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The Mainichi
19 hours ago
- Business
- The Mainichi
Where's the octopus? Japan 'takoyaki' shops sub in sausage, hike prices amid rising costs
TOKYO -- Rising costs in Japan have impacted even the popular delicacy, "takoyaki" fried octopus balls, with chains hiking prices and some shops in the Tokyo area even replacing octopus with sausage as food makers look to other ingredients like "kamaboko" fish paste and konjac (a firm, jellylike food made from konjac yam) as substitutes. Will we no longer be able to casually enjoy the unique texture and flavor of octopus? Prices rise even after replacing octopus "Does not contain octopus" reads a sign this reporter noticed outside one takoyaki shop called Horaiya, near the Tokyo Sakura Tram's Machiya-ekimae Station in Tokyo's Arakawa Ward. I asked the store's owner, 77-year-old Masako Hasegawa, about the reasoning. "Post-coronavirus price increases have driven up costs too much to continue using octopus," she explained. Formerly, the store sold takoyaki containing octopus at 180 yen (around $1.25) for five pieces. It started replacing octopus with sausage in November 2023, but since then, the cost of wheat flour and other ingredients has gone up, leading to a price increase of 20 yen to 200 yen. While the items are "sausage-yaki," the taste holds up well, being served hot, freshly prepared with cabbage, red pickled ginger, "agetama" fried batter and a "dashi" broth and topped with a Japanese version of Worcestershire sauce. "After switching to sausages, some customers drifted away, saying, 'I prefer octopus,' but the sausages are more popular with children and customers with bad teeth, as they are softer and easier to eat. Many patrons come in after work or school, so we want to continue to offer good food at an affordable price," said Hasegawa with a smile. Costlier wheat flour and eggs, labor, electricity ... Tokyo-based research firm Teikoku Databank Ltd. in December 2024 released a report citing how business was getting tricky for stores selling floury delicacies like okonomiyaki and yakisoba due to increases in the cost of raw materials such as flour and eggs, as well as operating costs such as labor and electricity. But above all, the rising cost of octopus had hit stores specializing in takoyaki. When the firm estimated the cost of preparing takoyaki at home, it found that in 2015 the average price per 12 pieces was about 170 yen, but in 2024 this was more than 250 yen (approx. $1.70). The data for Tokyo's 23 special wards in the Retail Price Survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications also shows that the average price of octopus was 277 yen per 100 grams in 2014, but by mid-May of this year, it had jumped to 528 yen -- almost double, and even pricier than tuna. Takoyaki shops are challenged in part by the difficulty of passing price hikes onto customers given the snack's reputation as affordable street food. At least one major nationwide takoyaki chain raised prices by about 8% late last year. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, more people have been enjoying takoyaki parties -- known as 'tako-pa' -- at home, but on social media, users report substituting traditional octopus with ingredients such as "chikuwa" fish paste, cheese and cod roe. Posts could be seen to the effect of, "Octopus is expensive, flour is expensive, and cabbage broke my spirit," expressing frustration over the rising cost of ingredients. To cater to this rise in demand for substitutes, a kamaboko fish cake manufacturer in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, suggested in April on social media that its products have "chewiness that won't lose to octopus!" Meanwhile, a producer in Gunma Prefecture, a region known for konjac, has started developing chewy products that could be used in takoyaki. Can 'takoyaki culture' be saved? Is takoyaki destined to shift from an affordable treat to a luxury food? When this question was posed to Mana Kumagai, president of the Japan Konamon Association -- an organization that promotes flour-based foods -- she gave a measured answer. "Originally, 'radio-yaki' -- the predecessor to takoyaki -- included fillings like konjac and green peas, and it has never been rare to use various ingredients during home takoyaki parties," she said. Radio-yaki and "chobo-yaki" -- which involved baking wheat flour dissolved in dashi broth and adding ingredients like beef tendon and konjac -- were developed in Osaka in the 1930s. In nearby Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, a type of egg omelet containing octopus was popular, which later led to adding octopus to radio-yaki, creating what became known as takoyaki. According to Kumagai, octopus prices began to surge around 40 years ago, causing takoyaki shop owners' ongoing concern. Octopus used for the item in Japan is mainly imported from around Africa. While octopus was once called the "devil fish" in inland regions of Europe and the United States, it has become popular worldwide, and growing demand has driven prices up. Kumagai commented, "Some restaurants continue to try to keep their focus on octopus by replacing the 'madako' common octopus with other species, such as North Pacific giant octopus. While enjoying the different types of takoyaki, we'd like to preserve the original taste of takoyaki so that it can be passed on to the rest of the world."
SoraNews24
3 days ago
- Business
- SoraNews24
Sausage stepping in for increasingly expensive octopus at takoyaki stands around Japan
Sausageyaki? As much as Japan tries to fight it, the rising cost of just about everything is gradually taking hold. Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi managed to fulfill his promise of lowering the price of rice, but whether that can last for long remains to be seen. Now, it appears it's octopus' turn to become painfully expensive and takoyaki vendors are feeling the pain. ▼ Takoyaki Takoyaki are little balls of batter grilled with various ingredients, the centerpiece of which are diced bits of octopus or ' tako ' in Japanese. It's known to be a cheap street food but with the very ingredient it's named after now nearly twice the price it was 10 years ago, vendors are forced to raise their own prices to make ends meet. However, when Mr. Sato was walking by a candy store named Horaiya in Toyko's Arakawa district, he found another way some places that sell takoyaki are getting around the octopus dilemma. ▼ Horaiya On their front window, signs were hung informing customers that their takoyaki no longer use octopus and instead have bits of sausage inside. Thanks to this, a five-pack of these 'takoyaki' only costs 200 yen (US$1.38) and a 10-pack is just 400 yen ($2.76). Even for takoyaki back in the day, those are pretty solid prices. It was easy for Mr. Sato to see why this shop made the decision they did. It also sells candy, shaved ice, ice cream, and other snacks aimed at children. Not wanting to price out their target customers, they decided to change the food itself so kids could still buy it with their pocket money. It was that kind of sweetness that Mr. Sato respected and wanted to support while also being curious about these hot-dog-yaki balls. So, he grabbed 10 of them and also picked up a taiyaki, which is a grilled fish-shaped cake that usually has sweet bean paste inside. Horaiya had a range of fillings available like curry and spaghetti sauce, so our writer selected one filled with ham and mayo for 150 yen ($1.03). After getting to the office, he first put the taiyaki onto a plate for a visual inspection. The tricky thing about taiyaki is that it's often really difficult to know what's inside by looks alone. If he were to have ordered one with sweet bean paste but bit into ham and mayo, it could have been a rude awakening. Thankfully, Mr. Sato got exactly what he ordered. The cake was thick and there was a good amount of ham and mayo inside. For the price, which is around half of what a lot of taiyaki go for in Tokyo, it was a really solid snack. As for the takoyaki, our writer gazed at it and couldn't detect anything out of the ordinary. It seemed that the only change was the swapping out of octopus. The rest of the ball was made in exactly the same way and slathered in a rich sauce. In fact, Mr. Sato was starting to wonder if this really wasn't takoyaki with octopus. But when he tore one open, sure enough, there was a sizable chunk of hot dog inside. Eating it, he felt it was not bad at all. The sausage went well with the dough and other ingredients and the flavor was good. The texture was certainly different from octopus but it was still satisfying. The main difference in taste was that sausage has a more upfront and bold flavor while octopus has a slightly more sophisticated flavor that builds up gradually. The distinctive texture of octopus was also missing which can feel like a bummer for those who really enjoy it. Mr. Sato gave some to his coworkers and they all agreed that it was 'not bad' as well. Considering it's a move born out of necessity, it's hard to criticize Horaiya for making this takoyaki, which is still perfectly suitable for a nice little snack even if it isn't quite what it used to be. Mr. Sato also wondered if shops like theirs would continue to be OK with the possibility of flour experiencing price hikes down the road too. At least their prices are so low right now, they still have some wiggle room if they need to raise them. Store information Kanmi Horaiya / 甘味 宝来屋 Tokyo-to, Arakawa-ku, Arakawa 6-21-3, Ogasawara Bldg. 1F 東京都荒川区荒川6-21-3 小笠原ビル1F Hours: 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Closed: Sundays and Mondays Website Photos ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! [ Read in Japanese ]
