Streamers depicting the rare etsu fish have been placed on a railway bridge in Fukuoka Prefecture.
The "Rising Etsu" streamers can be seen on the Chikugo River Lift Bridge, a designated important cultural property of Japan, on the former Saga Line of the Japan National Railway. The bridge spans the Chikugo River between Okawa, Fukuoka Prefecture, and Saga City.
There are three Rising Etsu streamers, each ranging from 2 to 5 meters in length.
From April to May, the Chikugo River Shokaibashi tourism foundation held a traditional koi nobori event with carp streamers to celebrate Children's Day. However, the number of visitors who came to enjoy cuisine featuring etsu fish saw a stark decrease due to the coronavirus outbreak.
This prompted restaurateurs and others in the town of Morodomi in the southern part of Saga to come up with the idea for the Etsu Silver Festival. Half of the 220,000 yen cost was provided by the Chikugo River Shokaibashi Tourism Foundation and the Okawa Tourism Association.
The ban on catching etsu fish was lifted on May 1, and the streamers will be up until the end of the fishing season on July 20. Etsu swim upstream along the Chikugo River and are known for having a light, refined flavor.
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