©Minamiboso City Tourism Association
HOME > Japan’s Local Treasures > The Horse Mackerel of Minamiboso
Try aji (horse mackerel) in various waste-free traditional local dishes in Minaminboso, Chiba Prefecture
Minamiboso City Tourism Association
Minamiboso is located on the southernmost tip of the Boso Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture. This area is blessed with lots of seafood and boasts one of Japan’s largest catches of aji (horse mackerel). You can enjoy various types of it all year round. Each species tastes different depending on where it is caught, and you can taste the difference yourself by comparing aji caught in Tokyo Bay and the Pacific side of Japan.
Thanks to this abundance, people in Minamiboso have learned many different ways to cook horse mackerel and not waste any part of the fish.
Visit local restaurants to try local favorites like namero, a dish of freshly chopped aji mixed with miso, ginger, and green onions, which fishermen use to make on their boats. Or how about sanga-yaki, where the namero mixture is stuffed into an abalone shell and baked. You can also try it fresh as sushi or crispy and deep-fried.
Be sure to check out the Chikura morning fish market, held on the second and fourth Sunday of the month, where, besides experiencing the bustle of a port market, you can also try unique aji-based dishes, like deep-fried mackerel cheeseburgers.
How to get there
From Narita Airport, take the JR Narita Line to Chiba Station（about 45 minutes）. Transfer to the Uchibo Line to JR Tomiura Station, or take the highway bus Nanso Satomi-go from Chiba Station.
Other highway buses from Tokyo Station, Shinjuku Station, and Yokohama Station are also available.
89-3 Haraoka, Tomiura-cho, Minamiboso-shi Chiba-ken
