Rokkasho Salmon Festival

Yesterday, we went to the Rokkasho Salmon Festival. Rokkasho, Aomori is known for two things...a national nuclear reprocessing center and their annual festival of salmon. What better place to pick up a bargain on salmon than right next to a nuclear plant? Anyways, the festival was quite fun.

I really love the way Japanese eat. They had a big building full of small bbq grills where you brought in your own fresh vegetables and meat and cooked it right there. Its like a big Mongolian BBQ for everyone.

The highlight of the festival is the actual salmon catch. Everyone buys a salmon ticket for $9-$14 (depending on how early you bought it). They then make a circle around a little knee-deep pool full of salmon. Keep in mind that the temperature is about 50 degrees F and there's a wicked wind coming off the ocean. Notice most of the Japanese all bundled up while most Americans are barefoot in shorts.

And they're off! They're all given a signal and they all jump in at once. The salmon are instantly whipped into a frenzy and everything goes crazy.

While many of the older Japanese men easily pluck their salmon out by the tail, this guy shows that it is definitely harder than it looks.

Overall, it was an interesting experience. There is another salmon festival in a couple of weeks at another village. I plan on trying for a salmon at that one.