In Japanese, "hobo" means almost and "kani" means crab. So actually one
should say either "almost crab", or "hobo kani". Probably calling it
"hobo crab" is not fair--but more entertaining!

Apparently the Japanese have configured mild white fish, predominantly
pollock I'm told, into something that is difficult to distinguish from
real crab; "texture, the uneven flakes, the softness and taste of
course". We just bought two pounds of king crab, and had a total of six
meals out of it, steamed, with farfalle in a cream sauce, and finally a
crab roll. All three were flat-out phenomenal.

So I'm really eager to get some bona fide Kanetetsu hobo kani and see
how well it compares, if I can find some.

I'm told (below) that France they eat an annual 6.5 pounds per capita
of this stuff, which I assume refers to all surimi in general. Surimi
is ground fish configured into numerous shapes, densities, flavors and
colors. These are the curious fish cakes you see adorning soups, in
bento lunches and such.

I would imagine that the French have something equivalent to "bolinhos
de bacalhao", or balls of cod, which they deep fry. They aren't really
ground, per se, but I have a hard time coming up with a way the average
person in France could eat over half a pound a month, all of it solely
"imitation crab".

Here's a more entertaining version of the story, with videos and such
from my favorite kimono website (go figure...):

http://kyouki.hatenablog.com/entry/2015/05/18/003147