Obama's Ocean & Fish

Obama on the Wakasa Bay coastline has supplied Kyoto's kitchens for over 1,500 years via a network of mountain routes collectively known as the Saba Kaido, or Mackerel Road. Merchants carried salted fish and seafood on foot across roughly 72 kilometers of mountainous terrain to reach Kyoto's Nishiki Market, a journey that took about two days during the Edo period. Wakasa willowy flounder and horsehead tilefish from these waters still hold brand-name status and are presented as gifts to the imperial household each winter. Obama was also a stop on the kitamae-bune coastal trade network connecting Osaka to Hokkaido.