🍚 Hyugadon (Rice Bowl with Marinated Tuna Sashimi)

Hoto Island is located in the Bungo Channel, around 14km from Tsukumi port in Tsukumi city. Fishing has been carried out on this island for many years and fishing villages on the island have been selected as a historical and cultural property which should be preserved for the future. Fishing villages on this island are famous for maguro (=tuna) deep sea fishing which is how “hyugadon” became a popular local dish on the island and in Tsukumi city, which is nearby. “Hyugadon” is made with maguro (=tuna) sashimi, hot rice, and a sauce of soy sauce, sugar, sake, sesame seeds, and egg yolk. Finely chopped green onions and ginger are topped onto the other ingredients. Fishermen of Hoto Island eat “hyugadon” as it is easy to prepare and is nutritious. It is said that the dish got its name from the sound of the strong wind on fishing boats. Other people say that the name was taken from Hyuga city in Miyazaki when tuna fishing boats from Hoto Island arrived at Aburatsu Port in Hyuga. In other regions, this dish is called “ryukyudon” and “atsumeshi.”