Plenty of Lessons from Daily Life in Ama in Oki District, Shimane Prefecture (Vol.2)
Volume 2 of the series, which explore the charm of the town of Ama in the Oki District,
Shimane Prefecture, will introduce the activities of Shimashoku no Terakoya, a chef training
school teaching the culture and essence of Japanese cuisine. This volume will also feature theefforts of the CAS Freezing Center at Furusato Ama Co., Ltd., which sells Ama’s seafood
throughout the country by introducing the CAS system, which preserves ocean-fresh seafood
without damaging its cellular tissues. In addition, Sentoraru-tei, a restaurant serving dishes
using the company’s products, will also be covered in this article.

Andy and his wife, Noriko, from Germany, and Mr. Takeo Sato (center), a cooking instructor at
Shimashoku no Terakoya

Learn genuine Japanese cuisine at Shimashoku no Terakoya
In June 2017, a Japanese cuisine school, Shimashoku no Terakoya, opened in the town of Ama.
This is a new project to develop genuine chefs by utilizing agricultural and fishery resources in thetown. A nursery school building was converted into the cooking school, and the oven, grill, and othercookware are all brand-new.

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Shimashoku no Terakoya

KitchenThe cooking instructor at the school is Mr. Takeo Sato, who has run a creative Japanese cuisine
restaurant in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, and also served as the official chef of the Consulate General ofJapanese in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“When I was serving as the official chef of the Consulate General, it was not easy to findingredients for sushi and other Japanese dishes. However, my experience running a creative Japanesecuisine restaurant in Tokyo helped me successfully convert local ingredients into creative Japanesecuisine for ceremonial dinners hosted by the consul general. I think that this experience contributes
to the wide variety of my culinary repertoire,” says Mr. Sato, whose dishes were recognized even byrefined food connoisseurs in the Arab world.

Dishes made by Mr. Sato using Ama’s seasonal ingredients

Shimashoku no Terakoya’s concept for Japanese dishes is mainly based on “seasonality” and“culture.” In order to master these two elements, you need to understand the season of vegetables

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and fish, as well as the culture, ingredients, and local environment of foods. Among them, the mostimportant factor is ingredients, which are seen as dependent on the chef’s polished skills and the fivesenses.
Mr. Sato takes a walk every morning and sees the ocean, mountains, and farmlands of Ama. Thenhe depicts the scenery in his dishes.
Fully understanding Japan’s cultures and climates, and also having rich experience working
abroad as a capable chef, Mr. Sato is truly suitable as an instructor at Shimashoku no Terakoya,
which also welcomes foreign visitors.

Enjoy a long vacation in Ama
Aside from the shared house covered in Volume 1, the town of Ama also provides rental houses
where Japanese people wishing to live in Ama for a brief period, or foreign tourists who prefer along stay in one place, can stay for a long time.

An example of a rental house

For users unfamiliar with the island, staff members at the Ama Tourism Association provide
basic town information, invite them to local events, and support interaction with community
members.
During my stay on the island, I met Andy and his wife, Noriko, as well as Ms. Sahara, who is
Noriko’s friend, and her son, Yutaka, who is one year and two months old. They were enjoying Ama
while staying at the rental house.
Ms. Sahara is Noriko’s friend from college. They met again in Ama to enjoy a vacation together,IHCSA Café

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taking the opportunity of Noriko’s temporary return to Japan from Germany.
During their stay in Ama, Andy enjoys fishing, while Noriko practices kendo (Japanese fencing)with local police officers.
Shimashoku no Terakoya also provides an opportunity for tourists to experience cooking ofJapanese dishes in a short time. Mr. Sato’s class on that day was to focus on how to cook dishes
using Ama’s fresh ingredients, so I joined his class.
The instructor gave us various explanations, such as the fish to be cut into three slices in the class,
the types of knives, and how to remove the scales from the fish. After the explanations, we started
cooking under the direction of Mr. Sato.
What was most surprising to me was that Andy skillfully cut the fish into three slices, although it
was his first try.

Andy cutting the fish into slices

Noriko learning how to make tasty soup stock

After hearing that fish would be unloaded at Saki Port, I decided to go and take a look at themwith Ms. Sahara and her son, Yutaka, who started getting cranky. On that day, there was a large catchof grunts and barracuda, and local people who heard the news were also there to buy them. And it
was no wonder, because they were sold at a surprisingly affordable price. People around the area caneat ocean-fresh fish at their homes as soon as 30 minutes after purchase.

Fish unloaded at the Saki PortMs. Sahara and her son, Yutaka

When we returned to the cooking school, dishes were ready. Delicious-looking sashimi wasserved on seasonal leaves from the hill behind the school. Andy seemed to find the Japanese sense ofIHCSA Café

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delicacy and the richness of the country’s four seasons in the leaves. “The experience of making
Japanese dishes was very interesting, and new even to me, as a Japanese person,” said Noriko,whose words made me feel the depth of Japanese cuisine.

Barracuda sashimi made by AndyMs. Sahara enjoying the dishes

The next day, Andy and Noriko as well as Ms. Sahara and Yutaka were going to leave the island,so I went and met them to send them off.
Andy, Noriko, and Ms. Sahara all said that they had a relaxing time because the food wasdelicious and the island was rich in nature. They left Hishiura Port after saying that they were happy
and comfortable with the warmth and open mind of the people of Ama, who welcome visitors to thetown.

A farewell like a scene in a movie

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International Hospitality and Conference Service Association (IHCSA)A desire to deliver Ama’s fresh seafood
Ama is a town rich in fresh seafood. Because of the distance, however, if fish and shellfish caught
in the morning are shipped by sea in the afternoon, they arrive the next day even at Sakai Port,Tottori Prefecture, on Japan’s mainland. This time lag deteriorates the freshness and causes lower
priced transactions at the market, resulting in the business being less profitable.
Even so, people in the town were hoping to deliver Ama’s delicious seafood throughout thecountry and make it accessible to more people, as well as to galvanize the fishing industry on theisland. With this background, the town introduced a freezing system called CAS (Cells AliveSystem).
CAS is a technology that vibrates the water molecules of ingredients using weak magnetic fieldenergy in the freezer and rapidly freezes them by lowering the temperature to minus 55 degrees
Celsius. This freezes and keeps the ingredients in a viable condition without damaging their cellulartissues. This system enables preservation of the odor, flavor, savory taste, and deliciousness ofingredients; kills parasites; and prevents the bacteria that cause food poisoning from proliferating.
This equipment was developed by a company in Chiba Prefecture. In order to start a business
utilizing this technology, the town of Ama invested 500 million yen and established a third-sector
company, Furusato Ama Co. Ltd., in March 2005.

CAS Freezing Center at Furusato Ama Co. Ltd. Fishery processing work

Furusato Ama Co. Ltd. is currently composed of three businesses, the CAS business being one ofthem. The CAS Freezing Center processes food ingredients and produces frozen foods.
It is surprising that CAS is capable of freezing ingredients without damaging freshness; thus, even
if a defrosted oyster is sliced, the shape of the cross-section is maintained, and even squid can beeaten as sashimi. The taste is also great because good-tasting ingredients do not run or dissolve whendefrosted.
Today, Ama’s original brand, Shimakaze-bin, delivers CAS-frozen seafood throughout the country
and is winning popularity among restaurants in Tokyo. This service receives many orders on theInternet.
Due to its new capability of selling products throughout the year, Furusato Ama Co. Ltd. can now
maintain a constant price for seafood from fishermen and the market. This situation allows those
involved in the fishery industry to enjoy a steady income.

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This project can be referred to as a best practice of local government–led business creation andregional revitalization.

Freezer at a temperature of minus 55 degrees Celsius

Frozen oysters

Captivated by dishes of Sentoraru-tei
One day I went to Sentoraru-tei, a restaurant serving dishes using CAS-frozen products, which islocated on the second floor of Kinnyamonya Center at Hishiura Port.
I ordered a mix fry set meal (1,800 yen, tax included), including slices of fried CAS-frozen horsemackerel, squid and original oyster of the Haruka brand. Having no strong odor at all, theocean-fresh seafood was fried right there for each meal.

Mix fry set meal (1,800 yen, tax included)

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Kan-shimame zukedon (pickled flying squid rice bowl; 800 yen, tax included) (left)
An Oki Kisen ferry anchored at Hishiura Port, viewed through the window (rigth)

The most popular menu item for Japanese people is kan-shimame zukedon (pickled flying squidon rice; 800 yen), using a fresh flying squid caught in the Sea of Japan. This is a “B-grade gourmet”(ordinary yet tasty food) that won seventh place in the National Local Rice Bowl Competition in
2011. According to the restaurant, foreign customers often order fried horse mackerel.
Ama’s local seafood dishes are also available at Rito Kitchen’s Kagurazaka Branch, a restaurant in
Kagurazaka, Tokyo. I think I will often visit Kagurazaka after returning to Tokyo.

Ama Tourism Association
1365-5 Ama, Oki District, Shimane Prefecture, 684-0404
Tel: 08514-2-0101
Website: http://oki-ama.org/ (Japanese site only)

Rito Kitchen, Kagurazaka Branch
6-23 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 162-0825
Tel: 03-6265-0368
Website: http://ritokitchen.com/ (Japanese site only)

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