SEAFOOD
Whitebait (shirasu) production by prefecture
Hyogo Prefecture grows or catches the most whitebait (shirasu) in Japan: 10,787 t, 29.6% of the national total. Next come Ehime Prefecture and Aichi Prefecture. This survey covers the main producing prefectures only; prefectures not listed were not surveyed.
| Rank | Prefecture | Output (t) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Hyogo Prefecture | 10,787 | 29.6% |
| #2 | Ehime Prefecture | 3,051 | 8.4% |
| #3 | Aichi Prefecture | 2,881 | 7.9% |
| #4 | Osaka | 2,798 | 7.7% |
| #5 | Ibaraki Prefecture | 2,714 | 7.5% |
| #6 | Tokushima Prefecture | 2,360 | 6.5% |
| #7 | Shizuoka Prefecture | 2,300 | 6.3% |
| #8 | Wakayama Prefecture | 1,803 | 5.0% |
| #9 | Oita Prefecture | 1,676 | 4.6% |
| #10 | Hiroshima Prefecture | 1,186 | 3.3% |
| #11 | Kochi Prefecture | 867 | 2.4% |
| #12 | Miyazaki Prefecture | 788 | 2.2% |
| #13 | Kagawa Prefecture | 778 | 2.1% |
| #14 | Fukushima Prefecture | 631 | 1.7% |
| #15 | Kagoshima Prefecture | 448 | 1.2% |
| #16 | Okayama Prefecture | 427 | 1.2% |
| #17 | Kanagawa Prefecture | 308 | 0.8% |
| #18 | Mie Prefecture | 291 | 0.8% |
| #19 | Kumamoto Prefecture | 131 | 0.4% |
| #20 | Miyagi Prefecture | 70 | 0.2% |
| #21 | Yamaguchi Prefecture | 31 | 0.1% |
| #22 | Nagasaki Prefecture | 29 | 0.1% |
| #23 | Tottori Prefecture | 17 | 0.0% |
| #24 | Shimane Prefecture | 11 | 0.0% |
| #25 | Saga Prefecture | 6 | 0.0% |
| #26 | Ishikawa Prefecture | 1 | 0.0% |
| #27 | Toyama Prefecture | 1 | 0.0% |
| #28 | Chiba Prefecture | 1 | 0.0% |
| #29 | Kyoto | 1 | 0.0% |
| — | Japan total | 36,391 | 100% |
Source: MAFF, Crop Statistics Survey / Marine Fishery Production Statistics (e-Stat, 2024 final). Aquaculture counts harvested output.
EAT
Who eats the most?
The city that buys the most is Wakayama (Wakayama Prefecture), at 2.5× the national average per household. The prefecture that grows it most and the one that buys it most are different.
Q&A
Common questions
Which prefecture produces the most whitebait (shirasu) in Japan?
Hyogo Prefecture, with 10,787 t (29.6% of the national total) in 2024, according to Japan's Ministry of Agriculture.
Where in Japan do people buy the most whitebait (shirasu)?
Wakayama (Wakayama Prefecture) households buy 2.5× the national average (Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2023–2025 average).