Eel Draws Long Lines on Day of Ox despite Scorching Heat in Tokyo

Tokyo, July 26 (Jiji Press)--Long lines formed from early morning at "kabayaki" grilled eel stores and restaurants across Tokyo on Sunday, this year's Day of the Ox, with the popular delicacy attracting customers despite scorching temperatures.

Japanese people traditionally eat grilled eel on the midsummer Day of the Ox, believing it helps replenish energy and endure the summer heat.

While food prices have risen across the board in the country, eel remains popular, with many restaurants either lowering prices or keeping them unchanged thanks to abundant baby eel catches last year.

At eel restaurant Yatsumeya Nishimura's Meguro outlet in Tokyo, staff began work at 4 a.m. to prepare more than 1,200 grilled eel fillets. Skilled chefs deftly coated the eel in the restaurant's secret sauce before grilling it over charcoal.

The restaurant offers takeout only on the Day of the Ox, with its signature large grilled eel fillet priced at 3,000 yen each. Although the cost of ingredients other than eel has surged, the restaurant kept the price unchanged from last year.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]