Bungo Beppu Bay chirimen

Beppu Bay sits between the Kunisaki Peninsula, where Oita Airport is located, and the Saganoseki Peninsula. From the hills above Beppu, the view takes in hot-spring steam and calm water; for Bungo Beppu Bay chirimen, that water is the fishing ground for juvenile anchovy.

The processing map is just as specific. Kitsuki City, Hiji Town and Beppu City form the named processing area, so the small fish move through a short coastal chain: bay, landing place, boiling kettle and drying space. The food’s character depends on that short distance as much as on the fish itself.

In Beppu Bay and Saiki Bay, shirasu fishing targets juvenile katakuchi iwashi and similar small fish. Shirasu is usually boiled and dried; after drying, the smaller fish are called chirimen, slightly larger ones chika and kaeri, and larger ones iriko.

Bungo Beppu Bay chirimen uses juvenile katakuchi iwashi from Beppu Bay. These size names are useful because one small-fish catch becomes different foods: fine chirimen for sprinkling and mixing, larger iriko for a stronger bite or broth-like use.

The work is built around speed. Juvenile anchovy from Beppu Bay are kept fresh, boiled, and then dried in the sun; the route from landing to finished chirimenjako is described as short, which helps explain the emphasis on taste and aroma.

Hiji Suisan gives a close view of one producer’s rhythm. Its shirasu fishing uses a four-boat fleet to find schools of fish, bring the catch quickly to port, boil it right away, and sun-dry the half-dried fish for two to three hours. Those details belong to that producer, and they make the time pressure of chirimen work easy to picture.

The processing is restrained. One regional description presents the product as salt-only, additive-free, unbleached, and necessarily sun-dried. The Hiji Suisan profile also notes a process without synthetic antioxidants or hydrogen peroxide, producing pale chirimen from freshly landed shirasu.

Sun drying changes the small fish in a concrete way. After boiling, moisture leaves the fish, umami tightens, and aroma becomes easier to notice in rice, salads and warm dishes. The result is a lightly handled seafood whose shape and flavor still point back to Beppu Bay shirasu.

Chirimen was a standard breakfast item at Beppu hotels and ryokan. The same small fish also appears in everyday cooking ideas from the Hiji producer context: fried rice, potato salad, avocado, cheese toast, peppers, pasta, eggplant and salads.

Those uses keep the food close to daily meals. A spoonful can sit beside rice, fold into vegetables, or add a small marine note to toast or pasta. Bungo Beppu Bay chirimen carries the bay into breakfast and home cooking without needing a special occasion.

A Hiji Suisan producer observed that the peak catch season, once usually around August to November, has in recent years seemed to move toward November to February. Some years also bring fishing around Golden Week, making conditions harder to predict.

That observation keeps the coastal work in the present tense. Boats, port, kettles and drying racks all depend on what Beppu Bay offers on a given day, and the timing of the fish now asks producers in Hiji to watch the water with extra care.