What do Japanese people typically eat in Winter??

During the freezing cold winter in Japan, many Japanese people enjoy eating Oden.

Oden is a one-pot dish. Generally, it consists of daikon, boiled eggs, konyaku, chikuwa and so on, all simmered in dashi (shaved dried bonito and kombu seaweed base). Oden’s ingredients and dashi differ depending on the area.
For example, in Shizuoka prefecture, they use dark soy sauce and the dashi is based on pork tripe and beef sinew. It can be a bit salty, but it has a very smooth taste. Furthermore, all ingredients are skewered, and you may dip them into miso, aonori powder, or shaved dried bonito before you eat them.

In Ishikawa prefecture, facing the Sea of Japan, they include seafood, such as snow crab and Babylonia japonica. The dashi is based on seafood, too. Some oden restaurant in Ishikawa serve Japanese rolled omelet as the ingredients. That’s very unique.

Oden can be eaten anywhere from convenience store to izakayas to specialty shop to Japanese restaurants. In addition, you can also get canned oden in vending machines.
Oden is not only delicious but also very healthy. Ingredients such as boiled eggs are rich in protein, and daikon and konjac are rich in dietary fiber.

When you visit Japan in the autumn or winter, eat oden to warm up!