Winter on Awaji Island now has a reason to stay overnight: fugu. Hotel Anaga, a resort hotel in Minamiawaji, Hyogo Prefecture, will start a winter-only “3-Year Tiger Pufferfish Japanese-French Course” on Sunday, November 1, 2026, at its main dining room, Anaga The Restaurant Awaji-Setouchi. The star is “Awaji 3-Year Tiger Pufferfish,” raised longer than usual.
Tiger pufferfish raised for about three years in the Naruto Strait
Tiger pufferfish (torafugu) is generally shipped after about two years, but “Awaji 3-Year Tiger Pufferfish” is raised for one more year, about three in total. It is grown off Fukura, near the Naruto Strait, where the tidal current is fast. The hotel describes its thick flesh, supple bite and concentrated flavor as its appeal.
Seven courses blending Japanese technique and French expression
The course goes beyond traditional fugu cooking, layering the delicate techniques of Japanese cuisine with the expressiveness of French cooking. Across seven dishes, it moves from classics such as thinly sliced sashimi and blanched skin to deep-fried fish, simmered head, rare meunière and broth risotto.
Three dishes are highlighted:
- Simmered fugu head in consommé: the flavor drawn from the head is expressed in a Western-style consommé, layered with the light acidity of tomato and the aroma of sherry — a different take on fugu broth from the usual hot pot
- Deep-fried collar (kama): a crisp surface and the flavor concentrated around the bones, enjoyed with the texture of fried food
- Broth risotto: broth carefully drawn from the bones, with the aroma of shungiku (garland chrysanthemum) and mushrooms — a Western take on fugu zosui (rice porridge) to close the meal
Fugu is usually eaten as a hot pot, so enjoying it one dish at a time in a course feels fresh. Carrying the Western approach all the way through to the final porridge is also what makes this course distinctive.
Traveling for the meal, to a resort facing the Naruto Strait
Hotel Anaga proposes a stay where the meal itself is the reason to travel. Every room faces south with an ocean view, on a site of about 25,000 m² overlooking the Naruto Strait and the Onaruto Bridge. From the dining room you can look out over the strait as it turns with the sunset, the hotel says.
Two options are offered: the dinner course, or an overnight plan with two meals. By car, it is about 70 minutes from Kobe and about 120 minutes from Osaka, and about 7 minutes from Awaji-shima Minami IC. From Kansai, that is a good distance for a weekend getaway.
Course and plan details
- Starts: Sunday, November 1, 2026 (winter only)
- Venue: Anaga The Restaurant Awaji-Setouchi (inside Hotel Anaga)
- Menu: “3-Year Tiger Pufferfish Japanese-French Course,” seven dishes
- Price: Winter Flavors — Awaji 3-Year Tiger Pufferfish Gourmet Course, from ¥32,000 per person (two guests per room)
- Stay: a winter-only overnight plan with two meals featuring the course is available (hotel rates overall start at ¥29,000 per person, tax included, with two meals, for two guests per room)
- Check-in / check-out: 15:00 / 11:00
- Address: 1109 Anaga, Minamiawaji, Hyogo
- Access: by car, about 70 minutes from Kobe and about 120 minutes from Osaka; about 7 minutes from Awaji-shima Minami IC
- Phone: 0799-39-1111
- Website (Japanese): https://www.hotelanaga.com/
