Deep-cupped Seto Inland Sea oysters, farmed on hanging rafts and eaten raw, grilled in the shell, steamed in a can or deep-fried in panko between roughly October and March.
Oyster farming in Hiroshima Bay is documented from the sixteenth century, and the hanging-raft method perfected here made the prefecture the dominant producer in Japan, supplying the majority of the national farmed crop. Kanawa has worked its own rafts since 1867 and still moors a restaurant boat on the Motoyasu river. The kaki-goya, a plain shed where customers grill their own shells over a burner, is a winter fixture along the Ujina and Kusatsu waterfronts, opening around October and closing in early May when the season ends.
3 editor picks for Hiroshima oysters (kaki) in Hiroshima, ranked by editorial score. All Hiroshima signature dishes · Hiroshima oysters (kaki) across every city.
Kakibune Kanawa ★ 4.7
otemachi · 1 Otemachi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima
Kakibune Kanawa moors on the Motoyasu river in Hiroshima and serves oysters from the family's own rafts, raw downstairs and in courses above.
Kaki Goya Fukuromachi Umihei Shoten ★ 4.4
fukuromachi · 8-11 Fukuromachi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima
Kaki Goya Fukuromachi Umihei Shoten keeps Hiroshima's fisherman-hut oyster format running indoors all year, one kilo of shells steamed in a can.
Milky Tetsuo no Kaki Goya Ujina ★ 4.3
minami-ku · 1 Ujinakaigan, Minami-ku, Hiroshima
The Ujina kaki-goya is Hiroshima's waterfront oyster hut, a shed on Minato Park where you grill your own shells between October and the start of May.