squid fishing in chiba port

Did you know that Chiba Port is one of Japan's busiest ports?

And did you know that you can catch squid there?

Because I was definitely not aware of the last fact, until I went fishing with my ultimate frisbee teammates and caught three of them myself!

Chiba Port is actually only about a ten-minute walk from my work, though I can't actually see it from my office (though if you go up to the top of city hall, you can) so I tend to forget about the ocean (I know I say this literally every time I talk about the ocean near Chiba City, but it's true), and the whole time we were fishing I kept thinking how weird it was to be so close to work but doing something so different from normal.

Anyway, we met up in the evening and set up camp in some random parking lot-esque area behind some company (a few of us kept wondering if it was really okay and a few of us were totally unconcerned), with a table and chairs and fishing poles. It turns out that for squid fishing, you can just use a normal fishing rod with a lure, in this case shaped like shrimp!

I didn't expect to actually catch anything, but in fact I caught my first squid while I was still being taught what to do (to my and everybody else's surprise). And then I caught another, and another! Altogether, the nine of us caught 19 little squid, which I think was a pretty good haul.

We also cooked and ate some right there, and though I was a little apprehensive about eating the entire squid whole, it was actually very tasty! I also ate mini-ramen out of a mug and it kind of felt like camping. :)

Anyway, it turns out that fishing for squid in Chiba Port is totally possible and that I am in fact capable of catching squid! Good times. :D