Keiran (sweet rice dumpling soup)Au
Shimokita region
As autumn deepens and rice harvesting ends in November, there is a custom called 'aki-jimai' marking the close of the farm season...
AOMORI
Aomori Prefecture
The surveyed city is Aomori. Of all 394 items in the household survey, Aomori Prefecture stands out most for Scallops — 5.9× the national average (Aomori 1,779 g / national 304 g). It is Japan’s top producer of Apples, Japanese flying squid, Burdock root and more (Ministry of Agriculture data). Across the 52 surveyed cities, Aomori ranks No.1 for Scallops, Apples, Kelp and 17 more — 20 items in all.
5.9×Biggest standout
Scallops
per household / year
Scallops
per household / year
20Items ranked #1 nationally
29Regional dishes
RANK
Furthest above the national average
All figures are annual spending/quantity per household (not per person). 2023–2025 average, showing Aomori’s value as a multiple of the national average.
| Item | vs. average | Aomori | National | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scallops#1Seafood | 5.85× | 1,779g | 304g | #1 |
| Freshwater clams (shijimi)Seafood | 3.99× | 798g | 200g | #2 |
| Other shellfish#1Seafood | 3.38× | 602g | 178g | #1 |
| FlounderSeafood | 3.00× | 1,608g | 536g | #2 |
| Shellfish#1Seafood | 2.82× | 3,697g | 1,312g | #1 |
| MelonFruit | 2.60× | 3,354g | 1,290g | #2 |
| Apples#1Fruit | 2.51× | 20,290g | 8,095g | #1 |
| Kelp#1Dried Foods, Seaweed & Soy Products | 2.46× | 450g | 183g | #1 |
| Pickled seafoodSeafood | 1.95× | 5,881JPY | 3,010JPY | #2 |
| SardinesSeafood | 1.89× | 775g | 409g | #5 |
| SquidSeafood | 1.86× | 1,529g | 824g | #3 |
| Yakitori#1Prepared Foods | 1.84× | 5,063JPY | 2,755JPY | #1 |
MADE
What Aomori produces most in Japan
From Ministry of Agriculture statistics (2024): items where Aomori ranks No.1 nationally by harvest or catch. This is about what the prefecture produces; the #1 list below is about what households buy.
Also No.2–3: European pears (#2), Scallops (#2), Alaska pollock (#2), Salmon (#2), Atka mackerel (hokke) (#2), Sea cucumber (#2), Yam (#2), Kombu kelp (#3), Daikon radish (#3), Turnips (#3)
Source: MAFF Crop Statistics Survey and Marine Fishery Production Statistics (e-Stat, 2024 final figures).
#1
Where this prefecture ranks #1
Items where Aomori ranked #1 among the 52 surveyed cities.
- Kelp
- Scallops
- Yakitori
- Apples
- Cup noodles
- Coffee drinks
- Sausage
- Beer
- Other salted/dried seafood
- Other shellfish
- Other processed vegetables & seaweed, misc.
- Other processed seafood
- Other processed seafood, misc.
- Processed meat
- Salted & dried seafood
- Fruit & vegetable juice
- Carbonated drinks
- Fresh seafood
- Shellfish
- Alcohol
Q&A
Aomori food: common questions
What is Aomori famous for producing?
By Ministry of Agriculture statistics (2024), Aomori is Japan’s top producer of Apples, Japanese flying squid, Burdock root, Garlic.
What food is Aomori No.1 in Japan for?
In Japan’s household spending survey (2023–2025 average), Aomori ranked No.1 of 52 cities for Scallops, Apples, Kelp and 17 more. This ranks what households buy, not what the prefecture produces.
What to eat in Aomori?
Households here buy far more than the national average of Scallops, Freshwater clams, Flounder, Melon, Apples.
What are the local dishes of Aomori?
Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture records 29 regional dishes from Aomori, including Keiran (sweet rice dumpling soup), Kenojiru (vegetable and bean soup), Senbei-jiru (rice cracker hot pot), Kaiyaki Miso (scallop shell miso).
LINK
Where regional dishes meet the statistics
Ingredients used in regional dishes here that also show up as standout spending in the household survey — cross-referencing MAFF's regional-dish database with Japan's Statistics Bureau data.
Kenojiru (vegetable and bean soup)
Main ingredients: Daikon radish, carrot, burdock root, bracken, butterbur, fried tofu, freeze-dried tofu, soybeans, kelp, miso
→ Kelp is 1.6× the national average in Aomori (1,174 JPY, #3 nationally)
Senbei-jiru (rice cracker hot pot)
Main ingredients: Rice crackers, green onion, chicken, shirataki noodles, wheat gluten cake, burdock root, freeze-dried tofu, carrot, mushrooms
→ Burdock root is 1.3× the national average in Aomori (1,648 g, #6 nationally)
Tara no Ko-ae (cod roe salad)
Main ingredients: Cod roe, carrot, koya dofu (freeze-dried tofu), green onion, shirataki noodles, salt
→ Konjac is 1.3× the national average in Aomori (2,142 JPY, #2 nationally)
Sake no Iizushi (fermented salmon and rice)
Main ingredients: Salted salmon, bamboo shoots, glutinous rice
→ Salmon is 1.3× the national average in Aomori (6,418 JPY, #2 nationally)
DISHES
29 regional dishes from Aomori Prefecture
From Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) “Regional Dishes to Pass on to the Next Generation.” Each dish name links to the MAFF page.
Kenojiru (vegetable and bean soup)Wi
Tsugaru region
A representative dish of the Tsugaru region; its name is said to come from 'ke', a Tsugaru dialect word for rice porridge...
Senbei-jiru (rice cracker hot pot)Wi
Hachinohe City
Nambu senbei is a traditional food of the area spanning southeastern Aomori and northern Iwate, once the domain of the Nambu clan...
Kaiyaki Miso (scallop shell miso)
Shimokita and Tsugaru regions
Around Tsugaru Bay, long known as a scallop-producing area, kaiyaki miso has been made since the Edo period...
Tara no Jappa-jiru (cod offcut soup)Wi
Tsugaru region
'Jappa' is Tsugaru dialect for zappa, meaning 'things to discard'...
BekomochiSp
Shimokita region
Handed down as a festive food for the Boys' Festival, bekomochi is now also eaten as a snack...
Mame Shitogi (green soybean sweet)
Nambu region
A fresh confection of boiled, mashed green soybeans kneaded with rice flour and sugar...
Ichigoni (sea urchin and abalone soup)SuWi
Nambu region
A dish handed down along the Pacific coast around Hachinohe and Hashikami, essentially a clear soup of sea urchin and abalone...
Kinkamochi (walnut and miso rice cake)
Nambu region
In the Nambu region, long troubled by cold-weather damage to rice crops from the yamase wind, wheat, millet, and buckwheat...
Tara no Ko-ae (cod roe salad)Wi
Tsugaru region
Cod has long been essential to New Year's in Aomori; until around 1945, large cod were bought whole at year's end...
Nasu no Akashiso-maki (eggplant wrapped in red shiso)Su
Tsugaru region
A summer everyday dish of the Tsugaru region, combining eggplant and shiso leaves, both abundant in summer...
Niaekko (simmered vegetable medley)AuWi
Shimokita region
Niaekko is a dish of the Shimokita region, where cold damage from the yamase wind long made rice farming difficult...
Nerikomi (thick simmered vegetable stew)SuAuWi
Tsugaru region
Long ago, monks from Hirosaki's thirty-three Zen temples gathered vegetables through alms-collecting to make a dish called 'kuzuyose'...
Hittsumi (hand-torn wheat dumpling soup)
Nambu region
A dish handed down from southeastern Aomori to northern-central Iwate, once the domain of the Nambu clan, in this cold region...
Hoshimochi (dried rice cake)SpSu
Tsugaru region
A preserved food long made in the coldest, driest part of winter, also known as 'kori-mochi' (frozen rice cake)...
Mizu to Hoya no Mizumono (uwabamisō and sea pineapple salad)Su
Tsugaru region
A dish savoring the brief bounty of a Tsugaru summer, also called 'hoyamizu'...
Sake no Iizushi (fermented salmon and rice)Wi
Tsugaru region
The Tsugaru region, shut in by snow through winter, has long caught and preserved crops and seafood while they're in season...
Ika Menchi (minced squid patty)
Tsugaru region
A home-cooked dish of the Tsugaru region, made from the squid tentacles ('geso') left over from slicing sashimi, minced fine...
InarizushiSp
Tsugaru region
The Tsugaru plain has a relatively mild climate for a snow country and has grown rice since the late Jomon period...
Kakke (buckwheat flour dumplings)
Nambu region
In the cold Nambu region, which suffered repeated multi-year famines during the Edo period, people...
Gapparamochi (rice and flour sweet)
Tsugaru region
In the past, families used 'rice paste' brushed onto cloth to make it crisp when ironing...
Goma Gohan (black sesame rice)
Tsugaru region
In the Tsugaru region, where large-scale rice paddy development began in the early Edo period and a rich variety of rice dishes developed...
Junemochi (perilla seed rice cake)
Nambu region
In the Nambu region, long prone to cold damage and famine, a food culture built on grains other than rice developed...
Shoga Miso Oden (oden with ginger miso sauce)SuWi
Aomori City
Around Aomori City, it is standard to eat oden with a grated-ginger miso sauce...
Sushiko (fermented glutinous rice pickle)Wi
Tsugaru region
A dish eaten mainly in the northwestern, Sea of Japan side of the Tsugaru region, made with glutinous rice...
Akakabu no Senmaizuke (thin-sliced red turnip pickle)AuWi
Tsugaru region
A traditional Tsugaru pickle; red turnips harvested just before the first snowfall are pickled with kelp stock, vinegar, and coarse sugar...
Cabbage and Trout PickleAu
Tsugaru region
In the inland central-southern Tsugaru area, fresh seafood was once hard to come by, especially fish...
Same no Sukume (vinegared shark)Wi
Tsugaru region
The word 'sukume' comes from 'wrapped in vinegar'; in the Tsugaru region it's pronounced 'sugume'...
Kujira-jiru (whale soup)Wi
Shimokita Peninsula, Hachinohe City
Because Hachinohe City was once home to a whaling base, a whale food culture developed in the surrounding area...
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