Fastidiously handmade Himono by Oshimaya in Omuta city, Fukuoka

Food and Drinks

“To help make your dinner and your smile delicious”

Himono is a popular dish for Japanese.

This time we visited Omuta city in Fukuoka where fresh fish are assembled from all around Kyushu, and interviewed Oshimaya which makes additive‐free Himono (dried fish) in an old-fashioned way.

Every business day their morning starts from going to the fish market and buying high quality fresh fish.

This allows Oshimaya to create the very best seasonal Himono.

No machines, only by hand

After coming back from the market, they clean the fish in the morning.

Each fish is skillfully cleaned with knives in the hands of a professional and then washed in cold water. Doing so brings out the full, unique flavor of each fish and makes Oshimaya’s Himono especially delicious.

Using carefully selected ingredients for flavouring

Salt is an essential for Himono making.

High quality sea salt from Mexico and Australia is rich in minerals. After more than two years drying in the wind and sun, a special electromagnetic process is fully utilized to crystalize it.

The salt enriches fish’s umami (sometimes called savoriness) and removes the fishy smell as well as preventing oxidation of fat. Each of these plays an important role in making delicious Himono.

Only selected ingredients are used for our sauce

Fish for Mirin boshi (sweet flavored dried fish) are marinated in our homemade secret sauce for two to three days. Selected ingredients from all over Japan are used for this homemade sauce including brown sugar from Okinawa.

Adding this brown sugar increases the mineral content, rich flavour and mellow taste of the Himono.

Fish are carefully lined up on a net and dried in the sun

By drying in the sun, proteins and minerals are condensed in the fish, and that concentrates the delicious flavor.

The taste of Himono is affected by its size, kind of fish, hours of sunlight drying, temperature and humidity, etc. Our skilled workers carefully consider all of these conditions to consistently make delicious Himono.

Vacuum packing with a bamboo leaf

Bamboo leaves contain components which are good for sterilization, are antiseptic and odor eliminating. They have long been used to preserve food and prevent food poisoning. We use bamboo leaves to safely deliver you Himono that stays delicious.

Vacuum packed, our Himono are easy to put in the freezer.

Fastidiously handmade Himono is the best!

Our Himono is processed only by hand, ensuring rich flavour and taste and good texture. It is completely free of preservatives and dyes, and lightly salted. If you eat Oshimaya’s Himono once, you will never forget the taste. Their Himono are popular among all ages, and there are many fans all over Japan! If you are traveling to the Omuta area, don’t miss trying their himono.

Now days, we can buy anything at a supermarket without knowing who made the products, and it’s too easy to be careless about what we are adding to our bodies. It’s time to change that! Food is important for our bodies, so let’s make our bodies happy with good food. Additive-free and naturally, traditionally made Oshimaya’s Himono will make you really happy!

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