{"id":3303,"date":"2026-09-02T11:47:45","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T02:47:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/?p=3303"},"modified":"2026-09-02T11:47:45","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T02:47:45","slug":"a-family-summer-barbecue-in-the-cool-forest-of-katashina-gunma-prefecture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/2026\/09\/02\/a-family-summer-barbecue-in-the-cool-forest-of-katashina-gunma-prefecture\/","title":{"rendered":"A family summer barbecue in the cool forest of Katashina, Gunma Prefecture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;imageId&quot;:&quot;6a98689a6d9b6&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6a98689a6d9b6\" class=\"wp-block-image size-large wp-lightbox-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"576\" height=\"1024\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/shirane1-576x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3304\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/shirane1-576x1024.jpg 576w, https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/shirane1-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/shirane1-768x1365.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/shirane1-864x1536.jpg 864w, https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/shirane1-1152x2048.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/shirane1-1320x2347.jpg 1320w, https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/shirane1-scaled.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><button\n\t\t\tclass=\"lightbox-trigger\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\taria-haspopup=\"dialog\"\n\t\t\taria-label=\"Enlarge\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--right=\"state.imageButtonRight\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--top=\"state.imageButtonTop\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Getting away from the city and into the cool mountains of Gunma Prefecture, once again we rented a barbecue at the trout farm in Katashina. I think this is our fourth time doing so. When you rent a BBQ there, they provide you with the coal logs and some burning coals to get you started. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;d posted earlier about how <a href=\"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/2023\/08\/21\/ulan-is-the-friend-to-all-dragonflies\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/2023\/08\/21\/ulan-is-the-friend-to-all-dragonflies\/\">Ulan is a master at catching dragonflies<\/a>. So as always, she caught more.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;imageId&quot;:&quot;6a98689a6e290&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6a98689a6e290\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-lightbox-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"854\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/shirane2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3305\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/shirane2.jpg 480w, https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/shirane2-169x300.jpg 169w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><button\n\t\t\tclass=\"lightbox-trigger\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\taria-haspopup=\"dialog\"\n\t\t\taria-label=\"Enlarge\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--right=\"state.imageButtonRight\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--top=\"state.imageButtonTop\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The best time to visit the trout farm is in summertime, when it&#8217;s pleasantly a couple of degrees cooler.  This time, it was raining in the morning but when we arrived there after noon, the skies were clear and the air felt cool. But even if it rains, the picnic tables and barbecues are under tents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As always, we brought a lot of food with us and slowly barbecued it over the span of a few hours. Chicken, pork ribs, lamb chops, steak, shiitake and king oyster mushrooms, red\/yellow\/green peppers, zucchini, corn, eggplant and more. We slowly cooked the eggplant over a long time to make it soft and juicy. We had to wrap it up before 4pm though, as that is when the trout farm starts to close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you catch trout at the trout farm, they&#8217;ll clean the fish for you and you could have them roast the fish for you right there if you&#8217;d like. A couple of years ago, they used to have a playground but this area is what they transformed into the rental barbecue area. Since we live in an apartment, we can&#8217;t just barbecue food on our balcony lest we get in trouble. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We brought home plenty of cooked food and slowly ate it over the next several days. It was a beautiful day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getting away from the city and into the cool mountains of Gunma Prefecture, once again we rented a barbecue at the trout farm in Katashina. I think this is our fourth time doing so. When you rent a BBQ there, they provide you with the coal logs and some burning coals to get you started. &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/2026\/09\/02\/a-family-summer-barbecue-in-the-cool-forest-of-katashina-gunma-prefecture\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;A family summer barbecue in the cool forest of Katashina, Gunma Prefecture&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[395,394],"class_list":["post-3303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life","tag-barbecue","tag-trout-farm"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3303"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3309,"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3303\/revisions\/3309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}