The winter season is almost here, and to keep up with the celebratory winter posts, we've come up with one about one of the most popular topics, food! Japan has some customs and old beliefs regarding food including eating certain things at certain times for luck, prosperity, and for traditions sake. There are also many delciious foods that are more widely available during the winter, making it a "winter food." Here is a list of some of the most popular winter foods!

Generally hotpots, nabe, tend to be a popular staple during the winter months because it is both filling and warm. There are many that are simple and easy to put together, and can be made in large quanities enough for many people to enjoy. Starting off our winter foods list are a few hotpot dishes.

1.) Shabu-shabu

Shabu-shabu has been mentioned in some of our food blogs before, but remains a popular dish among locals and travelers, and is sure to keep you warm during the winter. Vegetables are cooked in boiling water, and slices of meat are dipped into the water and cooked by the dipping motion. The vegetables and meat are then dipped into a sauce, usually ponzu or sesame, and enjoyed with grated daikon.

2.) Chanko Nabe

Chanko nabe is a popular hotpot dish that is famously known as a sumo wrestler dish because sumo wrestlers eat it as a part of a weight-gaining plan. The hotpot contains a chicken broth with sake or mirin added to it, and loads of vegetables, meats, and seafoods are added into the pot. Other protein rich bits like tofu and fish cake balls are also added into hotpot making it extremely hearty, but also relatively healthy. Hotpots are nice and hot, keeping you satisfied on a cold winter's night.

3.) Mizutaki
Mizutaki is a Japanese nabe dish. It has its origins in Kansai and Nagasaki, each with a different history and cooking methods. It is characterized by chicken (especially chopped from the bone) in water or hot water that has not been seasoned in any particular way.

4.) Sukiyaki
Sukiyaki is a uniquely Japanese meat dish that combines meat with the sweet and spicy flavors of sugar and soy sauce in a well-balanced dish. Generally, ingredients such as green onions, tofu, and shirataki are used, and the meat is dipped in beaten egg. The cooking method differs slightly between the Kansai and Kanto regions. Along with sushi and tempura, it is known throughout the world as a representative Japanese dish.

5.) Motsu Nabe
The roots of motsu nabe date back to after World War II, when Korean people working as coal miners cooked hormone and chives in aluminum pots and ate them with soy sauce flavor.

Later, as time went by, the ingredients and seasoning changed little by little. With economic growth, in the 1960s, the dish was made sukiyaki style with sesame oil, red pepper paste, green onions, and other ingredients.

The rest of this list are foods other than hotpots that are filling, warm, or delicious.

6.) Stew

Stew is another dish that is usually enjoyed, especially during the winter, in a Japanese household. Although not necessarily labeled as a winter dish, if you really think about it, stew is warm, hearty, and delcious and actually makes a perfect winter dish! Japanese stew involves western ingredients, but there is also something uniquely Japanese about it. Delicious and homey, it is a perfect meal to enjoy indoors by a fireplace, cozy and all.

7.) Snow crab

Japan has many places where you can enjoy delicious seafood, but crab is a seafood dish that is very popular and highly regarded, especially because it is relatively seasonal. Winter is thought of as the best time for crabs because the taste is much sweeter and juicier, but also because of the famous Japanese snow crabs! The snow crabs live very deep underwater and in very cold waters, and the males are only allowed to be fished from November to March. Up until then, there is a fishing ban placed upon them, so the snow crab ends up seeming even more like a winter food. Enjoy the crabs in hotpots,  over rice, or plainly steamed/boiled. Japanese people really enjoy their crab in the winter, and for good reason-it's delicious!

8.) Fugu

Another winter seafood item is fugu, or puffer/blowfish. Fugu tends to be enjoyed in the winter months, and is thought of as a winter dish. One of the most delicious seafood dishes, it is also potentially one of the most deadly. Because of powerful toxins in the fish, ingesting it can have dire consequences, and so chefs require a special license to even serve the fish. Chefs undergo special training that takes time and dedication, and must pass a test before receiving their license. As such, the price of enjoying fugu can be a bit high, but is worth trying as a tasty and slightly thrilling dish.

9.) Oden

Oden has also been covered as a fall dish due to the fact that it starts being more widely available during the fall. However, it definitely cannot be discounted as a winter food too because that is when it is most enjoyed by people in Japan. Filling, hearty, and warm, it has all the makings of what a good winter dish should be. Oden is comprised of various vegetables and fish cakes that have been cooked in a salty and delectable broth, the flavor is unique and delicious.

10.) Holiday Cake

In Japan, Christmas is a popularily celebrated holiday in December, and as such, Japanese people enjoy the festivities that go with it. One thing that is common to enjoy is a holiday cake. Also perhaps, not necessarily "wintery", cakes are very much enjoyed during the holiday season in winter. 

11.) Zenzai

Zenzai is a traditional Japanese mochi dessert that is made up of red bean soup with warm mochi balls mixed in. Sweet and filling, it is enjoyed in the winter due to its warmth and comfort value. 

Moving along with the holiday foods, Japanese people also enjoy certain New Year's food as well. Because they are specifically enjoyed during the winter months, albeit it be a specific day in winter, these dishes can also be classified as quintessentially winter.

12.) Toshikoshi Soba

Toshikoshi soba is a buckwheat noodle dish that is traditionally eaten on New Year's Eve as a symbolic dish. The noodles are long to represent having a long life, and are usually eaten on the eve before the start of a New Year as a nod to the start of another year in your life. The noodles are served with fishcakes and garnished with green onions, and are warm and filling as well.