Maze (Gero-city) is located at the southern area of Hida, which is 60-minute-drive from Takayama. Today, we would like to introduce the traditional fishing method “Hiburi-ryo”.
Maze-river is selected as the 100 best water in Heisei era and it is said that Ayu(sweetfish) which live in Maze-river has good taste and aroma.

This fire fishing is held a few times between late-Aug and early-Sep in Maze-river beside the fishing center Mizube no yakata.
The fishing method is fisherman with a torch moves in the river to surprise Ayu and Ayu starts to swim and is caught in a trap of nets. The local people has started Hiburi-ryo since 2012 to revitalize the town.

Fisherman with Happi coat checking the river in the evening

After 7:30 pm, they ignite the bonfire and torches, and Hiburi-ryo starts with fireworks.

They say “ho-ho” when chasing Ayu. The very beautiful and fantastic scenery with flickering fire spreads on the water surface.

Ayu in Maze-river got a grand champion in Ayu tasting competition TOKYO 2007.

After the fishing, the caught Ayu in the net are shown to the guests. The Ayu which live in clear stream have the smell like watermelon instead of bad smell. If you come to Maze in early-fall, why don’t you see this Hiburi-ryo?