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Ise-Shima NP, Mie
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The decoration on Japanese gift envelopes traditionally began as real food: thin, dried abalone. At Hachiman Kamado, visitors can make an envelope with Ise-Shima “noshi-awabi”—then taste the abalone afterward.
In 2004, after overseas travelers asked to meet ama, Hachiman Kamado began welcoming visitors into an actually used ama hut—the first in Japan to do so. It was a new way to share a working fishing culture.
Hachiman Kamado is a real hut used by Kachido ama. Unlike boat-based divers, Kachido swim from shore to their fishing grounds and work alone, carrying their catch in a net bag attached to a float.
The hut offers an “Ama no Shinsen” course—shinsen means food presented to the kami. It echoes a local sacred-food tradition: ama abalone from nearby Kuzaki is prepared as an offering to Ise Jingu.
The grill is tended by the ama themselves: they hand-roast fresh, seasonal seafood while sharing stories of their work. The Ministry of the Environment also notes that their own rice and miso go into the Ise-lobster soup.
At an ama hut, the women can be friendly rivals competing for the catch—and a close-knit crew who help save one another in danger. Hachiman Kamado’s hosts mostly belong to the original hut team.
Guests may be invited to join Osatsu Ondo, the town’s local dance. The idea of dancing it with visitors came from the ama themselves, turning a meal around the hearth into a shared piece of local culture.
