~ “I am interested because it is fun! I want to know more because I am interested!”~ Go on a day tour in summer with touching and playing with Ayu fish at Clear Stream Nagaragawa Ayu Park
Do you know "Clear Stream Nagaragawa Ayu Park" which is adjacent to Road Station Hakusan Bunka-no-sato Nagataki at Shirotori-cho? When people first hear Nagaragawa River most of them will think of Ayu fish. Ayu is actually expensive and the fishing method is special and unfamiliar? "Clear Stream Nagaragawa Ayu Park" was created as a place for you to get close to Ayu.
There are various experiences for children in the coming season. You don't need to make a reservation in advance and you only need to prepare for playing in the water. I am going with a family to see how they spend their time here and how they interact with Ayu fish!
Tamaki family with Kanna, a grade 3 student, and Kosei, a kindergarten senior wearing the same T-shirts, are going to Ayu park with me together.
“I know this park on Gujo cable TV but it is my first time coming here.” Said Mrs Tamaki.
The park is much larger than imagined. All of us are so excited!
See if you can catch these fast Ayu fish! Let’s try catching Ayu!
Our first destination is the most popular spot in summer, the fish-catching plaza!
You may think it is a very common catching pool but remember this! Here, you can catch Ayu fish which is very rare in Japan!
A curvy water stream made up of stone is a fascinating spot making you want to enter.
Depth of the water is below the ankles of the children, so even kindergarten kids can enter without worry.
Let’s change to water shoes and let’s go! I can see Ayu swimming!
“How many do you want to catch?” Asked park staff. “Five!” Kosei answered with so much energy. Let see.
They start catching where most Ayu gather, but “They escape so fast!” Tamaki’s family struggle a lot at first. Kanna challenges in a serious face but once she touches a fish, she screams! Let me check if she is still OK.
For a while, two of them in the river are speeding up! Both of them firmly grasped the fish with both hands and put them into their buckets. Mr Tamaki also joins them and says, “I think we can catch five fish,” and starts their enclosure tactics.
They meet their target of 5 fish in no time!
Both of them are catching one after another and keep searching for fish in the river. When they get used to it, they are catching so fast. Mrs Tamaki is impressed with how fast they are.
It seemed that they want to catch until the last one, but Kosei finally gets off from the river when his father said, “Let’s continue with fishing next time!”
Swing your rod and throw it far! Try fishing at a fishing pond!
Let us go to the fishing pond with lots of trout swimming inside.
Two kids have been to fishing ponds but only have little fishing experience.
We borrow a rod that is almost twice the height of the kids and put bait onto the hook.
“Throw your rod far away and catch 4 fish for your family!” We start fishing together with the instruction by the staff.
As soon as you throw it into the pond, a lot of fish come to you!
The one who catches the fish first is Kosei. He seems a little nervous seeing a fish hanging on the thread.
“Bait was eaten!” screamed Kanna. After Mrs Tamaki firmly attach the bait onto the needle, it seems improved so much and she is able to fish again! Her mother laughed and said, “Go grab it fast!”
Two kids compete with each other, and they catch quite a lot in 15 minutes.
Let’s try eating grilled Ayu and trout!
They caught enough fish for both their fish buckets with Ayu and trout.
Kosei unintentionally leaks “I want to eat them.” While looking at so many fish, I am sure everyone feels hungry too. Let’s move on to the grilled fish experience!
(As of 2021.7.8) You can grill and eat the fish you caught during the fish catching experience by yourself, but currently, we suspended self-cooking due to COVID-19. Please exchange for the fish we grilled in Ajiwai Plaza.
This time, as they caught both Ayu and trout, they are going to eat them in different ways.
First, we start from Ayu. In fact, grilled Ayu with salt is one of the most recommended experiences at Ayu Park. Because all Ayu fish is grilled in a staff’s handmade “AYU can”!
“Do you know what a wavy skewer is? As it is difficult to skewer them, we develop this mold for our guests to use.” We receive a mold while hearing the explanation. You can easily make a wavy skewer by fitting your Ayu along with this mold and putting a skewer from the mouth.
Both kids were frowning at the beginning and said “Wow”. They get used to it after trying it once.
Now all skewers are beautifully made, let us put them in the “AYU can” covered with sand.
Since Ayu contains a lot of fat, if you put it parallel to the charcoal and grill it, the whole fish will be full of the smell of fat. The taste will become bad.
As the charcoal is piled up in the center, we rotate slowly while grilling.
Next is preparing trout. Unlike Ayu, you need to remove all internal organs before grilling.
“Why?” Kids said.
“Ayu is herbivorous, they only eat algae. But trout are carnivorous, they eat dead insects and even stones. So, they may contain various bacteria in their body, we only eat the most delicious body.
We come to the water tub while hearing instructions.
As we use scissors instead of kitchen knives to open their belly, even small children can participate together with support from their parents.
We handle it very well, and we can wash every corner after opening its belly.
This time we make a skewer without using a mold.
It seemed more difficult than making skewers of Ayu, but Mr and Mrs Tamaki work this out successfully!
Finally, we add some salt carefully and start grilling on charcoal.
“Usually, I can only catch small fish, so I just fry it or grill it on a pan,” Mr Tamaki said, and he was curious about how it was grilled
Create your own nameplate with river animals! Try making your handcraft!
What can we do while waiting for Ayu to get grilled?
You may enter the river or take a walk, but Ayu Park is offering a craft experience while waiting. If some of your family members do not want to get wet or touch fish, these will be perfect for them!
We decided to make name plate!
Kosei said, “I want this!” and pick a plate in the shape of fish. He writes his name and draws some river animals on it.
Kanna writes in the alphabet which she recently learned and draws her face.
Crab, killifish, and stone, both of them finish making their lovely nameplates with their style!
In addition, there are various simple crafting experiences like making birdcall or wind-bell, please choose the one which your child is interested in.
In the meantime, we can smell a very nice scent of fish!
The whole fish is well grilled. Let us start eating! Itadakima-su!
“They are bigger and softer than we ate at home!”
I think one of the reasons is because all are caught by themselves, and I can tell that the fish grilled in this “AYU can” increases the deliciousness which cannot be made at home!
I am also really happy that the price is reasonable.
As Ayu is expensive, it is not easy to eat with your whole family. But at Ayu Park, Ayu skewer is only 500JPY each!
You can buy them at Ajiwai Plaza even if you did not join the experience, so please feel free to drop in.
Finally, let us see the elements of learning
After eating a lot, the Tamaki family goes for a walk around the facility.
Two kids start running in the park with hills and lawn.
There is also a GIAHS quiz rally and quiz about Nagaragawa River for you to find the answer in the park.
Actually, you can bring your own tent and set up here, many families come to spend a day from the morning. It is especially crowded on holidays, so we recommend you come earlier in the morning!
There is also a staircase going down to Nagaragawa River outside the lawn. The park also helps organize Ayu fishing experience for groups or cast net and hand net experience. More people can enjoy the world of Nagaragawa River even more through school tours too.
For our last experience of today, we move to Satogawa Ayu House.
This facility is a base of information about the World Agricultural Heritage “AClear Stream Nagaragawa Ayu” with a training room for lectures and a multi-faceted theater showing all the charm of Nagaragawa River.
A multi-faceted theater uses projection technology projecting images not only in front but also to the left, right, and even around your feet. Let us go and see it!
What we can see here is why Nagaragawa River could maintain its cleanliness for Ayu to live in.
By getting yourself into the video and seeing the relationship between nature and the culture and people’s lives while going down from the uppermost stream to the lower stream of Nagaragawa River, you can know how many people are involved in creating a beautiful river, and how people get benefits from it. Please be thankful and realize that we, humans, are benefitted by the nature.
After knowing more about Ayu Park, let us end our tour today.
Let me ask the Tamaki family about their comments.
“It is much more fun than I thought! Not only catching fish but also handcraft and the theater which I never thought.” Sais Mr Tamaki.
“I thought my kids could not catch any fish. Even Kanna enjoyed it so much without hesitation. It is a good place for children to play together, no matter boys or girls. It is recommended for families.” Said Mrs Tamaki.
When I asked “Who wants to come again?” both Kanna and Kosei raise their hands.
Thank you so much!
To conclude
Isn’t it good to spend a holiday at Ayu Park?
Both children and parents tried touching a live fish feel happy!
It was a day where I could experience the pure thoughts of the staff at Ayu Park, saying “I am interested because it is fun! I want to know more because I am interested!”
It is only 1 hour and a half drive from Nagoya.
You are welcome to come for a fishing experience, relax at a day camp, or stop by to eat Ayu.
Please come to visit us at Ayu Park once this summer.
Nearby sightseeing spot
Amidagataki Waterfall
A famous waterfall in Tokai region, certified as one of the 100 best waterfalls in Japan and 50 famous waterfalls in Gifu. When you take a walk along the promenade even with light clothing, you can see a waterfall with a head of 60m flowing into the basin surrounded by forests. In summer, a Nagashi Somen noodle restaurant using water from Amidaga Yudaki is also opened. Only 10 minutes by car from Ayu Park to the parking lot and promenade is 15 minutes for one way.
