Kamogawa Local-Bowl & Fish Route

What Kamogawa is

Kamogawa is a seaside town on the Pacific (Sotobo) coast, on the southeast of the Boso Peninsula. Known as a resort for Kamogawa Sea World and the gentle sands of Maehara Beach, at its feet lies a local-fish food culture supported by Sotobo's rich fishing grounds. In the Kuroshio-swept waters, kinmedai, spiny lobster, horse mackerel and sardine come in well, and local shops turn them into bowls, braises and namero. The climate is mild and easy even in winter, and eating local fish while looking at the sea is the way to spend a Kamogawa day.

"Oraga-don" and Boso's local fish

What represents Kamogawa is the "oraga-don." "Oraga" is Boso dialect for "our home," and it is the umbrella name for a local bowl each shop composes its own way from local ingredients. So the contents differ shop to shop, and every "oraga-don" has its own character. There is also braised kinmedai — Sotobo line-caught kinmedai simmered plump in sweet-savoury soy — namero of minced local fish and the sangayaki that wraps it in shiso and grills it, and a spiny-lobster miso soup that draws a rich stock from the shell. Raw, braised, minced, grilled — the many ways of the Boso sea gather in this town.

How to walk this route

Start at Awa-Kamogawa station. On this route, local-fish shops are scattered along the coast from Yokonuka to Amatsu. The shops sit farther apart than on other routes, and a car makes it much easier to get around, though the station area and seafront alone are enough to enjoy. Lay a base with a shop's proud oraga-don or a plain local-fish seafood bowl, then order braised kinmedai, namero and sangayaki one by one. In autumn and winter, the spiny-lobster miso soup is not to be missed. Tasting local fish slowly while you look at the sea is how this route is spent.

What to look for

The axis is the oraga-don and kinmedai. The oraga-don is composed differently at each shop, so you get to choose one like Uomasa that heaps on the fish. Braised kinmedai has glossy skin and flesh that falls apart at a chopstick, and you will want to suck even the gelatin around the eye. Namero and sangayaki are Boso home cooking; if raw is not for you, the sangayaki wrapped in shiso and grilled is fragrant. And Sotobo's famous spiny lobster — the meat, of course, but crack the head and shell into a miso soup and the broth turns astonishingly rich.

Before you go

Kamogawa's local fish is scattered over a wide area — Yokonuka, Amatsu and the seafront. To get around efficiently a car helps, though sticking to the station area and seafront works on foot. Kinmedai and spiny lobster are in season from autumn to winter, and price and flavour vary a lot by time of year. If you are after a popular fish restaurant, or the kinmedai and lobster, booking is surer. Hours, closing days and the season's catch change, so confirm before you set out.