I’ve enjoyed Rishiri Island’s sea urchin in various forms like uni-don (sea urchin rice bowl) and uni sashimi. But then I found a place where I could actually peel sea urchin myself and eat it right on the spot! So, I quickly booked the experience and headed out. The location was Kamui Coast.
On a sunny day, you can search for and catch sea urchins from a moored fishing boat, just like real sea urchin fishermen do. I think they probably place the sea urchins in easy-to-catch spots beforehand, but it’s still a lot of fun.
It’s not everyday you get to catch or even touch a sea urchin, so I was surprised by how actively they move. Also, when they move, they firmly grip the surface with their suction-cup-like feet, so peeling them off and lifting them required more strength than I expected, which was quite a surprise!
To peel a sea urchin, first you use the large tool on the left. You firmly insert the tip of this tool into the center of the sea urchin, and using the principle of leverage, you can split the sea urchin cleanly in two. As expected, it’s quite hard, so I struggled a bit at first to get the right amount of force.
The first thing that surprises you when you open a sea urchin is the existence of its mouth, often called Aristotle’s Lantern. It’s the white, mysterious-looking object in the middle of the photo, and it’s quite robust, with five strong teeth at its tip, supposedly capable of eating even hard objects. Inside, you’ll also find things like the digestive tract.
First, using the spoon-like tool in the middle of the sea urchin peeling kit, you scoop these contents out of the shell into a strainer. The roe is quite delicate, so if you don’t do it carefully, it can crumble into a messy state. This task really seems to reveal one’s personality! After scooping, you then use tweezers to remove anything that isn’t the roe.
My wife’s extraction is at the top, and the roe is the most perfectly shaped and somehow even looks more beautiful in color. Mine, on the far left, had a lot of roe, but it was quite crumbled. We used cleaned seawater for the extraction process, and we ate it just like that – no unpleasant flavors, just surprisingly sweet. It really seems that fresh sea urchin is the best!
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