Aug 24 (Nikkei) - Japan is the largest consumer of uni, or sea urchin, a popular and expensive ingredient in sushi and kaisen-don seafood rice bowls. Japanese are fond of the sea fruit's rich, sweet taste that comes with a faint scent of the sea.
In Hokkaido, it is now uni harvesting season. But Japan has a much bigger appetite than what the northernmost prefecture can provide. So it imports sea urchins from Chile, South Korea and Russia. The imports used to be cheaper than those harvested in the seas off Hokkaido and nearby Aomori Prefecture, allowing supermarkets and not-high-end sushi resutaurant to carry the prized ingredient.
