Japanese retailers offer various eel products for Day of the Ox

Retailers in Japan are offering a wide range of eel products to attract consumers ahead of Sunday’s Day of the Ox, a traditional day for eating nutritious grilled eels to fight the summer heat.

Two major supermarket chains cut prices for their mainstay grilled eel items after a bountiful fry catch last year.

Aeon Retail sells large kabayaki grilled eels weighing 156 grams at ¥2,180 ($13), down ¥500 from a year earlier. Starting Friday, the company will offer a choice of larger eels weighing 300 grams.

“The price cut will give a good opportunity for many people to enjoy eels,” an Aeon official said.

Ito-Yokado will begin on Saturday sales of unajū rice dishes topped with grilled eels at ¥1,980, down ¥400 from the previous year.

“Despite higher costs for all but eels, we could realize the 400-yen price cut by limiting the scope of eligible products,” an Ito-Yokado official said.

Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings’ flagship Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo on Wednesday began sales of fully cultivated eels for the first time in the world. The kabayaki eel product, offered in a limited number of 73, has a relatively high price tag of ¥5,500 for a piece weighing 165 grams.

A man in his 50s who lined up from 7 a.m. said, “I wanted to eat fully farmed eels” as they could help preserve fishery resources. “I hope such eels will be distributed routinely,” he said.

The eels on sale at the store, which were farm-raised by people from egg to harvest without relying on natural eggs and fry, were supplied from Yamada Suisan, based in Saiki, Oita Prefecture. The company began test sales of such eels in May for the first time in the world.

A number of customers found the eels delicious during the test sales, Yamada Suisan director Naotake Kato said. “We hope to confirm whether the products will attract department store customers,” he said.