Silhouettes of the fishermen float on the beam of light spread over the river (Shinmachi River) (Photo: Yoshifumi Hara)

Fantastic Night Fishing

The hunt for elusive shirasu eel

Justin Velgus   - 1 min read

Shirasu(immature eel/ "whitebait") hatch in the distant sea and travel to Japan. Then from winter until spring they return to the fresh waterways of the Japanese mainland. This type of shirasu are caught at night. Around this time is when the shirasu can be seen near the entrance to rivers throughout Tokushima Prefecture.

As the daylight fades, fishing boats assemble at the fishing grounds. To find the juvenile marine creatures, the river is illuminated in dazzling lights. Tokushima's largest river, the Yoshino River, had up to 100 fishing vessels traverse its waters during its heydays.

Viewing shirasu fishing is a majestic scene. On this day I found shirasu fishing in downtown Tokushima along the Shinmachi River. The lights of the fishing boats and lights of the city melt together to produce a beautiful scene along the Yoshino River.

Justin Velgus

Justin Velgus @justin.velgus

Justin Velgus (ジャスティン ベルガス) is the Miyagi Prefecture expert for Japan Travel and a long-term contributor since 2012 with a focus on the Tohoku region.  Justin has written extensively for JT, and other publications such as VisitMiyagi and Sake Today, amassing over 350 published articles...