July Seasonal Japanese Seafood 7月旬の魚


Some of our personal favorites include ayu (salted and grilled), shitabirame(meuniere), shijimi (miso soup), benisake (salted and grilled), and for sashimi – surumeika, kinmedai, takabe, and isaki. Most of the seafood have links to photos.


Ainame 鮎並 fat greenling (Hexagrammos otakii)
Akashita birame 赤舌鮃  red-tongued sole (Cynoglossus joyneri)
Awabi abalone (Haliotis sorenseni)
Ayu sweetfish (Plecoglossus altivelis altivelis)
Benisake べにさけ 紅鮭 sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka)
Dojou 泥鰌 loach (Misgurnus Anguillicaudatus)
Hamo  pike eel or pike conger (Muraenesox cinereus)
Inada イナダ young Japanese amberjack (Seriola quinqueradiata)
Isaki 伊佐幾 chicken grunt  (Parapristipoma trilineatum)
Ishidai 石鯛  barred knifejaw (Oplegnathus fasciatus)
Ishimochi イシモチ nibe croaker (Nibea mitsukurii)
Iwana 日光岩魚 whitespotted char (Salvelinus leucomaenis pluvius)
Kamasu 大和叺 barracuda (Sphyraena japonica)
Kanpachi  間八amberjack or yellowtail (Seriola dumerili)
Katsuo   skipjack tuna or oceanic bonito (Katsuwonus pelamis)
Kawahagi 皮剥 thread-sail filefish (Stephanolepis cirrhifer)
Kihada maguro 黄肌鮪 yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares)
Kinmedai 金目 splendid alfonsino (Beryx splendens)
Kisu Japanese whiting (Sillago japonica)*or shirogisu
Kochi bartail flathead (Platycephalus)
Kuro maguro 黒鮪 bluefin tuna (Thunus thynnus)
Maaji 真鯵 Japanese jack mackerel (Trachurus japonicus)
Maanago 真穴子 whitespotted conger (Conger myriaster)
Maiwashi 真鰯  Japanese sardine (Sardinops melanostictus)
Makogarei 真子鰈 marbled sole (Pleuronectes yokohamae)
Masaba 真鯖 Pacific mackerel (Scomber japonicus)
Mejimaguro めじまぐろ young tuna (genus Thunnus) if it is a young bluefin tuna it will be called honmeji, if it is a young yellowfin tuna it will be called kinmeji.
Niji masu 虹鱒 rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
Oni okoze  鬼虎魚 spiny devilfish (Inimicus japonicus)
Shijimi大和蜆 corbicula clams or water clams (Corbicula japonica)
Shima aji  島鯵striped jack or white trevally (Pseudocaranx dentex)
Shiro ika 白いか  swordtip squid (Loligo (Photololigo) edulis)* or kensaki ika
Shitabirame 舌平目 (or ushinoshita) four line tongue sole(Arelia bilineat)
Surumeika 鯣烏賊  Japanese common or flying squid (Todarodes pacificus)
Suzuki   Japanese sea perch (Lateolabrax japonicus)
Tachiuo 太刀魚 cutlassfish (Trichiurus lepturus)
Takabe たかべyellow-striped butterfish (Labracoglossa argentiventris)
Tobiuo 飛魚 Japanese flying fish (Cypselurus agoo agoo)
Unagi Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica)