Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2011

Big news for anglers: for the first time in five years, Lake Yamanaka in Yamanashi is frozen enough for ice fishing. The prized catch? Wakasagi smelt, a cold-weather delicacy that’s now abundant in local waters—and on local menus. Fishermen and -women can go catch their own at Ooba, a restaurant on the banks of Lake Ashino in Kanagawa (www.ashinoko-fc.co.jp), then bring their haul inside and have the chefs fry it up. Or head to Higashi-Yamato City in west Tokyo, where the cooks at Toriyama specialize in preparing freshwater seafood (http://meturl.com/toriyama). Closer to home, wakasagi is on offer at Uohiko, a classy yet inexpensive Japanese restaurant in Ikebukuro (http://r.gnavi.co.jp/gac9300); Sharaku, a down-home izakaya in Kagurazaka (2-21 Kagurazaka; 03-3235-3340); and Kura Rin, the Ginza branch of a Niigata brewery that serves the fish pickled, zuke-style (http://r.gnavi.co.jp/a721900).