​Mentai Park is a theme park specializing in mentaiko (seasoned cod roe) operated by Kanefuku, a long-established mentaiko producer. There are five Mentai Parks in Japan, and the one in Tokai area is located in Tokoname City on the Chita Peninsula in Aichi Prefecture. It is the only park in the Chubu region.

It is a spot where both adults and children can play and learn, such as a mentaiko factory that can be visited for free, a direct sales store of freshly made mentaiko, a food court, and a mentaiko museum!

Kanefuku's mascot character "Tarapiyo" is a landmark! Tokoname ware, a specialty of Tokoname, is used for the outer walls.

Cheese! with the mascot characters Tarapiyo (left) and Dr. Taracon (right)!

The location is about 2 minutes by car from the Chita Odan Expressway Centrair Line "Rinku IC". By trai, about 10 minutes on foot from Tokoname Station on the Meitetsu Tokoname Line. There are 200 free parking lots, and it is a great point that it is open all year round!

A museum where you can play and learn about mentaiko
"Mentai Museum"

First, let's go to the "Mentaiko Museum" where you can play and learn about mentaiko! (On this day, it was open for free)

In the 60-meter-long museum, visitors can learn about the northern sea where pollock, the raw material for mentaiko, is harvested, the ecology of pollock, and how mentaiko is made and its history.

Dr. Taracon is here too! Recommended as a photo spot.

The first corner introduces the northern sea where pollack, the raw material for mentaiko, is harvested.

There is also a kids corner where small children can play

Here you can learn about the ecology of pollack.

Only the roe from Alaska pollack is used for mentaiko. The parent of salmon roe is easily recognizable as salmon, but when asked, "What is the parent of cod roe? it is surprisingly hard to think of one. Pollack live in schools in deep, cold waters 200 to 300 meters deep.

There is even a corner where you can hear the menacing voice of Alaska pollock. Please listen to what kind of voice it is at the museum!

A corner where trivia about mentaiko is introduced.

How much do you think mentaiko is consumed in Japan? The correct answer is about 30,000 tons! Equivalent to 124 bowls of 25m elementary school swimming pool. We are surprised that so many mentaiko are eaten.

There are also touch games for children to enjoy. There are several types of games, including puzzles and mistake-finding games, and this is "Mentai Memory Game". When you turn over the cards, you will see pictures of Kanefuku's mentaiko products. While playing the game, you can't help but think, "Oh, this one looks delicious, too! !"

The last is a theater room with the image of a ship. A video (about 10 minutes) that you can learn about Alaska Pollock is shown. It was fun to see Dr. Taracon's expression change according to the story.

Alaska pollock eggs caught in the northern seas are removed onboard, flash-frozen to maintain freshness, and delivered to the factory. Alaska pollack eggs before being processed into mentaiko are called genran. In this corner, you can see how salted cod roe is made by pickling thawed eggs in salt water.