Best thing to eat in winter time, Fukui prefecture, Japan's the king of crab, Echizen crab!!

On November 15th, we visited the crab festival in Mikuni, Fukui. As we got out of Mikuni seaport station, we saw just boiled and steaming crabs, the king of crab, “Echizen Gani” laid there with “the yellow tags”.

Only the crabs that were caught in Echizen sea can be called “Echizen Gani” and have the yellow tags. In 1997, Echizen fishermen’s union started putting the yellow tags on every “Echizen Gani” to protect their brands from scam crab dealers from all over the world. There used to be many of dealers that were using the name “Echizen” even they didn't catch crabs in Echizen sea. The length of the yellow tag is 20 centimeters and is put on crab hands(scissors) and the only way of cutting it is to use knife or scissors.

There were 3 main kinds of crabs which are “Seiko crab” (small ones), “Waka crab” (medium size and soft) and “Echizen crab” (biggest one and expensive). The prices of those crabs were much cheaper than purchasing them in the city. The biggest crabs that have ever been caught in Fukui prefecture were a carapace width of 158 millimeters, taken of a male crab, and 98millimeters, from a female one.

T.F