先日、北海道の庶民の味覚の代表選手・ホッケの開きについて書きましたが、わたしは性格ワルくも（笑）、出張先の本州地域ではときどきスーパーで価格チェックを行う趣味を持っております。～あ、競合他店に価格情報をリークする目的などは金輪際ありません。ただ、そういう誤解を避ける意味で写真撮影取材した店舗名は伏せます。～
しかしホッケの開きに注目していたことはこれまでなかったので、今回はじめて錦糸町という首都圏地域ど真ん中でも購入可能だと言うことによろこびの気持ちを持っていた。「おお、おお、ここでオマエの美しい姿に出会うとは・・・」と若干詠嘆気味にのめり込んでしまった。
わたしは普段は、価格は低いけれど「地元産」とは言えないロシア輸入ものはあまり買わない。札幌ではこのロシア産ホッケの開きはだいたい300円程度。それよりも100円程度高くても、北海道地元産を買うようにしている。簡単な見分け方はアタマを落とすのがロシア流で、北海道ではアタマも付いていることが多い。たぶん「捌き方」で国ごとの漁師に「流儀」があるのでしょうか？一物全体食的な雰囲気を感じてやはりアタマも味わってみたいのがわたし好み。
価格は現実的に２倍以上の開きがあるのだけれど、市場での流通量とか、希少性などのいろいろな要因があると思われるので、こちらの価格が妥当かどうかは、わたし的にはわからない。しかし、ホッケの開きが首都圏地域のみなさんにも選択可能な状況であることが喜ばしい。もしわたしが錦糸町に居て北海道を恋しく思う心理を持っていれば、こういった価格差は気にならないのではないかと想像する。
北の海を泳ぎ回っていて、この地で人びとのよろこびとともに往生のときを迎えられるのは、ホッケとしても魚冥利かも。
今回の旅も昨日終了で昨夜札幌帰還。たぶん蒸暑の夏最盛期で、さすがに最終日にはややバテ気味。っていうか、日曜日にトラブルがあって、急遽宿泊先場所を変更したので、夜遅くまで移動の必要が出来して疲れきってしまっていた次第。予測の甘さが結果になってしまったのです。しかし、酷暑の中にもかかわらず、健康ぶりは確認できて、いわばストレステストとしては自分自身で及第点だと思えていました。
８月中はいろいろな仕事の進行、デスクワークが増えるのでたぶん出張機会はしばらくなく落ち着いて札幌で過ごすことになりそうです。本州以南地域のみなさんは酷暑にめげず、ご自愛ください。札幌は涼しいなぁ。
English version⬇
HOKKEI open fish 650yen in Kinshicho. Sapporo price: 298 yen]
Found at a supermarket in Tokyo. With the development of refrigerated transportation technology, products from around Hokkaido are also available. The lineup is irresistible to those who are in love with Hokkaido. Hokkaido
The other day, I wrote about hokke (hokke), a typical delicacy for the common people of Hokkaido, and I have a bad habit of occasionally checking prices at supermarkets in the Honshu area where I travel (laugh). ～I have no intention of leaking price information to competitors. However, in order to avoid such misunderstandings, I will not reveal the names of the stores I photograph and cover. ~~ I was just looking at the hokke (hockey sticks).
However, since I had never paid attention to hokke (hokke) before, I was delighted to know that for the first time, hokke was available in Kinshicho, right in the middle of the Tokyo metropolitan area. I was slightly absorbed in the experience, exclaiming, “Oh, oh, I never thought I'd see your beautiful figure here...” I usually pay lower prices, but this time I was able to purchase the hockey in Kinshicho, right in the middle of the Tokyo metropolitan area.
I usually do not buy Russian imports, which are less expensive but not “locally produced. In Sapporo, the price of Russian hokke is about 300 yen. Even if the price is 100 yen higher than that, I try to buy the local product from Hokkaido. A simple way to tell the difference is to remove the head, which is the Russian way, and in Hokkaido, the head is often attached as well. Perhaps each country's fishermen have their own “style” in how they handle the fish? I prefer to taste the head as well, as I feel the atmosphere of “whole food”.
The price of hokke is more than twice as much, but I do not know whether the price is reasonable or not, since there are various factors such as the amount of hokke distributed in the market and its rarity. However, I am glad that hokke is now available in the Tokyo metropolitan area. I imagine that if I were in Kinshicho and had the mindset of missing Hokkaido, I would not mind such a price difference.
It is a great pleasure for a hokke to be able to swim around in the northern sea, and to be able to die with the joy of people in this place.
This trip ended yesterday, and I returned to Sapporo last night. It was probably the peak of the hot and humid summer season, and as expected, I was a bit tired on the last day. We had a problem on Sunday and had to change the place where we stayed suddenly, so we had to move around until late at night, and we were exhausted. I was too tired to travel until late in the evening. However, despite the extreme heat, I was able to confirm that I was in good health, and as a stress test, so to speak, I felt that I had given myself an acceptable score.
I will probably not have the opportunity to travel to Sapporo for a while during the month of August, as I will be working on various projects and will have more desk work. For those of you in the south of Honshu, please be patient with the extreme heat. It is cool in Sapporo.