Menu

Ayu nare zushi (sushi)

Ayu (sweetfish) has been used as a preserved food for a very long time. Freshly boiled rice was stuffed inside the belly of salted sweetfish to cause fermentation. When eaten, the crisp flavor of sweetfish and the mature taste of fermented rice fill the mouth. In 2015, the upper and middle courses of the Nagara River which have handed down the food culture of Ayu nare sushi were registered as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System as "Ayu of the Nagara River System."

Read the recipe

Shops where you can eat treats, shops you can buy

Unoiori U
Nagara, Gifu City

Address94-10 Nakaukai, Nagara, Gifu City[Map
Phone Number058-232-2839
Opening Hour10:00~16:00
HolidayFirst, Third and Fifth Mondays, Second and Fourth Sundays, December 31 to January 4
Parking Capacity8 cars
Access Approx. 30 minutes by car from Meishin Expressway "Gifu-Hashima IC"
Approx. 5 minutes walk from Gifu Bus "Ukai-ya" bus stop
shop_cook
Hearty hospitality from cormorant fisherman
Our restaurant is run by a cormorant fisherman who knows everything about sweetfish and cormorant. Nare sushi prepared with strictly selected sweetfish and locally grown rice has impressed everybody who tried it. The food is prepared elaborately with delicate use of salt to produce healthy and tasty sushi.
Service periodAll year round
Please call us to confirm.
shop_message
<Messages from the Staff> Please watch cormorant fishing as well. It reminds us of what is precious in life.

Kawaramachi Izumiya
Motohama-cho, Gifu City

Address20 Motohama-cho, Gifu City[Map
Phone Number058-263-6788
Opening Hour11:30~13:30(LO.) / 17:00~19:00(LO.) Reservation required for evening (May 11~October 15) Reservation required
11:30~13:30(LO.) / 17:00~19:00(LO.) Reservation required for evening (October 16~May 10) Reservations are required for evenings 
Souvenirs are sold from 10:00 a.m. until the closing time
HolidayWednesdays , and winter season holidays
Parking Capacity15 cars
Access Approx. 20 minutes by car from Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway "Gifu-Kakamigahara IC"
Approx. 5 minutes walk from Gifu Bus "Nagara-bashi" bus stop
shop_cook
The ultimate fermented food prepared with domestic salt
An ultimate fermented dish produced only from sweetfish, salt and rice which are left for one year in a cedar barrel for fermentation. We use domestically produced salt. The taste coming from the intestines of "sweetfish with roe" makes its eaters enjoy the mildness - making the dish more likable than sushi of crucian carp.
Service periodAll year round
Please call us to confirm and a reservation is required for dinner between middle of October to early May.
shop_message
<Messages from the Staff> We offer "Nare zushi" made from naturally grown sweetfish and sweetfish with roe.
Ayu nare zushi(sushi) recipe
Ingredients :

(Amounts)
・Ayu(sweetfish):As you like

・Salt:Suitable amount

・Cooked rice:suitable amount

・Water:suitable amount

Method

①Wash ochiayu (sweetfish that goes down a river to lay eggs in autumn), clean them, and open their belly to remove their internal organs.

②Salt them down and drain the water from their body.
Layer the sweetfish and salt on top of each other in a plastic container, and lastly cover them with salt and store them in the refrigerator. (About 1 month)

③Wash the salt off the sweetfish, and dry them in the shade. When they are dry, fill their bellies with boiled rice.

④Wash the boiled rice and lay it on the bottom of a tub.On top of the laid rice, layer the rice-stuffed sweetfish and boiled rice without gaps, and cover them with boiled rice. Lay bamboo sheaths on the top,place a heavy stone on the top of the sheaths, and apply water to ferment the sweetfish. (2 months to 1 year)

※Recipes vary by region and family.