Rokkasho is a small village along the Pacific Ocean, about 20 miles (45 minutes drive) northwest of Misawa Air Base. Sangyo Industry Festival, better known as the Rokkasho Salmon Festival, is held annually on the last weekend of October and features bare-handed salmon catching as the main event. Entrance to the festival is free; however, a ticket is required to enter to pool area and participate in the hands-on salmon catch. Tickets may be purchased in advance from Misawa ITT or on-site at the festival, providing they have not sold out.
Saturday features three rounds of salmon catching and racing while Sunday only offers two. Two pools with thigh-deep water contain almost 2,000 salmon. After entering the catch area, participants encircle the pool’s perimeter, wait for the signal to plunge in, and have three minutes to capture salmon. Those participating in the catch should bring wading boots, gloves, and a change of clothes.
Participants who cannot catch live salmon may exchange their ticket for a dead one after the three minutes have expired. Additionally, festival organizers provide people to offer free gutting and slicing services. Styrofoam containers and ice can be purchase for about ¥400 to preserve your catch.
Other events at the festival include more traditional-style salmon fishing from a pond, a free fishing contest on Sunday, seafood and vegetable wholesale markets, a beef barbecue, pedicure booth, cultural dances, local entertainment, and bingo. A variety of contests – peeling squid, grating nagaimo, drinking sake (for adults), drinking milk (for children), and transferring clams into a bottle using chopsticks – happen inside the Bar-B-Que quonset.
Although not advertised any flyers, I learned through Simon Bernard’s Hakkoda Powder website there were two additional activities on Sunday morning. At 8:00 AM, the Tohoku Strong Horse Iron Pull Competition occurred in which horses in different classes pull up to 500 kilograms (about 1,100 pounds) of weight on sleds uphill and downhill. The other event I would have liked to see, which may repulse animal lovers, was the Mastiff Dog Wresting, which is culturally accepted in Aomori. I can’t imagine these large canines wrestling until one whelps to end the match. Alas, to arrive at Rokkasho and be situated ready to watch by 8:00 AM would have required my husband, toddler, and infant ready, packed, and out the door, at the latest, by 6:30 AM.
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