The "Ayu(sweetfish) Garden," where visitors can enjoy catching ayu and grilling them with salt, opened on June 15, 2025 at the roadside station "Nagomi" in Kyotanba-cho, Kyoto Prefecture. The special venue along the Yura River was crowded with families munching on freshly grilled ayu.
This annual summer event has been held since 1998 to coincide with the opening of the roadside station. It is held every year from the third Sunday of June to late September.
Live ayu from Lake Biwa are procured and raised in a stream near the roadside station. "The flesh will become firm and delicious in about two weeks," said Yoshiyuki Fujita (71years old), the roadside station's stationmaster.
A man in his 30s from Hyogo Prefecture, who was trying the salt-grilled ayu, said, "The flesh is light and delicious. I brought my children here so they could eat it fresh."
Although it rained around lunchtime on the first day, the stream near the venue was bustling with children trying to catch sweetfish. The sweetfish they catch can be grilled with salt and enjoyed.
Until last year, staff would bring the grilled sweetfish to each table, but starting this year, they will have customers collect the freshly grilled sweetfish at the counter, speeding up service.
Until September 29th. Closed on Tuesdays (open every day in August). Salt-grilled sweetfish cost 550 yen each. Weekends and holidays: 11am-9pm, weekdays: 11am-3:30pm and 5pm-9pm. Call the station on 0771 (84) 1008.
