I've come to the "Winter Morning Market Bentenjima Beach Hut Marche," a weekend event where you can enjoy seafood from Bentenjima Island in Lake Hamana!
This event is organized by the Maisaka Town Tourism Association, and each booth offers delicious street food featuring the finest seafood from Lake Hamana, prepared in unique ways!
Hamana Lake oysters, in season right now, can be enjoyed steamed, grilled, or in okonomiyaki, while Hamamatsu's representative specialty, eel, is served on skewers called negima (chicken and green onion skewers) and is very popular! In addition, Maisaka shirasu (whitebait) is available in tempura, croquettes, udon noodles, and rice dishes! A parade of seafood!
While waiting for my food in front of the booth, I was approached by Mr. Masami Kato, a slightly tipsy gentleman holding a cup of sake! Drinking sake in the middle of the day, impressive!
We also found our favorite fish, the smelt, and when we enjoyed the freshly fried "crispy smelt," we savored the fluffy texture!
We thoroughly enjoyed the crispy "shirasu croquettes" filled with plenty of shirasu from Maisaka, the "oyster okonomiyaki" with two large oysters from Lake Hamana, and to finish off, the fragrant "nori nori udon" with fresh seaweed tempura.
After your meal, you can enjoy a stroll through Bentenjima Seaside Park, where the sparkling lake surface glitters brightly. Many people bring their dogs here too!
The event will be held from 10 AM to 2 PM, but many items are sold out by lunchtime, so we recommend arriving first thing in the morning!
"Upcoming Hamagoya Marche dates"
The dates are January 28th (Sat), January 29th (Sun), February 11th (Sat), February 12th (Sun), February 18th (Sat), February 19th (Sun), February 25th (Sat), and February 26th (Sun). For more details, please visit the Maisaka Town Tourism Association's official website!
