Yamagata Food Guide: Imoni, Dashi & Cherries

Yamagata is a treasure house of food where the bounty of all four seasons ripens richly, from imoni and dashi to cherries. The fertile land brought by the Mogami River, together with the wide temperature range of the inland basins, grows sweet rice, fruit and vegetables. With produce from both the mountains and the sea, from home cooking to the specialities of celebrated restaurants, it is a land full of culinary pleasure where every visit brings a new flavour to discover.

Imoni, the Taste of Autumn

Imoni is the local dish that symbolises autumn in Yamagata. It is a hotpot of taro, beef, konnyaku and leek simmered in a soy-sauce-based broth, and when autumn comes, "imonikai" gatherings are held all over the prefecture, with people assembling on riverbanks around enormous pots. On the riverbed of the Mamigasaki River in Yamagata City (near Sogetsu Bridge), the "Japan's Number One Imonikai Festival" is held every year on the Sunday that falls the day before Respect for the Aged Day, where imoni cooked in a giant pot is served to the crowd. The seasoning differs by region — soy sauce and beef in the inland areas, miso and pork in the Shonai area — so comparing the two is part of the fun.

Dashi, the Cool Local Dish of Summer

Dashi is indispensable on the Yamagata summer table. Summer vegetables such as cucumber, eggplant, myoga ginger and shiso leaf are finely chopped and seasoned with soy sauce and other flavourings, then spooned over rice or tofu. Its sticky texture and refreshing flavour are perfect for summer, when the heat saps the appetite. As a healthy dish that lets you eat plenty of vegetables, it has now become known throughout Japan. Part of its appeal is that every household has its own choice of ingredients and seasoning.

Japan's Finest Cherries and Fruit

Yamagata is also called the "kingdom of fruit trees," and cherries in particular make it Japan's leading producer: according to Yamagata Prefecture it accounts for about three quarters of national output. Starting with Sato Nishiki, which ripens in early summer, a range of fruits come into season one after another — peaches, grapes and the La France European pear. Fruit picking at tourist orchards is popular too, letting you taste the sweetness of freshly picked fruit. Sweets and juices made with the fruit are also plentiful, so you can enjoy the blessings of Yamagata's rich soil to the full.

Tama Konnyaku, the Soul Food of Yamagata

Tama konnyaku, affectionately known as "tamakon," is the soul food of Yamagata: spheres of konnyaku about 3 cm across, simmered until they absorb a broth of soy sauce and dried squid. Sheet konnyaku and shredded konnyaku are common across Japan, but tama konnyaku is a food culture unique to Yamagata Prefecture. At sightseeing spots and event grounds it is sold on skewers and eaten on the go like fast food. The place with the deepest connection to konnyaku is Hojusan Risshakuji Temple in Yamagata City, popularly known as "Yamadera." Founded in the Heian period, the temple is where its founder Jikaku Daishi (the priest Ennin) began using konnyaku he had brought back from China in the temple's vegetarian cuisine; it is said this spread to the residents nearby and eventually throughout the prefecture. It is still sold at restaurants and stalls around Yamadera, and because reaching the main hall requires climbing 1,015 steps, it is popular with visitors as "chikara konnyaku" (strength konnyaku) eaten before the ascent. When you slide a piping-hot piece off the skewer and bite into it, wrapped in the aroma of soy sauce, its distinctive springiness pushes back against your teeth. It is eaten year-round, but a hot skewer in the cold season is something special.

Dongara-jiru, the Signature Dish of Winter in Shonai

Dongara-jiru, also known as kandara-jiru, is the winter flavour of the Shonai region facing the Sea of Japan. Just as the Japanese character for cod (tara) is written with the "fish" radical beside "snow," Pacific cod comes into season when the snow falls. In the Shonai region the cod caught during the "kan" season of the traditional calendar (from around early January to early February) is called kandara (cold cod), and this is when the kandara fishery, catching the cod that gather to spawn with bottom trawl nets, becomes busiest. "Dongara" is a word for the fish trimmings; the name comes from the fact that this is an ara-jiru soup that uses every part of the cold cod from head to tail without waste. It is said to have originally been a fisherman's dish eaten on the beach, and from mid-January through February it is made at home as well as served as a winter speciality at inns and restaurants. Every January the "Kandara Matsuri" is held, centred on Sakata City and Tsuruoka City, where dongara-jiru is served. The creamy shirako (milt) with its rich texture is another pleasure unique to the season.

Natto-jiru, the Wisdom of Surviving Winter

In deep-snow Yamagata it was not unusual for households to make their own natto as a preserved food to get through the winter, when ingredients ran short. Boiled soybeans were packed into tubes made of rice straw and left somewhere warm, such as beside the kotatsu, for one or two nights to ferment into natto. Natto-jiru is a winter home dish in which that natto is ground in a mortar until the beans can no longer be seen, giving the soup body and letting it blend in. Imogara — the dried stems of the karatori taro — is an essential ingredient, and the soup is also packed with tofu, deep-fried tofu, mountain vegetables and mushrooms; in the past it was a valuable source of protein. The thickness from the natto keeps it from cooling quickly, and it has been handed down in every household as a soup that warms the body in the cold of winter. Because the seven spring herbs cannot be gathered in deep-snow areas in early spring, in the Murayama region there is a custom of eating natto-jiru at the time of the seven-herb festival to pray for a year of good health; in the Mogami region it is eaten on New Year's Day or on January 3, and in the Shonai region it is sometimes eaten on December 9, the night of "Daikoku-sama no Otoshiya."

Yonezawa Beef

One of Japan's three great wagyu brands. The rich fat and fine grain of Yonezawa Beef make it extraordinary as steak or shabu-shabu.

Hiyashi Ramen

Cold ramen — a Yamagata City invention for beating the summer heat. The cooled broth with toppings is a refreshing local favourite.

Best Season and Access

Imoni is for autumn and dashi for summer, while cherries reach their shipping peak in mid-to-late June for the main open-field crop; including heated greenhouse cultivation they can be enjoyed from May to around mid-July. For access, the JR Yamagata Shinkansen "Tsubasa" takes roughly 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours from Tokyo to Yamagata Station, and local lines or a car take you on to the celebrated restaurants in each area. Yamagata Airport is also available. Diners serving local dishes and tourist orchards where you can pick fruit are found all over the prefecture, so it is best to time your visit to the season. Enjoy the flavours of Yamagata, nurtured by mountain and countryside, along with the turning of the seasons.

Practical Information

• Cherries: According to Yamagata Prefecture, the prefecture accounts for about three quarters of national production, making it Japan's leading producer. Shipments from heated greenhouse cultivation begin around May, while the main open-field crop peaks in mid-to-late June. Within the prefecture cherries can be enjoyed from May to around mid-July
• Varieties: Along with Sato Nishiki, varieties such as Benikirari and the new Yamagata Beniou are also grown
• Imoni: Autumn is the main season. The seasoning differs by region — beef with soy sauce inland, pork with miso in Shonai
• Japan's Number One Imonikai Festival: Held on the riverbed of the Mamigasaki River in Yamagata City (near Sogetsu Bridge) every year on the Sunday that falls the day before Respect for the Aged Day. The distribution of numbered tickets and the time serving begins change from year to year, so check the official information from Yamagata City and the organising committee
• Dashi: In season in summer. It is made by finely chopping summer vegetables such as cucumber, eggplant, myoga ginger and shiso leaf
• Access: The JR Yamagata Shinkansen "Tsubasa" takes roughly 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours from Tokyo to Yamagata Station. Yamagata Airport is also available
• Note: At tourist orchards, opening dates, hours and prices for fruit picking change with the weather and the state of the crop. Check each orchard's official information before visiting

Opening hours and prices at individual shops vary from establishment to establishment.

📚 Sources

• Yamagata Prefecture official website, "Sakuranbo no Hanashi no Tane" (Cherry Talking Points)
• Yamagata City official website, "Japan's Number One Imonikai Festival"