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[Kamakura City] Encounter fish you've never met before. "Sakanaya Marukama," a local fish shop connecting Akune and Kamakura

2026年3月30日 19:55

[Published on Yahoo! News Expert, July 2, 2024]
MVA Grand Prize / Yahoo! News Best Expert 2025 Nominated Article
"Sakanaya Marukama," located in the Kitakamakuradai Shopping Street in Imaizumidai, Kamakura City, is a "community-connected fish cooperative store" jointly operated by fishery businesses in Akune City, Kagoshima Prefecture—who are struggling with declining catches and a lack of successors—and residents of Kamakura City, who face issues like shopping difficulties due to an aging population, to improve each other's circumstances.

Valuing the idea of eating every fish caught deliciously without discrimination, the staff will suggest delicious ways to eat each fish based on its characteristics.

What is "Sakanaya Marukama"?

Imaizumidai, where this shopping street is located, is a residential area developed by leveling hills in the early 1960s, and it used to be a bustling region.
However, today, with over 40% of the population being elderly, it faces various problems and challenges, such as social isolation, shopping difficulties, and the successive closure of shops due to the stagnation of the local economy.

The catalyst was the inter-regional exchange project "Akune and Kamakura," which began in 2017 across the private sector. When they held a mobile sale of Akune fish within Kamakura City, it was such a huge success in Imaizumidai that lines formed.
Requests from residents for regular events rather than one-off ones increased, and while the Akune side considered turning it into a business, progress was hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Deciding that "we should create the shops we need in our community ourselves," former neighborhood association leaders and others in Imaizumidai banded together to open "Sakanaya Marukama" in the Kitakamakuradai Shopping Street in April 2023. This new style of fish shop, where diverse residents from their 30s to 80s are involved in operations, was born after raising funds through crowdfunding.
Surprisingly, there is even an advisor on staff with a background as a former Fisheries Agency official and former fisherman!

Mobile sales are conducted in four areas: Kajiwarayama, Yuigahama, Nikaido, and Imaizumidai. They are deepening relationships with the local community through fish.

Eating every fish caught deliciously without discrimination

All the fish on display are shipped directly from the source. Centered on fish arriving by air from Akune every morning, they offer sashimi, fillets, and prepared dishes. Since opening, they have handled over 180 types of fish!

In addition to Akune fish, they also carry fish caught that morning and purchased at the Odawara fish market.
Also, local fishermen in Kamakura City sometimes bring in fish that they couldn't find buyers for.
In the past, fishmongers taught people how to eat fish. However, while there were over 50,000 fish shops at their peak, there are now only about 10,000. With over 1,000 shops closing every year, the reality is that the number of people who can teach how to eat fish is decreasing year by year.
And, ocean warming and acidification are affecting the distribution and reproduction of fish, and the catch is decreasing year by year.
"That is precisely why we want to suggest eating what is caught deliciously and without bias, and provide feedback to the people at the production site about what was caught. We want to create a rich food cycle while growing together," says Kano, who is in charge of planning and public relations.

For whole fish, they perform preparation including scaling, gutting, filleting, and cutting into sashimi blocks.

"People and fish are all different. Fish also differ depending on the region they live in and their age, so each has its own personality and its own deliciousness. It's not necessarily the case that fatty fish are the most delicious; there is a deliciousness unique to fish that aren't fatty," says Kano.
Even with the same fish, it has a different flavor when eaten raw, grilled, or simmered. It is said that even with salt-grilled fish, the taste changes depending on how the salt is applied.
There are ways to eat according to the characteristics of the fish, such as those that become hard when cooked versus those that become smooth, fish that are better steamed than grilled, or sashimi that is better with the skin on.
"It's normal not to know much about fish these days." They kindly teach even the most basic things.

Zero waste for whole fish!

Fish that have come to Marukama through fate. Even the remaining fish are used deliciously without waste, such as in marinades, nanban-zuke (marinated fried fish), or miso-marinated dishes.

Handmade minced fish fry made using leftover fish. You can taste the natural sweetness and umami of the fish directly. Because it is a mix of minced and chopped pieces, it has an excellent texture! It was provided by the shop.

Marukama's classic "Whole Fried Kibinago (Silver-stripe Round Herring)"

They take Kibinago that arrives from Kagoshima every day and fry it until crispy from a raw state. When I tried it thanks to the shop's kindness, the umami was packed tightly inside the crispy batter. They also recommend making it into nanban-zuke with vegetables and sweet vinegar.

"Sakanaya Marukama" not only contributes to the revitalization of the local economy but also supports the local community.
It is a fish shop that we want people who don't know how to cook fish, want to eat fish they've never tried before, dislike fish, or don't know much about fish to visit.

Thank you to "Kotaro" from the shopping street for telling me, "You should try that fish shop over there!"

*This information is current as of the time of publication. Please check the latest information before heading out.

■Sakanaya Marukama
Official Website (External site)
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