[What is the "Ayuyana" (sweetfish fishing hole)?]
Ayuyana is a traditional fishing method in which ayu are caught by damming a river, creating an outlet in part of it, and taking advantage of the ayu's habit of swimming downstream to spawn after they have grown. The ayu are then caught by catching them on a bamboo slatted screen called an otesu.
Trap fishing is a method seen throughout the country, but the Suigo Nobeoka Ayu Trap, which is built in a place where the river is over 100m wide and close to the city, is extremely rare and boasts an unprecedented grand scale.
The construction of the traps is usually completed around the end of October, and a pier is built in the river so that visitors can see the traps where the sweetfish fall. A life-size model of the trap is also set up on the riverbank, allowing visitors to enjoy seeing the traps in detail.
Nobeoka is so famous for its sweetfish that it is called "Nobeoka's treasure trove of sweetfish." The Gokase River, a first-class river that flows leisurely through the city of Nobeoka, has clear water and an abundance of moss, which the sweetfish feed on, making it home to many giant sweetfish known as "shaku-ayu," which are over 30 cm in length. In the past, an astonishingly large sweetfish measuring 36.5 cm in length and weighing 600 g was discovered.
Nobeoka is a "treasure trove of sweetfish," and every year from early October to early December, the "Ayuyana" restaurant opens on the Gokase River, where you can enjoy a full course of sweetfish dishes.
[About the Top 100 Scented Landscapes]
In 2001, the specialty of Gokase River, which flows through downtown Nobeoka, "grilled sweetfish," was certified as one of the "Top 100 Fragrant Landscapes" by the Ministry of the Environment, a program that selects 100 fragrant landscapes that are rooted in nature and culture and that should be preserved for future generations. It is one of 16 such sites in Kyushu, and the only one in Miyazaki Prefecture to be selected.