Lake Biwa Ayu Fishing & Dining Experience

Ayu no Mise Kimura, a Hikone shop long associated with Lake Biwa's ayu sweetfish trade, runs this four-hour seasonal experience combining fishing with a full cooking demonstration and meal. The session begins lakeside or on a small boat near Hikone, where a guide leads a hands-on ayu fishing session using traditional methods suited to the lake's shallow, fast-flowing inlets. After fishing, the group moves to a kitchen setting for a cooking demonstration showing two classic preparations: shioyaki, in which the ayu is salted and grilled whole over charcoal, and soy-simmered ayu, cooked slowly in a sweet-savoury broth. The tour closes with a full tasting meal built around the day's catch, supplemented with additional lake-fish dishes so that every visitor eats a complete meal regardless of how much they personally caught. Included in the price are the guided fishing session, the cooking demonstration, the full tasting meal, and an English-speaking guide; equipment beyond what is provided and transport to the meeting point are not covered. The experience runs in small groups given the space constraints of lakeside fishing and the kitchen demonstration area, with an unhurried pace across the four hours. Ayu season from July to September is when the shop runs this tour, since the fish are at their best for both fishing and eating during these months; outside that window the experience is not typically offered. Dietary substitutions are limited given the tour's focus on ayu, though the shop can generally accommodate requests to reduce salt in the shioyaki preparation.