Sea of Japan snow crab season opens, Kyoto trawlers stay in port

The snow crab fishing season along the Sea of Japan coast opened on 6 November 2026. The date is set each year under fishery rules, and it marks the start of the winter catch of one of the region's best-known seafood products.

In Kyoto Prefecture, however, the opening did not bring boats out immediately. Trawlers that normally leave from ports on the Kyotango coast held off because of rough weather and high seas off Kyogamisaki, a cape on the prefecture's northern shore. Fishers chose to wait for safer conditions rather than sail on the first day.

The delay mattered because the first landings and the first auction of the season are closely watched events in coastal towns. Early crabs draw high prices and media attention, and they signal the start of the busy winter tourism and dining period. The postponed start meant that Kyoto's first auction followed the opening by a short interval, setting the scene for the later sale of the season's first crabs at Kyotango.