HANGING OUT: A worker checks the condition of salted salmon in Murakami, Japan. The busiest season has begun for the production of traditional salted salmon, said to have been produced in Murakami since the Edo period (1603-1867). It is now a popular dish throughout Japan that’s served over the New Year holiday period. At Sennenzake Kikkawa, a salmon processing and sales company, the fish is rubbed with salt, left for four to five days in a tub and washed in water. Then the salmon is hung from the ceiling and exposed to a cold wind for three to four weeks to ferment, which creates a unique aroma and flavor.