Squid Dishes in Japan

The Japanese name for squid is ika; cuttlefish, regarded as being in the same category, are koika.

The most lavish way of eating ika is probably ika-somen, said to have been started by ika fishermen and now popular in Hokkaido, the northernmost of the main islands of Japan, where large quantities of squid are caught. For ika-somen the flesh of squid is cut into long thin strips resembling somen (thin vermicelli-like noodles eaten cold in summer), to be served raw in a deep bowl, and eaten with grated ginger and soy sauce, as if they were noodles.