Nobeoka Ayu-yana

photo by Koda6029 · CC BY-SA 4.0

A bamboo weir over 100 m wide on the Gokase: traditional fishing for over 300 years.

Every autumn, on the Gokase River right in the city centre, a yana (梁) is set up: a weir that makes use of the natural downstream run of the ayu (a small salmonid) in spawning season, diverting them towards a ramp of woven bamboo canes (落て簀, otesu) where they are trapped. The structure spans more than 100 metres of the river's width (a rare scale for an urban yana, which makes it one of the largest installations of this type in Japan) and the technique has been handed down for over 300 years, since the Edo period.

Nobeoka is crossed by four rivers (Gokase, Ōse, Hōri, Kita), which have given it the nickname ‘city of water’ (水郷). The yana is set up on the Gokase in autumn and stays for about two months, with a kiosk/restaurant on the bank where you can eat freshly caught ayu, often grilled. In 2026 the stated period runs from 1 October to 6 December, with possible changes due to bad weather (typhoons).

ℹ️ Set up seasonally, normally from early October to early December (in 2026: 1/10–6/12, subject to weather changes). Price of the meal not given in the official sources read: not reported, so as not to treat it as a measurement. About 13 minutes by car from JR Nobeoka Station.

Sources: city.nobeoka.miyazaki.jp · kanko-miyazaki.jp

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