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Drink · Japan
Nihonshu
Japanese sake, a fermented beverage made from rice, koji and water. It is an official geographical indication of Japan and is served chilled, at room temperature, or warm, in small cups.
Flavors · Nagano
Oyaki
Dumpling made from wheat flour, sometimes mixed with buckwheat, filled with vegetables seasoned with miso or soy sauce, or with sweet bean paste; baked, steamed, or both. A dish from Nagano, from mountain villages.
Traditional dish from Nagano
Also known as: おやき, Shinshu oyaki, Yakimochi
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Oyaki — Nagano, Japan
Oyaki is a round dumpling made from wheat flour, sometimes blended with buckwheat flour, filled and cooked. The most common fillings are vegetables seasoned with miso or soy sauce—such as eggplant, nozawana (pickled turnip leaf), kabocha (pumpkin), dried daikon, and mushrooms; there are also sweet versions with azuki bean paste. When baked the dough becomes crisp; when steamed it stays soft and elastic.
According to the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Oyaki represents Shinshu, the old name for Nagano. Its origin is attributed to the mountainous Nishiyama area in the north of the prefecture, where steep terrain and cold made rice difficult to grow and wheat and buckwheat were cultivated instead. In old houses, oyaki were toasted in an iron pan and finished cooking in the ashes of the kama hearth.
From the mountains oyaki spread to towns, and many cooking methods emerged: baking, steaming, baking then steaming, or the reverse. Once a food of northern Nagano, it spread throughout the prefecture with tourism.
Oyaki is eaten daily as a snack or light meal, and also on special occasions. In northern Nagano it is part of Obon in August, when it is offered to ancestors. It is sold in specialty shops, highway service areas, souvenir stores and convenience stores across the prefecture.
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Where it comes from
Nagano
A dish that represents Shinshu, now of the whole prefecture.
Ingredients
Dough of wheat flour, sometimes with buckwheat; fillings such as eggplant, nozawana, kabocha, dried daikon, mushrooms, seasoned with miso or soy sauce; or sweet azuki bean paste.
How it is eaten
By hand, hot or at room temperature, as a snack or light meal.
When it is eaten
All year, with seasonal fillings; during Obon in August in northern Nagano.
Your questions
Questions about Oyaki
What are the most common oyaki fillings?
Vegetables seasoned with miso or soy sauce, such as eggplant, kabocha, pickled turnip leaf (nozawana) and mushrooms, and sweet azuki bean paste. Fillings change with the seasons.
Is oyaki baked or steamed?
It can be either, or both in sequence. Baked, the dough becomes crisp; steamed, it is soft and elastic.
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Dish · Japan
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Dish · Akita
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Sweet · Dazaifu
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Dish · Ehime
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Dish · Fukui
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Dish · Fukuoka
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Dish · Hiroshima
Okonomiyaki
Layered pancake cooked on the griddle: thin wheat batter, lots of cabbage, slices of pork, fried noodles and egg, with a thick sweet sauce. In Hiroshima, it’s everyday food, served in specialized restaurants and eaten with a spatula.
Dish · Hokkaido
Jingisukan
Grilled mutton or lamb on a rounded iron griddle, with vegetables that cook in the juices that run off. It’s Hokkaido’s best-known dish, eaten at home, in restaurants and on picnics.
Dish · Ise
Ise udon
Very thick, soft udon served with almost no broth, topped with a dark, thick tamari–dashi sauce and scallions. A dish from the city of Ise, served for centuries to shrine pilgrims.
Dish · Iwate
Wanko soba
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Dish · Kagawa
Sanuki udon
Kagawa udon: firm and elastic, with a smooth surface, served hot or cold, in iriko broth or simply with soy sauce. Kagawa is called the udon kingdom, with udon shops throughout the prefecture.
Drink · Kagoshima
Satsuma shochu
Sweet-potato shochu from Kagoshima, distilled using rice koji or sweet-potato koji. Satsuma is Japan’s official geographical indication for the shochu of the prefecture, which is enjoyed with hot water, on the rocks, or with cold water.
Sweet · Kagoshima
Shirokuma
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Dish · Kanagawa
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Dish · Kanazawa
Jibuni
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Dish · Kochi
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Dish · Koya
Goma-dofu
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Dish · Kumamoto
Karashi renkon
Lotus root with the holes filled with miso and Japanese mustard, breaded in a yellow batter and fried, served in slices. A dish from Kumamoto, traditionally linked to the Hosokawa lords.
Dish · Miyajima
Anago-meshi
Grilled conger (anago) with shoyu sauce, sliced and arranged over rice cooked in broth. A Miyajima specialty, sold since 1901 as a train-station snack at the boarding point for the island.
Dish · Miyazaki
Chikin nanban
Breaded and fried chicken, dipped in a sweet-and-sour vinegar sauce and topped with tartar sauce. A Miyazaki dish, originating in Nobeoka in the 1950s and 1960s.
Dish · Miyoshi
Iya soba
Thick, short soba made only from buckwheat from the Iya Valley, without binding wheat flour, served in hot broth with fried tofu, kamaboko, scallions and mountain greens. A dish from the Iya Valley, in Miyoshi.
Dish · Nagasaki
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Sweet · Nagasaki
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Dish · Nagoya
Miso-nikomi udon
Firm udon, made without salt, cooked in an earthenware pot in a dark soy miso (haccho miso) broth, with chicken, fried tofu, scallion and egg. A dish from Nagoya and Aichi.
Dish · Nara
Kakinoha-zushi
Small pressed sushis of salted mackerel on seasoned rice, each wrapped in a persimmon leaf. A dish from Nara, served at the summer festivals of Gojō and Yoshino.
Drink · Okinawa
Awamori
Rice spirit from Okinawa, made with black koji and sometimes aged for years (kusu). Ryukyu is Japan’s official geographical indication for awamori from the prefecture.
Dish · Okinawa
Goya champuru
Stir-fry of goya, the bitter melão-de-são-caetano, with firm Okinawan tofu, egg and pork. It’s the best-known champuru from Okinawa, made at home and served in restaurants across the prefecture.
Dish · Okinawa
Okinawa soba
Thick wheat noodles, not buckwheat, in a pork-and-dried-bonito broth, topped with simmered pork belly, kamaboko, scallions and pickled red ginger. It’s an everyday dish in Okinawa.
Dish · Osaka
Takoyaki
Dough balls made from flour, egg and dashi with pieces of octopus, cooked on a griddle with round hollows and topped with sauce, mayonnaise, seaweed and dried bonito flakes. It’s Osaka’s best-known flavor.
Dish · Kyoto
Saba-zushi
Salted and vinegar-marinated mackerel sushi on a rice log, wrapped in bamboo sheath. A celebratory dish of Kyoto, tied to the Saba Kaido, the route that brought mackerel from the Wakasa Sea.
Dish · Sendai
Gyutan
Sliced beef tongue, seasoned and grilled, served with barley rice, pickles and oxtail soup. It’s Sendai’s signature dish, created after World War II.
Dish · Shiga
Funazushi
Nigorobuna carp from Lake Biwa, salted and fermented for months with rice: an ancient form of sushi with a strong taste and aroma. A dish from Shiga, deeply rooted in the prefecture’s culture.
Dish · Shimane
Izumo soba
Dark, aromatic soba made from whole-ground buckwheat with the husk, served cold in stacks of round bowls (warigo) or hot, straight from the pot (kamaage). A dish from the Izumo region in Shimane.
Dish · Takayama
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Dish · Toyama
Masuzushi
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Dish · Tokyo
Edomae-zushi
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Dish · Tokyo
Monjayaki
A very thin batter of wheat flour and broth, with cabbage and other ingredients, cooked on a griddle at the table and eaten bit by bit with small spatulas. A Tokyo dish associated with the Tsukishima neighborhood.
Dish · Yamagata
Imoni
Taro stew with meat, konnyaku and scallion, cooked in large pots on riverbanks in autumn at Yamagata’s imonikai. Inland it includes beef and shoyu; on the Shonai coast it uses pork and miso.
Dish · Yamanashi
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Beyond the guide
