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The Asahi Shimbun    27/02/2005 14:10:24

Oyster lovers in Tokyo are quickly acquiring a taste for Kakiemon, a newfangled take on Hokkaido oysters.

Cultured in the cool climes of Akkeshi, in eastern Hokkaido, using a technique developed in Australia, Kakiemon have a rounder shell that allows for thicker, juicier flesh.

Despite their high prices, they are in high demand.

For the past two months, Kakiemon have topped the best seller list at the Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant-a branch of the popular restaurant of the same name in New York's Grand Central Station- in the JR Shinagawa Station building in Tokyo.

The succulent mollusks joined the restaurant's oyster lineup in November and quickly became a favorite among diners. In December, the restaurant sold 3,770 Kakiemon, and 2,424 in January.

While oysters are not new for Akkeshi, which is well-known for its oyster farms, the culture method is.

Oyster spat are usually cultured by transplanting them onto scallop shells, which are then tied to a rope by the dozens and submerged.

In 1999, Akkeshi oyster farmers began experimenting with a ``single seed'' method, in which an oyster spat that grows naturally in Lake Akkeshiko is attached to a piece of crushed oyster shell and cultured in net baskets. As the oysters roll around in the nets, their shells become cupped and the flesh has more space to grow.

The oysters were first shipped to dinner tables in October 2003, but took the Kakiemon name only last winter.