Hey everyone hope you're having an amazing day! It's Mark Wiens I'm on the island of Kyushu is in southern Japan and today we are going on an Ultimate Oyster Shellfish tour. Especially in the winter you will find oyster Huts which set up during oyster season where you can buy oysters. You can buy all sorts of different seafood and shellfish and then you do it yourself. You grill them all in front of you at a table within a Hut the biggest Abalone that I've ever seen that is a monster Abalone and all of the seafood.

You're not going to want to miss any of it. It's all coming up right now in this video. Thank you! Oh man! Welcome good morning again! This is a beautiful area. We're right along the coast on the beach and even though it looks like it's warm and sunny, it's pretty freezing cold.

But it is beautiful. The palm trees and located literally right up against the coast is the first oyster Hut that we're gonna eat at this morning. I Cannot wait! This is a big tradition, a part of the culture in Kyushu and we're gonna have our first Japanese oyster Hut experience right now All this place as soon as you step into this Hut It's kind of like a permanent Hut made out of a metal structure. but you step in here and you can immediately smell the Smoky fires of the seafood.

You know that Aroma that you get when you grill Crustaceans or shells over fire. It kind of has that amazing Smokey Aroma to it. That's immediately what just greets you It's just filling this entire Hut baby. They have all the seafood at the front.

mainly you come here for the oysters and that's what it seems to be. Everybody is getting the oysters but then they do have some other. Seafood they have some vegetables that you can Grill they have rice that you can pick up. it's kind of all.

do it yourself. You buy everything at the front. Oh the scallops look really good as well. so we'll get some scallops, we'll get some oysters.

we might get a giant squid which looks amazing as well. Um and then we're definitely going to get a few plates of the oysters and then we're gonna sit down for grilling over the charcoal fires and you pay up front everything that you want and then you sit down to start hanging out and eating. foreign I Love this amazing view, rustic location and then the warmth of the fire as you're grilling food. But first things first, gotta start with a beverage which is essential for eating grilled shellfish and they have this whole card here where you can.

They give you directions about how to grill the oysters, putting the flat side down, cooking it for two minutes until the juice bubbles out of the oysters. and I think we need to wear the gloves because they're going to be hot. Let's glove up and let's start grilling some oysters. Vegetables: We got the turban shells, a whole basket of the main oysters.

Let's put that squid on first. Oh and the the scallops are there too. So I believe that the squid is frozen. It might not be fresh during this season, but it definitely is local.

That's squid. Okay, squid is ready. Let's just throw the squid on. And then we've also got a couple packs of vegetables.

What? I wanted to try. We've got some onions and I think I'll just throw all these vegetables in the center so we have a full a packed. Grill These are turban shells. I Believe let's add a couple of the Look: Look at.

these scallops look incredible. That color and look at that meatiness on the center. I'll add one of each to these to the grill right now. Oh, as it hits the heat, it's immediately starting to clap.

Look at that. Oh oh, that smells amazing as soon as it hits the grill. Finally, the main event is the oysters, which are completely unshucked, so it even teaches you how to shuck them. It says put the flat side down on the grill first so we'll lay some of these oysters down.

Locally cut fresh oysters, Lay some of these down a few more and I think our drill is pretty much full. I think we'll We'll go from there and keep on grilling and eating, but this is so intuitive it's so interactive. I mean I Love any kind of situation where you're able to cook the food in front of you because it offers more of an experience, an immersion of food. And this is a huge part of the culture in Kyushu especially in winter when there's so many of these oyster Huts around Kyushu especially in this general area.

It's so popular because there's an abundance of local fresh seafood and just being in the warmth of this oyster Hut by the fire grilling Seafood is something that I mean they have figured out an ultimate thing to do that's an activity and that involves food in. Japan I Think we almost have to start flipping everything. Oh yeah, the peppers are coming along nicely. This is like the whole condiment station.

There's bowls and soy sauce. There's tongs. Maybe flip the squid. Oh yeah, coming nicely squid.

I Think What's also cool is that you can come here and depending on how much you want to eat I mean you can just get a little bit of oysters. You can just come here and only eat oysters or they have a variety of other things that you can choose from. but it's really up to you how much you want to eat. You could just come here for a snack or a full Seafood feast.

Foreign s they said to put in a little bit of soy sauce to the turbine chill. Oh that'll make almost like a soup because there's so much broth in there already from the turban. shell oil. Okay I think the oysters give the oysters a flip.

Squid seems to be coming along. needs a bit more time. Oh, but definitely the pumpkin is ready. Let's try that pumpkin.

Okay, pumpkin is my first bite. so Smokey oh that's delicious. Nothing added. I Think now is the time to cut the squid because otherwise it starts to roll up and oh, it's juicy.

Whoa okay. and then also put up that the antenna part should cook a bit more even on the squid. And you have to look at these turban shells. they're just bubbling over.

It's like a soup. Okay all at once. I Think almost all the shellfish are ready because even the oysters have popped open. It's time to start eating.

I Think we'll just go in for one of these oysters while it's hot and fresh. check this out. It's bubbling on the inside and you don't even need to Chuck it because it came open. well it was.

Maybe it put on another glove it would be. So let me grab the what you're supposed to do is take the oyster onto the the towel and that's the way. You can kind of shuck them open. although they're really easy to open.

but you can see the juice. yeah the hot boiling juice on the bottom there. Okay, first oyster and then I'm gonna chase with the oyster broth. Oh wow, that is packed with flavor.

It is so. Briny and such an in-depth like complexity of flavor. While that oyster is incredible, that is so tasty, you don't even need anything on it. I Thought it might need soy sauce.

it's already perfectly salty. naturally. Here we go: I Gotta have one more juicy one real fast. Look at oh this one.

This one is full of juice. Look at this so much broth. I Have an idea. I'll put this into the the soup, the oyster into the soup.

let's add a squeeze of lemon and then go straight in. Oh all the the lemon is so good because it balances the saltiness. Oh that's fresh. Oh that's so tasty.

And then you take your oyster shells and they have a bin here that's specifically for the oyster shell. Okay, I'm gonna try the the turban shell. that's a boiling cauldron of soup though. Wow.

Okay I think we might need to let this cool off for a little bit. way high. Oh, kind of like goes down once you take it off yo. Where's the oh there it is.

I'm gonna pluck this guy out. I Had a little difficulty with the turbine chill but Auntie came over and showed me how to do it. It just plucked it out. You kind of eat the whole thing and drink the soup.

Let's try it. Wow. that's a little bit rubbery and spongy, kind of bounces back in your mouth. Oh really good though.

really sweet. and then follow that with that boiling soyu soy sauce and broth that is the flavor of the sea in the shell. Very tasty. Next up, that squid is ready.

Oh and kind of fully roasted. Oh so hot. crispy Yeah! I Might have overcooked the squid a little bit, but it's kind of good time. Smokey Chocolate Another thing we have to try.

It's a special oyster rice rice with some oysters on top and some radish pickle on the side. So let's get some of that rice with an oyster now. She's delicious and simple. The rice has a little bit of a sauce to it, maybe a little bit of a sourness and a little bit of saltiness.

And then with those local oysters. Fantastic! I Just love the the style of this. The hanging out aspect is you could come here with friends. You could come here with family just grilling up Seafood Enjoying the warmth of the fire with the view of the ocean.

Okay I still have to eat the scallop I Haven't tried the scallop yet, but then after that we're gonna go for round two. We're gonna keep on grilling, have a bunch more oysters to eat as well, and just enjoy this oyster. Hut Experience Okay I'm gonna go for one of these purple scallops. Oh it's just full of juice that is perfect I think that's perfectly cooked I'm gonna go with a little squeeze of lemon.

You know how meaty this is? Oh, that's beautiful, but we need to drink that juice too. Oh wow, that is so pure. so buttery and silky. Oh, and that scalloped soup with the I squeeze a woman in it to offset that saltiness and the seafoodiness.

Oh that's so fresh. that's so delicious and pure. Oh man, an actual scalp just melts in your mouth good. Ness I Think it's ready.

Here's a hot, fresh oyster right off the fire and make sure not to overcook it this time. Flaming hot. Oh it's so good. It's so fresh and pure and I love it when it's just half cooked like that.

Good! Ness Oh, come here with that lemon. The balance of salinity. It's perfect. And we have one more thing to try.

which is something that's very famous in Kyusho. Okay, so this is a very special thing and it's actually a sardine fish filled with something called menta and menta is something very famous in Fukuoka and all of Kyushu. It's a salted and also spicy fish row and but this one is stuffed into a mackerel so we gotta try that. You can see how oily it is both the row and the the Sardine and they're just fully loaded with the menta.

Oh wow, that's really good. Oh man, you've got the oily Smoky flavor of the Sardine and then that the menta on the inside has a little bit of spice to it. It almost has a Cheesy kind of peach to it, like a rich like the roll. The saltiness, a little bit of spice.

oh that is so much like Umami in your mouth at one time. From that preservation of the fish row and the chili and the oiliness of the fish coming together that is so tasty. It's so salty though and so rich needs to be eaten with rice. I Think we still have some of that oyster rice to chase it with.

Oh that's a perfect combination with that that row with the rice to balance it. That's so much flavor. Oh that was delicious and so simple and so plain. and it's so warm and cozy inside of the oyster.

Hut That was a fantastic experience and again a perfect place to come to sit around the fire to enjoy oysters and fresh seafood and the warmth of the fire. Uh, but we have one more place to go to and it's going to be a different location. It's going to be more across the peninsula here. I Think for our next oyster.

Hut experience to continue with this tour. Thank you Foreign! That was actually a spectacular drive. We kind of crossed over to the other side of the peninsula and on one side we passed through a city called Itoshima or an area On one side, the gorgeous Coast crashing waves and rocks. so beautiful.

On the other side is mountains and also this area is known for their vegetables. so fresh. Lush Vegetable Farms But anyway, we have arrived to our next oyster. Hut This entire town is just known for their oysters.

There's so many places to eat places. there's so many oyster. Huts There's some a little further down the coast but I chose a place that is kind of tucked within the neighborhood. a real local place.

They I mean they harvest their own oysters and this is like a family oyster. Hut Experience over the place. Nisimaru I can't read Japanese but I I Heard the name is wow. Oh look at the size of this abalone that is a monster.

Abalone We have to try it and then they also have Oysters They also have turban shells. This is going to be the highlight of the meal right here though. this monster. Abalone Oh wow.

So we're gonna get some oysters and then we're also gonna get some clams because that's something we haven't tried yet. But this is the real deal family experience. It's her husband that dives maybe free Dives for the seafood for that. Abalone 10 meters below the surface to harvest that abalone butter butter.

it's almost half a kilo of Abalone We decided to get half sashimi and half grilled. Grandma's gonna come to make the Sashimi for us. years and years of experience. Oh man, so that Abalone it feeds on seaweed so they just clean out a little bit of that sack which is actually like straight up seaweed comes out.

uh. but then you eat the whole intestines, the sack and everything. She's just washing it off real fast and gonna start slicing it up. but she knows her way about around an abalone with expertise.

By far. like I mean I Haven't even seen an abalone half that size before because this is sashimiku. Okay, okay, this is the coolest ever. Japanese Oyster Family Home Experience Even said we can come pick the oranges outside.

It's a die-dye citrus which we could pick right ourselves right directly from the backyard family tree and she said we can squeeze this onto the oysters as well. Okay and now we're ready to go sit down. Okay here we are. But the first thing, the Highlight is that massive.

It's a Goliath Abalone So huge. And they said we could just start with Abalone and when we are done with the Sashimi then you just toss it on the grill with some butter and just roast it over the charcoal. But when something is that beautiful and fresh, it has to be sashimi. Okay, so we grandma gave us some little bowls with wasabi, a little bit soy sauce, thin slices are for sashimi.

Wow. Does not get fresher or more local than that. maybe with a little bit of Wasabi in the soy sauce? Here we go: Abalone: The crunchy texture. It's almost like cartilage.

Wow, that texture is unbelievable. Oh man, that's good. It's sweet, it's insanely fresh, and that crunch is just almost unbelievable. Yeah, straight up like cartilage.

Wow. It crunches in your mouth and it's so crispy. And this is the intestines that kind of like green. It almost looks like a horn.

That green sack. Um, and they said that this is like the ultimate delicacy. So some people would eat the piece, but then others they say well dissolve it in the soy sauce as a dip. But I think we gotta taste it first.

Dip first in a little bit of soy sauce. um. melts in your mouth. It's like pudding.

It's so creamy and it kind of like liquefies. Well, you can taste it's fatty too. like really rich. Oh man.

it almost has the flavor of uni like sea urchin. sweet and liquidy. Wow. Okay, we should try mixing that into the soy sauce for the next bite.

Mix this into the soy sauce because it kind of like slimy and kind of like liquefies. so you can see that melt into the soy sauce like another piece of slice. Thin slice of that. Abalone into that sack sauce.

All of it together in one bite. That that is a true Taste Of The Sea all in one bite. The different textures, the cartilage, you taste, or texture of the Abalone and then the rich butteriness of that. the intestine sack.

Men, that is a a new Abalone experience for me. I've never never had such a giant Abalone such a fresh Abalone and Eaton Sashimi the style that's incredible. Oh yeah men again sitting here in kind of the the backyard like Warehouse or shed of the family home with the barbecue going, the hot coals in the winter the freshest possible. Seafood All family run this.

This is the ultimate oyster Hut experience in Kyushu And they're just so friendly. Oh man, and she said you could actually eat these oysters raw whereas typically they're they're grilled. but we'll try a combination of both. But let's start putting the clams on.

let's stick a couple oysters on her recipe. Also, she said just one minute and they should pop open. Oh yeah, that's a hot fire and then definitely be sure to save some of them to eat raw. in the meantime, as those are grilling, let's slice the oranges nice.

You can tell how natural that is with seeds. gotta taste it, that's sour. Wow. Oh it's so good though.

Really sharp and not sweet at all. just acidic. Okay I Think it's time to turn them over. it's been exactly a minute.

Let's go for the clams too. Flip over the clams you can. they're starting to juice. Ash is coming up.

oysters. Turn over the oysters okay, which one is leaking? Oh, it's ready. It popped. This one just popped open.

It's ready. The soup is coming out. Let's move on to our tray. Oh it's so juicy.

Oh wow Oh that's a beautiful beautiful oyster. Drop this into the soup. Okay and here we go. First oyster.

It's so juicy with all the broth in it. Oh one of the finest oysters you could possibly have. So clean and pure. So just like I mean they say that the taste of an oyster directly relates to the environment where it's from.

So you actually taste the environment where it comes. And if an oyster comes from like dirty Waters You can taste that in the Oyster But coming from the waters right here off the coast, the cleanliness and the pureness and that translates directly into the flavor of the oyster. So sweet and salty, like literally nothing is needed. It's already like a perfect harmony in your mouth.

Wow. Okay, we have to try them raw. but then it also would be good with a little bit of citrus. Which one is it? Oh, this one just just burst open with the the juices.

Oh so much heat coming off of that fire. Look at that oyster. they're so plump. I'm gonna put this into that soup.

there do a little squeeze of that Citrus this time and let's eat it. Wow! These oysters are just absolutely the freshest, The highest quality. They're unbelievable flavor with that orange that picked off the tree just seconds ago. That just kind of brightens that up and balances resolving us.

That's a unbelievable oyster. Okay, we have the clams. These are the the clams which are just burst open as well with that soup. Oh look at that broth.

that clam broth. You're going to want to blow on that a little bit. that's hyping. Hutton your mouth would be on fire.

Oh that clam broth. Oh man oh the clam is so sweet. Show fresh. Everything in here is the freshest you'll ever have.

A spectacular Wow this is shellfish Paradise in Japan and I Love how it's do it yourself too! Not only is it delicious, but it's so much fun and so friendly and so laid back. so casual. I mean we're in the backyard. Okay I think we're ready to grill the rest of the abalone.

Stick this under the grill. Yeah, they said to add butter to it. that's the recipe. Okay, so put that Abalone on.

it needs to cook for about a minute and then you add the butter. I'm gonna try the raw. grab an oyster, see if I can shook this guy. Okay, oh there we go.

Oh maybe she should come off the other side on the other the bowl side. Okay, wow, that's gorgeous. Okay, we'll give it a nice squeeze of that Citrus that local backyard citrus. Okay, here we go.

Oh wow, these oysters are so good. With that citrus. It's more like a lemon than an orange because it's just very sour and acidic. Wallet outstanding.

A little bit of the charcoal to keep boiling that Abalone but it should be on its way. The butter has melted, it's going to start sizzling and then we'll try the cooked abalone. Foreign along nicely, the sauce is forming I Think it's pretty much good. Let's try it.

That's equally as good, but in a totally different way. When you cook it, it's on a totally different texture. It's not crunchy and cartilagey, it's more soft, tender, just kind of melts in your mouth a little bit. You taste the flavor of the butter.

the smoke. I Think that's the best possible way to eat a Goliath Abalone half sashimium half Grill Maybe a dip in the Wasabi would be good in that soy sauce. A little bit that is unbelievably flavorful. the sweetness has come out.

I Mean you cannot go wrong with a fresh Abalone of that size that is superb. By far the best Abalone I've ever had. One more way we have to try it. It's almost like a like a rubbery chicken, a little bit but just way more flavor and complexity.

The premium That's like the ultimate premium Seafood possible. What a way to end Miss Oyster Hut Tour Pure joy from the sea Okay that is a such a cool place. such an amazing family. Greatest Abalone and oysters I've ever had in my life that was a lot of shellfish.

I'm feeling a little bit on a high from the oysters and the shellfish. and the Abalone even I mean those are some of the best oysters I think I've had that massive Goliath apple and he just took this place to the next level. The friendliness of Grandma and their entire family and how when you come here I mean you're just directly supporting the family. they're they fish.

It's as fresh as local as you can possibly get. So this place I cannot recommend high enough and then when you eat here it's I mean you're literally just grilling oysters in their backyard in their home. This is such a cool place. but I mean I Love all the oyster Huts of Kyushu It's such a great concept.

It's a great way to hang out with friends and family, sit around the fire and just delicious fresh seafood. and even the way the Japanese prepare things minimalistic without much seasoning. It just defines what Japan is and the freshness as well as the locality as well as the pride they take in nature and the environment and keeping things clean. And that's what immediately translates into the seafood that you eat.

So when you're in Kyushu in the winter, especially the the oyster Huts Open from around November through March each year, especially if you love Seafood this is something that you have to do and it's a huge part of the culture. Highly recommended! I'll have both of the places the locations in the description box below that you can check out and I want to say a big thank you to you for watching this video. Please remember to give it a thumbs up if you enjoyed it. Leave a comment below I'd love to hear from you and if you're not already subscribed, make sure you subscribe now for lots more food and travel videos and then finally thank you to Kyushu Tourism for organizing and for arranging uh, these places that we went on our food journey through Kyushu And also be sure to watch all of the videos we're traveling around this amazing Island Eating some of the best food and you're not going to want to miss any of the videos.

so make sure you check out this entire series. Thanks again for watching goodbye from Kyushu and the Oyster Huts and I will see you on the next video. Thank you.