Japanese Fall Vegetables!!

Fall has finally arrived in Japan!!  Summers are very long in Japan with hot and humid weather almost every day!!  When fall arrives in Japan, a wide variety of vegetables and produce begin to enter the Japanese market.  

When you ask people living in Japan, what is your favorite autumn food?  Typical answers vary from matsutake gohan, roasted ginan nuts, pumpkin, chestnuts, sanma (Japanese saury: a silver oily fish), and more recently figs.  

The following pictures were taken at a department store food department in Yokkaichi, Mie, Japan.  Many department stores have a food floor that is usually located in their basement.  However, the Kintetsu department store in Yokkachi has their food floor located on the first and second floors.  Here are some interesting food items that I found on the food floor.

Pumpkins and squashs are very popular in autumnal Japanese diet.  Usually, you will find Japanese kabocha.  Recently, you can find butternut and spaghetti squashes which is great to see.

They have big Halloween pumpkins for only 298 yen which is very cheap in Japan.  Typically, you will find these for about 1000 yen or more.


 I love the fall season because you will find a huge variety of mushrooms.  Mushrooms will bring an unami flavor to any dish.  Also, you can make mushrooms in a variety of ways.

Japanese people love chestnuts in the fall and winter seasons.  You will chestnuts in deserts to rice with chestnuts.

Matsutake mushrooms are ultimate Japanese mushrooms.  While France and Italy have truffles, Japan has matsutake mushrooms.  Prices can reach astromonical heights.  One package of the mushrooms in the picture above are selling for 35,000 yen (about 400 dollars).

Ginan nuts are beginning appear more and more in Japanese markets.  Ginan nuts are great roasted in a frying pan with a little salt.  They go great with beer or shochu as a snack or an appetizer.  You can usually order ginan nuts in izakayas during the autumn and winter seasons.

Green peppers are also appearing more and more in local markets.  They are little spicy but they are great in stir-fries or even grilled.

I found a new interesting liqueur at the department store.  I found black sesame liqueur.  I did not buy unforunately because I had a busy day.  However the next time I will visit the department store, I will definately pick up this product.  I just have to think of some interesting drinks to mix with it.