On March 2nd, the food market "Tsugaru Hirosaki Market Hamada Kaisan" in Niji no Mart (Ekimae-cho, Hirosaki City) started selling the "Sujiko Natto Set", which is a set of Sujiko and Hikiwari Natto.

Sujiko is salmon roe preserved in salt or soy sauce, and is mainly consumed in Hokkaido and the Tohoku region. Hamada Kaisan's "Sujiko" is one of the flagship products that has been on sale since its founding in 1954 (Showa 29). It is popular not only for home use, but also as a gift for mid-year and year-end gifts.

"Sujiko natto" is a home-cooked dish from the Tsugaru region that is eaten with natto topped with sujiko. Kenzo Hamada, president of Hamada Kaisan, said, "Inquiries have increased since it was featured on national television. When we started putting natto and sujiko on the storefront, people said, 'I've seen it on TV.' There was a reaction," he said.

“The reaction at the store is not that great, and the overwhelming majority of people say they eat it separately. Maybe some people eat it with natto, so I think they buy their own favorite natto.” friend. Hamada Kaisan sells this as a set with Taishi Foods Industry's (Sannohe-cho) 'Super Chopped Hikiwari Natto'. "The company's hikiwari has just the right size of beans and streaks, and the taste really stands out," says Hamada.

According to Mr. Hamada, online sales are doing better than in-store sales, and Sujiko sales are already nearly 10 times higher than in the same month. Most of the customers were from the Kanto region, and there were already repeat customers and people who expressed their excitement over the phone. Hamada says, "Many people don't know that sujiko can be pickled in salt, and many are impressed by the taste, which is different from pickled in soy sauce. The production of sujiko itself is declining, there are no stores selling it, and it is disappearing from dining tables. I hope this event will increase the number of consumers of Sujiko, even if only a little,” he said with a smile.

The price is 2,000 yen. Currently only available on the official website.