Crab Season in Kanazawa: Kano-gani and Kobako-gani, Explained

If you are in Kanazawa between November and March, you will see crab everywhere. In shop windows at Omicho Market, on handwritten signs outside izakaya, on the menu boards of oden restaurants. Locals talk about it the way people elsewhere talk about the first snow.

The crab in question is snow crab, zuwaigani, caught in the Sea of Japan off Ishikawa Prefecture. Here in Ishikawa it goes by two different names, depending on whether it is male or female, and they are really two different experiences. This guide explains both, so a Japanese menu makes a bit more sense.

The season opens on November 6

Crab fishing in Ishikawa opens on November 6 every year. That date is a small event in itself here. The first auctions are reported on local news, and restaurants put up signs announcing that crab has arrived.

The date can move with the weather. In 2023, for example, rough seas pushed the first auction back three days, to November 9. But in a normal year, November 6 is the start.

Kano-gani: the big one

Kano-gani (加能ガニ, kah-no gah-nee) is the name for male snow crab landed in Ishikawa. To get the name, the shell has to be at least 9 centimeters across.

This is the crab most people picture: long legs, a lot of sweet white meat, and a price to match. It is served boiled, grilled, raw as sashimi, or in a hot pot.

The easiest way to recognize it is the blue tag attached to one of the legs. That tag is the mark of the brand, and it also shows the name of the port where the crab was landed. If you see crab at a market with a blue tag, it is Kano-gani.

Kano-gani season runs from early November until around late March, so you can find it for most of the winter.

Kobako-gani: the small one locals love

Kobako-gani (香箱ガニ, koh-bah-koh gah-nee) is the female snow crab. It is much smaller than the male, and many visitors walk right past it. That would be a mistake, because a lot of locals prefer it.

What makes it special is the roe. There are two kinds:

• Uchiko (inner roe): orange, inside the shell, rich and dense.
• Sotoko (outer roe): the small eggs held on the underside, with a pleasant, slightly crunchy texture.

Together with the meat, they make a small crab with a lot of flavor packed into it. It is also far cheaper than Kano-gani, which makes it a good way to try Ishikawa crab without spending a lot.

The catch is the season. Kobako-gani can only be caught for about two months, from early November to around the end of December. If you are visiting in January or later, it is gone until next year.

Kani-men: crab in your oden

Kanazawa is known for its oden, a light, simmered dish of things like daikon, fish cakes and eggs in a dashi broth. Oden here is eaten all year, but in crab season there is one item worth knowing by name.

Kani-men (かに面, kah-nee men) is a Kobako-gani shell packed with the meat and roe of the crab, then simmered in the oden broth. It is a Kanazawa specialty, and because it uses Kobako-gani, it is only around from the season opening on November 6 until about the end of December.

A few things to know about kani-men:

• It takes a lot of work to prepare, so oden restaurants usually make a limited number each day.
• On days when the sea is rough and boats can’t go out, there may be none at all.
• Many places do not take reservations for it. It is first come, first served.

If you see かに面 on an oden menu, order it while you can.

Where you will see crab

You don’t have to look hard in season.

• Omicho Market, Kanazawa’s main fresh market, is where you will see the most crab in one place, both whole crabs for sale and stalls serving it.
• Izakaya and seafood restaurants across the city put crab dishes on their seasonal menus, often on a separate handwritten board.
• Oden restaurants are where you will find kani-men.

Prices change with the size, the day’s catch and the place, so I won’t quote numbers here. As a rough rule, Kobako-gani is the budget-friendly choice and a large, tagged Kano-gani is a special-occasion meal.

Words to look for on a menu

Japanese	Reading	Meaning
加能ガニ	kano-gani	Male snow crab from Ishikawa
香箱ガニ	kobako-gani	Female snow crab, with roe
かに面	kani-men	Kobako-gani shell packed with crab, in oden
内子	uchiko	Inner roe
外子	sotoko	Outer roe
時価	jika	“Market price”, asked at the time

That last one is worth knowing. If a crab dish says 時価 instead of a number, the price depends on that day’s market. It is completely normal to ask before you order:

Ikura desu ka? (ee-koo-rah dess kah) — “How much is it?”

Nobody will think it’s rude. Locals ask too.

A few practical tips

• Come early in the season for Kobako-gani. November and December only.
• Rough weather means less crab. If the sea has been stormy for a few days, menus get shorter.
• Ask what’s good today. Osusume wa nan desu ka? (“What do you recommend?”) works especially well in crab season. You’ll find more phrases like this in my izakaya ordering guide.

For places I have actually been to, with English notes and prices, see the Kanazawa Nightlife Guide.