Wakkanai, Hokkaido, which reaches the peak of production of the winter taste "sticks"

The taste of winter, the production of high-quality ingredients "sticks" made from dried cod, is at its peak in Wakkanai, Hokkaido.

Wakkanai City is one of the leading production areas in Japan, and is a high-class foodstuff that has been dried since the Edo period when Pacific cod landed in Hokkaido in winter is dried.

Now, the production of this year is at its peak, and the fish processing company in Wakkanai City is moving the dried cod indoors for about a month to the outdoors and hanging it on a yagura near the coast.

By exposing the cod to the cold sea breeze, the taste was further enhanced, so the employees picked up one by one and hung it in a narrow space.

After being exposed to the sea breeze for about two months, the cod is completed as a stick after being laid outdoors.

And since it will be shipped mainly to the Kansai area from around September and will be used for kaiseki dishes, it means that one bottle, which is expensive, will be sold for 10,000 yen or more at the store.

Masahiro Miura, the plant manager of the fish processing company Urokoichi, said, "I was able to start work early on. I want you to eat delicious sticks."