Japanese Regional Food & Sweets Guide

Babahera is a light pink-and-yellow, sherbet-like frozen sweet that roadside vendors scoop and shape with a metal spatula, often forming a rose in a...

Damako mochi pounds freshly cooked rice only until sticky, rolls it into bite-sized balls and usually simmers them in a chicken, mushroom and...

Hatahata-zushi layers salted sandfish with cooked rice, rice koji and vegetables such as turnip, carrot and seaweed, then ferments them into a gently...

Akita imonoko-jiru simmers creamy taro with chicken, mushrooms, konnyaku and vegetables in a warming soy-seasoned broth.

Kinman is a bite-size round cake with a soft castella-like shell and smooth white-bean filling, stamped and baked to an even golden color.

Kujira kayaki, also called kujira-jiru, simmers slices of whale meat with summer eggplant and sometimes mountain vegetables in a miso broth, often...

Natto-jiru dissolves finely ground natto into miso soup with tofu, wild vegetables, mushrooms and other preserved winter ingredients, creating a...

Sanazura concentrates the dark color, aroma and tartness of wild grapes into thin, softly set jelly sheets, often wrapped between leaves or films.

Shottsuru nabe seasons hatahata sandfish, tofu and vegetables with Akita's fermented fish sauce.

Tofu castella drains and mashes tofu, sweetens it with sugar, combines it with egg and bakes it into a firm yellow slab resembling castella in...

Iburigakko is an Akita pickle made by smoking daikon over wood, then fermenting it in a rice-bran bed with salt and seasonings. The slices combine a...

Inaniwa udon is a fine, flat dried noodle from southern Akita, made through repeated kneading, twisting, stretching, and drying. It is smooth and...