Kisarazu, Wangan, Big Lunch Box Store Blues

Wandering Shakebai

Shibetsu Town, Hokkaido, Japan, is a place where the wind blows with a steady breeze. Every autumn, during the salmon fishing season, a group of young people gather from nowhere. They have dreadlocks and large earrings. They are known as “Shakebai,” an unusual-looking group. They work part-time at a salmon processing plant in response to a call from the fishery cooperative, which is short on staff. Backpackers travel the world with the money they earn as “shakelabai,” and seasonal workers travel all over Japan, from Okinawa to Hokkaido. What is their new way of life as they wander and work?