can instantly identify where the crab comes from.

Among the high-brand Zuwai-gani, “Taiza-gani” is a rare and super-deluxe product that costs more than 20 thousand yen per crab. Taiza-gani, with its unfamiliar name, is also known as “a rare Matsuba-gani.” Even among Matsuba-gani, the specialty of Sanin region (Shimane, Tottori, Hyogo, Kyoto), the only crabs entitled to be named “Taiza-gani” are the ones landing in Port Taiza of Tango Peninsula in Northern Kyoto.

They reason of the crab’s rarity is due to the limited haul of the crab, as it is captured using a few number of small boats. Unlike large fishing boat with fishermen staying and operating for each and every day, these small crab boats can be easily affected by stormy weathers and climate change; fishermen may not be able to capture crabs for more than a week if the sea is rough. The fishing ground is off the shore in the northern tip of Kyoto Prefecture. The fish boat cast off from Taiza port before dawn and return in the afternoon, and the crabs captured will be traded on the very day.

Quality of the crab meat goes off even if it is kept alive in an aquarium, so the fishermen prioritize the freshness and the taste rather than the fishery yield. Thanks to those efforts, the freshness and the meat quality is superb, making the crab very rare that can only be savored in classy diners or Japanese restaurants. The density of the meat is also great, and many celebrities and chefs fell in love with the crab, praising “Once tried, you will never forget the taste.”

There are varieties of ways to taste Taiza-gani. Grilled, Kani hotpot, sashimi, porridge, or name any kind of recipes. Don’t worry if you have a limited budget, you can try going over to the local producers to try the crabs. Interestingly, if you order a course meal at restaurants or Japanese-style inns you will always get to see live crabs shown before they are cooked.

The first dish served in the course menu is sashimi. Dipping the prepared meat into ice water, the meat spreads like a flower as the nerves around the legs are still alive. It tastes as if it melts in your mouth. Savoring one whole crab, the course menu continues with boiled, shabu-shabu, grilled, and crabs hot pots, and Japanese porridge is served in the end of the feast. The inn would be quite expensive, ranging from 30,000 to 40,000 per person including the accommodation fee. But the seasonal Taiza-gani is the king of crabs. This crab tastes delicious regardless of the menu, so it is worth trying for at least once if you are fortunate enough to indulge in its taste.

By the way, the origin of the name Taiza dates back to Asuka Period. In the end of sixth century, two ruling families Soga and Mononobe had a conflict, and Aanahobeno-hashiudo, Prince Shotoku’s mother, found shelter with “Ohama-no-Sato” to escape from the disturbance. Taiza was once called Ohama-no-Sato, but after the war was over, the queen gave her name to the area “Hashiudo Village” upon her return to Ikaruga in Yamato. However, the people in Ohama-no-Sato displayed the feeling of awe, avoiding to call the name of the queen and left the village (i.e., “Taiza” is a homonym for the word “to leave the place”). It is said that the area is called “Taiza” from this incident.

Source: Travel Vision

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