Mie: Owase Fishmonger Makes Splash with Rare Deep-Sea Offerings; Items Sell Out Within an Hour

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:22 JST, May 3, 2025

OWASE, Mie — Assortments including deep-sea fish are flying off the shelves at a long-established fish shop in Owase, Mie Prefecture, selling out within an hour and going viral online.

These unique seafood offerings, not typically found in general distribution, have captivated internet users with their novelty.

The century-old fishmonger Hashisa Shoten began sporadically announcing sales of these unique seafood offerings on X earlier this year.

The offers consisted of assorted seafood usually not for sale mixed in with standard inventory. Priced at about ¥2,500 per set, including packaging and delivery, some sets were claimed within four minutes of being posted on the platform.

X users flooded the post with comments like, “These rare fish are so much fun to look at,” and “I heard they are surprisingly tasty.”

The driving force behind the initiative is Moe Hashimoto, 27, the granddaughter of Tadashi Hashimoto, the company’s 79-year-old president.

In December, she shared photos of striking orange starfish and other peculiar sea creatures she had discovered among the fish, adding, “It’s like festive Christmas ornaments, so intriguing.”

The post ignited a flurry of comments like, “I want to buy this,” prompting her to launch this unique sales initiative.

Since the availability of these “unusual fish” is sporadic, announcements are made via Hashisa Shoten’s X account.

“I hope this will also put Owase in the spotlight,” she said.