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10 Best Fall Foods In Japan

These 10 versatile ingredients will effortlessly bring the feel of Japan’s hearty autumn to your table.

By Elizabeth Sok Oct 4, 2024 6 min read

As the sweltering days begin to ebb and the evenings offer the respite of a cool breeze, are you hankering for a hot pot, or hoping for a hot roasted kuri (chestnut) already? I know I am.

In Japanese, fall is often known as the best season to whet your appetite or shokuyoku no aki. And, when you take a look at the bounty of seasonal foods around this time of year, it is no wonder that autumn has become especially known for its culinary pleasures.

Maybe you’re already familiar with Japanese sweet potatoes and the impressive variety of mushrooms available year-round, but particularly come fall and winter. However, there are still other flavors of the land to explore as the leaves turn and the days grow chillier. Read on for 10 of the best fall foods in Japan and ways to sample them.

1. Kabocha (Pumpkins)

Introduced to Japan via Portuguese sailors in the mid-16th century, kabocha are also known as Japanese pumpkins or kabocha squash in English. These relatively small, dark green vegetables have a thick edible rind and meaty yellowy-orange inside. In addition to their sweet taste, kabocha also packs plenty of vitamins, proteins and antioxidants. Hokkaido produces about half of the country’s Japanese pumpkins, which are enjoyed as tempura, in soups and in sweets such as cakes and puddings.

2. Satsuma Imo (Sweet Potato)

Roasted beni haruka’s Japanese sweet potatoes.

Native to South America, satsuma imo (sweet potato) was introduced to Kagoshima by the Ryukyu Kingdom (present day Okinawa) in the 1700s. Today, southern Kyushu, especially Kagoshima and Miyazaki are the main producers of Japan’s sweet potatoes. There are more than 100 varieties of this superfood with varying appearances and sugar content. With a distinctive purple flesh, beni imo is quite sweet and often used in desserts from ice cream to tarts. Beni azuma is Japan’s most common sweet potato. Its reddish-purple exterior conceals its firm and flakey yellow insides. While there are many ways to enjoy sweet potatoes, the simplest may be the best: roasted.

3. Kuri (Chestnut)

Kuri have grown in Japan since prehistoric times and were cultivated even before rice. The importance of chestnuts in the Japanese diet have turned them into an autumn staple that are beloved for their nutritious nature and nutty flavors. Chestnuts have twice the amount of starch as potatoes while being high in fiber, vitamin C, and low in fat. Naturally sweet and flaky, kuri features prominently in traditional Japanese sweets like kuri kinton, manju and yokan, as well as in savory dishes like kuri gohan (chestnut rice). They can also be simply enjoyed as yaki guri (roasted chestnuts) and are often available at street vendors during the fall season.

4. Budou (Grapes)

There are several types of grapes or budou produced in Japan, with most cultivars originating from European or American varieties, but some highly prized breeds have been developed in the country as well. Yamanashi Prefecture is the leading producer of both grapes and wine in Japan, such as the popular Pione, Delaware, Campbell Early, Kyoho and Shine Muscat. Shine Muscat is one of the newest breeds in Japan, first registered in 2006; these large light green grapes have a sweet and refreshing taste and are always seedless. Kyoho, is a deep blackish-purple color, and a very sweet taste reminiscent of the Concord grape from which they descended. The skins and seeds of this grape are meant to be removed before eating.

5. Kaki (Permissimons)

The perfect season to get your persimmon fix.

Persimmons (kaki) fall into two categories: astringent and non-astringent. While the astringent kind made their way to Japan via China more than 1,400 years ago, non-astringent varieties seem to be native to Japan and date to the Kamakura period (1185-1333). With more than 1,000 types, kaki are round orange fruits that are rich in vitamins A and C as well as folic acid which promote healthy cell growth. Wakayama Prefecture produces nearly a quarter of all Japanese permissions. The town of Kudoyama even has an annual persimmon harvest festival held on the second weekend in November.

6. Nashi (Pears)

Nashi refers to round Japanese (sometimes known in English as Asian) pears that look like bronzed apples. The skin is thicker and grittier than a typical apple and the fruit itself is very juicy, crunchy and sweet. These fall treasures were first cultivated in China about 3,300 years ago and have been eaten in Japan since at least the Yayoi period (300 BC to 300 AD). With a low calorie count and many nutrients, such as calcium, Chiba Prefecture, home of the bizarre talking pear Funassyi, produces nearly 13% of Japanese pears, followed by Ibaraki Prefecture. They are primarily harvested from August to October so grab them while they are the freshest!

7. Kinoko (Mushrooms)

Kinoko (mushrooms) are a signature fall food in Japan. Out of the 4,000-5,000 species of mushrooms in Japan, only a few hundred are edible. Long a staple of the Japanese diet, mushrooms are thought to have been eaten on the archipelago for over 4,000 years. Nowadays, Nagano Prefecture and Niigata Prefecture are the top domestic mushroom producers, except for shiitake which mostly hail from Oita and Tokushima Prefectures.

Foraging for mushrooms remains a pastime for many. If you’re not adventurous enough to go pick your own mushrooms, your supermarket is bound to have a section dedicated to mushroom varieties like eringi, nameko, hiratake, shiitake, maitake, and matsutake, to name just a few.

8. Sanma (Pacific Saury)

If there’s one advantage to living on an island, it’s no doubt the abundance of fresh fish and seafood. And when it comes to fall fish, sanma (pacific saury) is king. Long considered representative of autumn in Japan, sanma are prized for their high unsaturated fat content and DHA. While often grilled with salt, known as sanma no shioyaki, or served as sashimi, this fish goes wonderfully with rice. While many eat the whole sanma, some prefer to remove the bones or the bitter innards prior to consumption. The Meguro Sanma Festival held every September, celebrates saury by serving 7,000 grilled fish for free.

9. Aki Saba (Mackarel)

Have it with rice and miso soup for a balanced, healthy meal.

Aki saba, known as fall mackerel in English, is also a special seasonal treat. During their autumn spawning season, the fish swim from Tohoku down to Kanto. They are especially fatty in this period and their flesh is firm and muscular from the long journey. This combination is said to make fall mackerel have exceptional flavor. Aki saba is also delicious steamed or topped with grated daikon. With high levels of EPA and DHA, this fish makes for both a healthy and satisfying meal.

10. Akebi (Chocolate vine)

There is one last thing to add to this list of fall foods in Japan: the mysterious purple fruit called akebi (also known as chocolate vine in English). While not exactly well-known among the foreign population in Japan, you probably saw this fruit at some point at the grocery store and thought, “What is that?” This unique autumn-only fruit is, in fact, native to northern Japan. At present, Yamagata Prefecture accounts for 85% of the domestic production.

Picking akebi is a tricky business since the outside bursts open when the inside fruit is perfectly ripened. Choose a brightly colored one and wait until the interior color has changed to translucent to best enjoy. While Yamagata residents often cook up the skins, you can also eat the sweet jelly-like part that encases the seeds.

What’s your favorite fall foods in Japan? Give us your recommendations in the comments below!

This post was originally written by Teni Wada and updated by Elizabeth Sok.

Topics: Autumn / Food and Drink / How to Japan

Elizabeth Sok

Canadian writer and translator with a doctorate in history. She’s either running after her little ones or in her Kyushu garden with a cup of yame-cha and a book.