7 Fall Foods Japan Can’t Wait to Eat Every Year

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Japan in the fall is a feast for the senses. The air turns crisp, the maple leaves start to glow, and suddenly the entire country seems to change its appetite. Summer’s cold noodles and shaved ice give way to smoky street food, hearty soups, and sweet, comforting flavors that appear for only a short time each year.

Ask almost anyone in Japan, and they’ll tell you that autumn is the best time to eat. It is when ingredients reach their shun (旬), their moment of perfect ripeness. Whether you’re walking through a Tokyo market, a Kyoto alley, or a small coastal town, you can smell fall before you see it.

Here are seven foods that define the taste of autumn in Japan. Some are humble, others luxurious, but all are unforgettable.

1. Sanma - The Scent of Autumn Nights

Nothing says autumn like the sizzle of grilled Pacific saury, or sanma, over charcoal. Its rich, oily aroma drifts through the air at night markets and neighborhood festivals. Served simply with grated daikon and a splash of soy sauce, sanma captures the spirit of the season: uncomplicated, earthy, and fleeting. The freshest catches come from Hokkaido and the Tohoku coast, but you’ll find it everywhere from seaside stalls to Tokyo izakaya.

Pacific Saury fish on grill in Japan
At home, we always grill "Sanma" with the head on, but if that bothers you, some restaurants serve it without the head.

2. Matsutake - Autumn's Crown Jewel

The most prized flavor of fall is the matsutake mushroom, known for its deep, woodsy fragrance and rarity. It is often steamed in a small teapot (dobin-mushi) or served over rice so the aroma can rise with the steam. True food lovers make pilgrimages to Kyoto or Nagano, where these mushrooms grow in pine forests and appear on menus only for a few short weeks. One bite is enough to understand why they call this mushroom the taste of luxury.

Matsutake mushroom on rice
The frangrance in the kitchen when my wife cooks these "matsutake" mushrooms with rice is wonderful.

3. Kuri - Chestnuts That Taste Like Comfort

As the nights grow cooler, chestnuts begin to show up everywhere, from traditional sweets (kuri kinton) to rice dishes (kuri gohan). There is something nostalgic about their gentle sweetness, as if they belong to an older Japan. Visit mountain towns in Nagano or Gifu, and you’ll find chestnut wagashi that pair perfectly with a cup of green tea.

Rice cooked with chestnuts "kuri gohan" is also one of our fall favorites.

4. Kabocha - The Heart of Japanese Home Cooking

Japan’s kabocha, or Japanese pumpkin, is small, dark green, and full of sweet, golden flesh. It appears in tempura, miso soup, and simmered dishes that taste like comfort on a chilly evening. Hokkaido produces some of the best, but every region has its own twist. If you’re dining in Kyoto, look for kabocha cooked simply in soy and sugar. It’s the taste of home, even if you’ve never lived there.

Japanese pumpkin sliced on tray
Japanese pumpkins "kabocha" are green on the outside and smaller than American pumpkins. Definitely not a good choice for making a jack-o-lantern.
cooked Japanese pumpkin
We usually eat it boiled, but it's also great as tempura.

5. Satsumaimo - The Nostalgic Sweet Potato

Few autumn smells are as comforting as roasted sweet potatoes, or yaki-imo, sold from trucks that roll slowly through neighborhoods, their speakers calling out to passersby. The potatoes are roasted until the skin turns crisp and the inside caramelizes into a golden sweetness. The best ones come from Kagoshima and Miyazaki in southern Kyushu, but you’ll find yaki-imo vendors across Japan, often surrounded by people warming their hands around paper-wrapped potatoes.

Japanese roasted sweet potato
I remember the first time I ran after a truck that was moving slowly down the street selling these sweet potatoes. The smell of the smoke from the little chimney in the back of his truck as he roasted the potatoes and the feeling I had holding the hot potato in my hands was unforgettable.

6. Kaki - The Fruit That Paints the Countryside

As the leaves turn red, the persimmon trees turn orange. You’ll see their fruit hanging like ornaments on bare branches or drying on strings outside rural homes, a classic image of Japanese autumn. Sweet or astringent, fresh or dried (hoshigaki), persimmons are the fruit of memory. If you’re traveling through Nara or Wakayama, try a local variety, as they’re some of Japan’s best.

Japanese persimmons
These Fuyu persimmons "fuyugaki" are sweeter and delicious eaten like an apple. Be careful if you find the Hachiya variety "shibugaki" because although they are good as dried fruit or in cakes, the stringent taste is unbearable in your mouth before they reach their "squishy" ripeness.

7. Mikan - The Bright Taste of Change

Finally, autumn ends with the cheerful arrival of mikan, Japan’s mandarin oranges. In Wakayama, the harvest begins in late October, and by November, families all over Japan are piling mikan into baskets and convenience stores. They’re easy to peel, perfectly balanced between sweet and tart, and somehow manage to taste like sunshine on a cool day. Mikan mark the shift from fall to winter and show that every ending brings a new beginning, at least in flavor.

Mandarin orange orchard in Wakayama Japan
The small town of Arida in Wakayama is known for its mandarin oranges throughout Japan.
Mandarin oranges peeled on plate
So easy to peel with your hands! Because we lived in Wakayama, friends and relatives often shared more oranges with us than we could eat. We even had orange-colored fingers at times.

Whether you’re wandering through a local market in Japan this season or exploring Japanese flavors from home, autumn is the perfect time to taste what the country does best: celebrating each ingredient at its peak.

Because in Japan, food isn’t just eaten. It’s experienced, one season at a time.

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