Food (short version)
In Ise-Shima, nutrient-rich waters flow from the mountains to the calm bays and seas. These waters are just one of the elements which enrich the local marine life. Thanks to its fertile waters, Ise-Shima has been famous for its excellent seafood since before the eighth century, a time when the area supplied the kitchens of the imperial household.
Various foods can be enjoyed at different times of year in different areas. In spring, seasonal specialties include red sea bream, wakame, and hijiki seaweed. Turban shells, abalone, horse mackerel, and conger eels are bountiful in the summer season. In the fall, Japanese spiny lobster, sea bream, and Japanese Spanish mackerel are at their best. Lobsters, sea cucumbers, blowfish, and seaweeds such as nori are harvested in winter.
There are many local dishes that use these gifts from the sea, such as tekonezushi (sushi made from marinated bonito fillets served on rice). Seafood burgers, including Toba's “Toburgers,” come in numerous varieties.
Sweet shops have operated along the pilgrimage route to Ise Jingu, Japan’s most important jinja (Shinto shrine) complex, for a long time. There are many unique traditional sweets that can only be enjoyed here.