魬 · ハマチ · hamachi

Hamachi

Hamachi is young, usually farmed Japanese amberjack — the soft, buttery, mild 'yellowtail' you meet most often at the sushi bar.

Also known as

yellowtail, buri, inada, wakashi, warasa

Species

Seriola quinqueradiata (Japanese amberjack)

Category

White-flesh fish (shiromi)

Texture

soft, supple — buttery, mild, clean citrus finish

Peak season

Dec, Jan, Feb (farmed year-round)

Sustainability

yellow — Most hamachi is farmed; ratings vary by operation, with closed-system farms scoring better.

Mercury

Not in the FDA consumer table

Pregnancy

Eat in moderation

Often swapped with

kanpachi, hiramasa

Price tier

$$

What hamachi actually is

Hamachi is the young — and today usually farmed — Japanese amberjack (Seriola quinqueradiata), the fish that shows up on English menus as “yellowtail.” It’s soft, buttery and mild with a clean, almost citrusy finish, which is exactly why it’s one of the great gateway fish for sushi beginners.

The yellowtail naming puzzle

Japanese amberjack is a shusse-uo — a “promotion fish” whose name changes as it grows. In the Kanto region the chain runs wakashi → inada → warasa → buri; in Kansai it’s tsubasu → hamachi → mejiro → buri. In modern usage the split is less about size than origin: hamachi usually means farmed, buri means large, wild, cold-season fish. “Yellowtail” is just the English umbrella over all of it — and kanpachi and hiramasa are different amberjack species again. We untangle all of them in the comparison.

Season, and how to eat it

Farmed hamachi is available year-round; wild yellowtail peaks in winter as fatty kanburi. Eat it as nigiri with the barest touch of soy — many counters finish it with a little yuzu, ponzu, or grated ginger and scallion to cut the fat. Lightly seared (aburi) hamachi belly is a modern favorite.

Mercury, sourcing and honesty

Most hamachi is farmed, so Seafood Watch ratings depend on the operation. Yellowtail isn’t listed in the FDA’s consumer mercury table, but as a mid-trophic fish it runs low-to-moderate. Because “yellowtail” is an umbrella label, the nerd move is simple: ask the chef whether you’re getting hamachi, buri, kanpachi or hiramasa.

Related neta

See how Hamachi compares to similar neta →