murmurRamsar Shizugawa Bay Winter Cod Festival
Minamisanriku Town · Shizugawa Temporary Fish Market
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Minamisanriku Tourism Association · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Sun, Jan 18, 2026 （Ended） 9:00–13:00 (numbered tickets for whole cod handed out from 8:00)
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid January
- How the date is set
- Announced each year Held every year in mid-January
- Venue
- Shizugawa Temporary Fish Market
- City
- Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi
About
Every mid-January, the fishing town of Minamisanriku on Shizugawa Bay celebrates kandara, the winter name for Pacific cod, which is in season from around January to February, when the fish is rich and its milt has matured. The festival centres on this short-lived seasonal catch: whole cod are sold one fish at a time, and stalls serve one-day-only dishes such as cod soup and tempura of cod milt, a favourite that draws long queues at the festival. Whole-fish sales start at 9:00, with numbered tickets handed out from 8:00, so it pays to arrive early. Because the local fish market holds two auctions a day, morning and midday, freshly landed cod is easy to come by, and eating cod as sashimi is a long-standing local tradition. Even on other days, the fishmongers and restaurants of the Sansan Shopping Village serve seasonal winter cod.
Sources
- OfficialMinamisanriku Tourism Association www.m-kankou.jp
Last checked: Oct 10, 2026. Event information is based on official announcements, but changes may not always be reflected here. Please check each official website for accurate details.
Other events this month
On the day, see what locals are murmuring on the murmur map
murmur is an app that shows short, anonymous posts on a map, right where they were written. On festival day, open the map around the venue and see what people nearby are saying.