3 of my favorite autumnal foods in Japan

Something I’ve really grown to appreciate whilst living in Japan is seasonal eating. There are delicious things to enjoy year-round, but my favorite time for seasonal eats is probably autumn. There are a bounty of things to enjoy as the temperatures cool off, and here are three of my most-loved. 

Sweet potato

I still remember the first time I heard a yakiimo truck. Where I’m from, a van driving around selling something is usually an ice cream truck, so you can imagine my confusion. That confusion quickly turned to delight, though - baked sweet potatoes have become one of my favorite autumn snacks. We do have a yakiimo van that occasionally drives around our neighborhood, but usually we pick them up these days at the supermarket or farmer’s market and prepare them ourselves - it’s a little cheaper.

Better than ice cream - the humble yakiimo truck. Pic Credit: Bitmask / CC By SA 2.0

How we use them

Substituting them for regular potatoes in Japanese curry

Japanese curry is a favorite in our household - quick, easy, and ultra-warming as the temperatures in Niigata begin their chilly descent. When sweet potatoes are prolific at our local farmer’s market, we often substitute them in curry instead of regular potatoes. It ups the flavor, and since sweet potatoes are often touted as a superfood we figure that there’s an added health benefit, too.

On their own

Sweet potatoes are also such a great snack. Our local supermarket and farmers market often sell them pre-cooked, but it’s easy enough for us to do that at home. We don’t have an oven, so we simply just wrap the sweet potatoes in aluminum foil and cook them until they’re soft in our fish grill. They turn out deliciously soft every time!

Chestnuts

The first time I ever tried anything chestnut based in Japan was when I took part in a cooking class during my time living in Tokyo. It was actually around the new year, and one of the things we made was kuri kinton, a popular dish made of mashed sweet potato and chestnuts - if you haven’t tried it, I recommend it - it’s quite easy to make!

During autumn though, there are a myriad of chestnut flavored goodies on shelves, from the iconic Mont Blanc cakes through to Starbucks drinks and plenty more. To me, as soon as I see chestnut items rolling onto the shelves, I know that the heat of summer will soon be behind us.

This year's Starbucks Japan autumn offering - the Chocolate Marron (Chestnut) Frappuccino! Credit: Starbucks Japan Facebook

Persimmons

I’d actually never tried persimmons until I lived in Japan. I also waited a long 4 years until we moved from Tokyo to Niigata to finally give them a go. I don’t know why I held off for so long, because they’ve become one of my favorite seasonal fruits. One of the reasons I gave them a try initially was because they were so cheap out here - I’m talking like 30 yen or 40 yen each. I just eat them on their own like I would with an apple or pear, but if I had an oven I think it would be fun trying them out in a pie or tart.

What are your favorite autumnal eats?