Beyond the Blue Line

This year, my wife and I traveled to Japan to visit her family for New Years. We visit Japan about every other year with the exception of the last few years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I first visited Japan in 2012 when I studied abroad in Tokyo, followed by a year living in Kanazawa where I taught English conversation. My earlier experiences in Japan revolved around many of the major urban centers, such as Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. More recently, trips to Japan have been spent with my in-laws where we have taken short trips to various 温泉 onsen (hot spring) resorts in several rural/mountainous regions with beautiful clean and clear mountain streams.

Once such place was the Aga River in Aizu, Fukushima, where we visited a few years a go. I was struck by the beauty of the river, which flowed just outside the onsen that we were staying at. This river just had a certain allure to it. Since getting back into fly fishing I have not had the opportunity to fish in Japan, so I wanted to to do some research this time while there, so that I may make a plan for the next time we visit. This trip was quite successful, I learned a lot, met some cool people, and know where I will be fishing the next time we go back to Japan.

Fly Fisher Magazine Japan

While in Tokyo, my wife wanted visit a bookstore just across the street from Tokyo Station called Maruzen. I went along thinking I would just wander the store since my Japanese reading level is quite limited. However, since this was in Tokyo, the store had a significant English and international section. I figured I would try to find the outdoor section (in Japanese), and after a little bit of walking around I came across the periodicals for camping, fishing, bushcraft, etc. As if it was meant to be, my eyes quickly caught sight of the bold text on Fly Fisher Magazine. As I opened it up I was pleasantly surprised to find an article highlighting The Founding Flies by Mike Valla. There on the bottom of page 65, were photos of Wilmington’s very own Fran Betters and his Haystack pattern. The subsequent pages discussed more in depth Walt and Winnie Dette and Harry and Elsie Darbee. I had to purchase it. It seemed too perfect that it just so happened to feature some New York fly tyers and a New York author. I grabbed another magazine called Fly Magazine and headed to check out. When I met back up with my wife, I showed her my haul, and she gave me a look like “you and I both know you can’t read that” and then said, “I hope you know I will not be translating that for you. 日本語頑張って(Good luck)!” Who knew that fly fishing would reignite my desire to study Japanese.

Nikkō, Japan

Before our trip this year, I spent a little time researching fly fishing in Japan. I came across a fly shop called Surface Outfitters, in Nikkō, which was one of the few tackle shops that I found that were fully dedicated to fly fishing. Nikkō is well known for its National Park, UNESCO World Heritage Sites. When we were planning a trip to an onsen with my wife’s family, I eagerly lobbied for Nikkō, because I had never been and wanted to see the famous Toshogu Shrine where the unifier of Japan Tokagawa Ieyasu is buried and enshrined. It wasn’t until later when they saw Surface Outfitters on the list of places to visit that everyone learned my ulterior motive for suggesting Nikkō.

I visited Surface Outfitters in the afternoon, and was greeted by the shop owners and brothers Shiro and Goro Umemura. I told them that I often fly fish in New York, and would like to fly fish in Japan but lacked knowledge about regulations. They eagerly set about collecting various hand drawn maps of the area (written in Japanese) and described the fishing opportunities in and around Nikko. Based on their information there is plenty of opportunities to fish for the native ヤマメYamame (Masu trout) and イワナ Iwana (a species of char). Rainbow trout are stocked in the Daya River and offer the only fishing opportunity out of season in a small section of the river. They also mentioned that the Nikkō area has the only places in Japan where lake trout and brook trout have been stocked.

The fishing season in Nikkō is generally May through September, depending on the weather conditions. They mentioned that the previous winter was particularly cold and snowy so the start of the season was a bit delayed due to high water and colder temperatures lasting longer into the month of May. When I asked them about what flies they like to use around the area, they said that fishing cicadas are quite good during summer. So I purchased a couple that they had in an olive and orange color.

Shiro and Goro were very helpful and I would recommend visiting their shop in Nikkō if you are ever in the area. They do know some English and as I said were super friendly and willing to answer the many questions I had. For instance when I asked them if they had a Japanese Tamo (the small traditional Japanese landing nets that some tenkara anglers use), they said they didn’t have any and they only do western style fly fishing. When I followed up by asking why, they referred to themselves as 「西洋かぶれ」seiyou kabure (ultra westernized persons; western affections; wannabe westerner). I asked them if they had ever been to the United States to fish. They have not, but Shiro has been to New Zealand. We also talked a bit about the Adirondacks, and western New York steelhead.

If you ever visit Japan, I recommend visiting Nikkō. The UNESCO World Heritage Sites are impressive and, and the expansive National Park hosts plenty of opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts. But be sure to take the short drive into the main center of town away from the tourist areas, to visit Surface Outfitters. In my opinion, this is a gem of a fly shop. Shiro and Goro carry a wide variety a products and brands. They also have an impressive array of vintage rod and reels, rod building and fly tying materials, and flies. I am looking forward to going back with my gear in June 2025 to visit Surface Outfitters again and spend some time fully exploring the fly fishing opportunities around Nikkō.

よい釣りを！yo i tsuri o! (Tight Lines!)