Sun-Dried Foods
The art of preserving foods through sun-drying has a history of more than 2,000 years in Japan, and it plays a key role in Toba’s culinary culture. Foods commonly preserved by sun-drying include various species of seaweed and sea creatures like fish and octopus. The island of Sugashima, which receives powerful westerly breezes, is renowned for its sun-dried spiny lobster. Sun-dried foods, collectively known in Japanese as hoshimono, are generally made by applying a blend of salts to the ingredients before arranging them on racks or nets to dry in the sun. Various ingredients are sun dried throughout the year, so look for the season’s hoshimono specialty as you explore the islands’ coastlines.