Echizen Crab — Winter King of the Sea of Japan

**Tag verification:** Authentic Echizen crab has a yellow plastic tag attached to one leg, stamped with the fishing port name and catch date. Counterfeits exist — Russian or Korean snow crab sold without the tag at lower prices. Check the tag before ordering. Reputable restaurants display sample tags at the entrance and will show you the tag on your specific crab if you ask. No tag means it's not Echizen crab, regardless of what the menu claims. **Auction and market:** Echizen-cho fishing port (30 minutes south of Fukui City) holds crab auctions November through March, starting at 8:00am. Visitors watch from a balcony as buyers bid on hundreds of live crabs moving through the auction in wooden crates. The port's direct-sales market opens at 9:00am selling fresh crab below restaurant prices: ¥8,000-15,000 per crab depending on size. Some vendors will steam or boil your purchase for ¥500 extra, ready to eat on the spot. Cash only, no cards. **Full kaiseki sequence:** Order the complete course to get the proper progression. Starts with kani sashimi (raw leg meat, the most prized part, sweet and translucent), then yude-gani (boiled whole crab you crack open yourself), kani-miso (the yellowish hepatopancreas from inside the shell, intensely savory), kani-shabu (thin-sliced leg meat you swish in hot dashi), and ends with zosui rice porridge cooked in the leftover crab stock. The sequence moves from delicate to rich to comforting over 90-120 minutes. Skip courses and you miss how the flavors build. **Best season:** December through late January is peak — crabs are at their heaviest (900g-1.2kg), meat is sweetest, miso and roe are fullest. Early season (November) brings smaller crabs with less developed flavor. Late season (March) sees crabs thinning as they prepare to molt. Many ryokan offer crab kaiseki overnight packages (¥25,000-40,000 per person with dinner, breakfast, and onsen) — the classic Hokuriku winter experience, worth doing once if budget allows.