During this time of the year octopus is readily available. It is sold in so many preparations using boiling and pickling as the two most common but dried is also very popular. It is more often than not imported from other countries given the costs of hand fishing in Japan.

Japanese octopus imports have increased significantly these past years with worldwide imports breaking the 60 000 ton mark. I guess with over 25 million octopus are consumed annually in Japan, it is easy to understand that with steady demand, some countries are dependent on fish exports to Japan.