In other parts of Hokkaido, sea otters have decimated the uni population. Uni live about 10 years, but they are most delicious at around 4 to 5 years old.

They use a long rod with a three-pronged claw at the end to grab the uni, which are about the size of a golf ball. and for no more than three hours they lean over the side of their boats and look through a large glass to spot uni several feet down. If the weather cooperates, the fishermen set out at 5 a.m. “The problem is we have a lot of days off because of the wind and weather,” Mr. If they are too rough, the fishermen fix their equipment, dry fish or do other chores. Jin and other fishermen get to port to learn from a spotter, who went to sea earlier, whether the waters are calm enough to fish. Jin, who had a fisherman’s ruddy complexion, welcomed us into his living room, where we talked over tea.įishing for uni is labor intensive and unpredictable but, if the uni are large enough, relatively profitable, he said. Sasaki called Tetsuji Jin, who helps run the East Shakotan Fishing Cooperative. Sasaki said these varieties were not as sweet. To keep up with demand, Japan imports uni from New England, Russia, China and elsewhere, though Mr. Sasaki, uni caught along the Shakotan Peninsula “sets the price in Tsukiji,” in Tokyo, where a small box can sell for hundreds of dollars, three to four times more than in Hokkaido. The uni from Hokkaido is the most prized because of the kombu, or kelp, that they feed on, and the clean water where they live. Sasaki said some customers visit several times a season. But for connoisseurs, Shakotan is the place to be between mid-June and mid-August, when the uni is at its freshest. People who are turned off by the idea of eating roe are unlikely to go for uni, either.

Compared with the meaty red and silver cuts of fish on most sushi plates, uni can taste like briny Jell-O. Whatever the type, uni is not for everyone. The chef, Kiichi Sasaki, explained that two types are caught nearby: Murasaki uni, which has a mustard yellow color and a sweet taste, as well as longer tentacles on the outside, and bafun uni, which has an orange hue and a richer taste. There are more than 100 varieties of sea urchin in Japan, but only six are edible. The ikura popped in my mouth, the hotate was buttery soft and the uni was creamy and sweet without a seafood aftertaste, the kind of freshness I was hoping we would encounter when we left Tokyo. We chose Fuku Zushi, a modest sushi bar that, based on the pictures on the walls, had been featured on television shows.Īt the counter, I ordered sanshoku chirashi (2,100 yen, or $21.50 at 98 yen to the dollar), a lacquer bowl filled with uni, ikura, or salmon eggs, and hotate, or scallops, on a bed of rice with wasabi, mint leaf, sliced cucumber, ginger and pickles. We stopped for lunch in Shakotan, a town known for its stunning capes, reefs and blue waters that are part of a marine sanctuary. With lush forests and dramatic coastlines, the island is still considered a frontier by the Japanese, who settled there in earnest less than 150 years ago.

With just 5.5 million people spread across an area a bit smaller than Maine, Hokkaido is roomy by Japanese standards. Tokyo’s bustle and concrete seemed a world away. No trains run as far as the town of Shakotan, so we rented a car and drove past Sapporo’s sprawl until we hit a coastal road that bordered Ishikari Bay. Mid-June was also the start of uni fishing season on the Shakotan Peninsula, two hours west of Sapporo, Hokkaido’s capital and largest city. Everything was in bloom, including the ubiquitous lavender whose fragrance reminds visitors how far they are from gritty Tokyo. While the rest of Japan was sweltering and wet, Hokkaido was bathed by soft breezes and sunshine.

So in June, we took a 90-minute flight from Tokyo to Sapporo to visit the source. As good as it was, I knew that the freshest uni was in Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s four main islands.