The annual year-end "Oyster Festival" is a tradition that we look forward to every year. At our home, dishes like "Oyster Stew," "Chawanmushi," "Tamagoyaki," and sashimi were always a must-have, but my mother has unfortunately lost her ability to cook and has disappeared from the dining table. In her place, the "Oyster Festival" at Lake Saroma has become a regular event. While I appreciate "Hairy Crabs," I personally find it troublesome to peel them, so I don't have a strong attachment to crabs. On the other hand, oysters are easy to handle. On New Year's Eve, we steam the oysters in a large steamer. The beautifully cultivated oysters from Mr. Daisuke Hamama of Lake Saroma are my favorite, although the large and thick oysters from Akkeshi and Senpoushi are also good. I prefer the rich flavor of the Saroma oysters. On New Year's Day, it's the "Oyster Fry" festival. We serve it with homemade tartar sauce, but secretly I prefer it with soy sauce. My family members seem to prefer sauces and tartar sauce. We managed to have our "Oyster Festival" this year as well. In 2023, we are expecting a new addition to the family. I hope we can all celebrate a lively New Year together next year.

Happy New Year 2021! I hope this year we can finally put an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of our annual tradition, we celebrated New Year's Eve with an "Oyster Festival". We received our usual 2-year-old oysters from Mr. Harima Daisuke of the Harima Fisheries Department. These plump oysters, raised in Lake Saroma, are known as "Saromaru" this year. We steamed the oysters in their shells by placing them in a large pot with a little water, steaming them over high heat, and sprinkling them with sake at the end. In our family, we prefer oysters over crabs. We chilled some special white wine and sake to enjoy with the oysters at our annual "Oyster Festival". We welcomed the New Year with our family once again.