Shimotsukare (simmered salmon head, beans, and root vegetables)
Western region
Shimotsukare is made from leftover New Year's salmon head, leftover beans from the Setsubun bean-scattering ceremony, and root vegetables...
IBARAKI
Ibaraki Prefecture
The surveyed city is Mito. Of all 394 items in the household survey, Ibaraki Prefecture stands out most for Melon — 4.1× the national average (Mito 3,823 JPY / national 927 JPY).
4.1×Biggest standout
Melon
per household / year
Melon
per household / year
3Items ranked #1 nationally
30Regional dishes
RANK
Furthest above the national average
All figures are annual spending/quantity per household (not per person). 2023–2025 average, showing Mito’s value as a multiple of the national average.
| Item | vs. average | Mito | National | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melon#1Fruit | 4.12× | 3,823JPY | 927JPY | #1 |
| Freshwater clams (shijimi)Seafood | 3.61× | 722g | 200g | #3 |
| BonitoSeafood | 1.80× | 3,023JPY | 1,682JPY | #2 |
| Sweet bean jelly (yokan)Confectionery | 1.58× | 1,176JPY | 745JPY | #4 |
| Pacific saurySeafood | 1.56× | 665g | 425g | #3 |
| Baby formulaDairy & Eggs | 1.56× | 1,463JPY | 938JPY | #7 |
| Dried baby sardinesSeafood | 1.51× | 567g | 376g | #7 |
| Meal-kit ingredientsPrepared Foods | 1.50× | 5,778JPY | 3,859JPY | #8 |
| StrawberriesFruit | 1.49× | 2,978g | 1,994g | #2 |
| Dried horse mackerelSeafood | 1.44× | 533g | 370g | #9 |
| Salted salmonSeafood | 1.43× | 1,740g | 1,213g | #9 |
| Western food (dining out)Dining Out | 1.43× | 19,167JPY | 13,378JPY | #6 |
#1
Where this prefecture ranks #1
Items where Mito ranked #1 among the 52 surveyed cities.
- Rice crackers
- Melon
- Yogurt
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.
Soboro natto (natto with dried daikon)
Main ingredients: Natto, sliced dried daikon, soy sauce, mirin, sake
→ Natto is 1.4× the national average in Mito (6,797 JPY, #4 nationally)
Tagane mochi (mixed rice mochi)
Main ingredients: Glutinous rice, non-glutinous rice
→ Rice cakes (mochi) is 1.3× the national average in Mito (2,706 g, #4 nationally)
Shimotsukare (simmered salmon head, beans, and root vegetables)
Main ingredients: Salmon, soybeans, daikon radish, fried tofu, carrots, sake lees
→ Salmon is 1.1× the national average in Mito (2,285 g, #9 nationally)
Garigari namasu (crunchy vinegared radish and fish)
Main ingredients: Daikon radish, vinegar-pickled fish
→ Daikon radish is 1.1× the national average in Mito (11,146 g, #15 nationally)
DISHES
30 regional dishes from Ibaraki 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.
Pickled smelt and lotus rootSuAuWi
Throughout Ibaraki Prefecture
Pickled smelt and lotus root is a specialty of Lake Kasumigaura, Japan's second-largest lake by surface area...
Garigari namasu (crunchy vinegared radish and fish)Wi
Throughout Ibaraki Prefecture
Ibaraki Prefecture has practiced agriculture since ancient times, drawing on its mild year-round climate and abundant water quality...
Tsuke-kenchin (kenchin dipping soba)AuWi
Throughout Ibaraki Prefecture
Ibaraki Prefecture has large temperature swings between morning and night and many well-drained slopes, and since the Edo period...
Niai (vinegared vegetable medley)Wi
Central Ibaraki region
Ibaraki Prefecture has some of the largest farmland acreage in Japan, growing lotus root, burdock, green onions, and other vegetables year-round...
Shikinbai (purple pickled plum flakes)Au
Mito City
Kairakuen in Mito, one of Japan's three great gardens, is planted with about 3,000 plum trees of roughly 100 varieties...
Tagane mochi (mixed rice mochi)Wi
Southern region, Rokko region
Ibaraki Prefecture, still known for its rural landscapes, is one of Japan's leading rice-producing regions...
Hoshi-imo (dried sweet potato)Wi
Throughout Ibaraki Prefecture
Hoshi-imo, a processed sweet potato product loved by people of all ages, is produced in Ibaraki Prefecture, a leading producer nationwide...
Sudare-fu with sesame vinegar dressingSu
Yuki City
Sudare-fu with sesame vinegar dressing is a local dish made in Yuki City, Ibaraki Prefecture...
Komo-dofu (straw-wrapped tofu)
Throughout Ibaraki Prefecture
Ibaraki Prefecture has practiced agriculture since ancient times, drawing on its mild year-round climate and abundant water quality...
Gomoku inari sushi
Throughout Ibaraki Prefecture
In Ibaraki Prefecture, agriculture has been practiced since ancient times, drawing on its mild year-round climate and abundant water quality...
Ogura renkon (lotus root with sweet red beans)Wi
Throughout Ibaraki, Lake Kasumigaura area
Ibaraki Prefecture ranks first nationwide in both lotus root shipment volume and cultivated area, accounting for over 50% of...
Kabocha itokoni (simmered pumpkin and red beans)SuAuWi
Throughout Ibaraki Prefecture
Ibaraki Prefecture is known for highly regarded pumpkin varieties, starting with Edosaki kabocha, along with Naka kabocha and...
Hamaguri gohan (clam rice)SpWi
Throughout Ibaraki Prefecture
The Kashima Sea, stretching from Cape Oarai in Ibaraki to Cape Inubo in Chiba, is where the cold Oyashio and warm Kuroshio currents meet...
Sardines pickled with okara
Northern region
Ibaraki Prefecture is renowned as one of Japan's leading agricultural prefectures, but it also has a side as a fishing prefecture...
Unagi no hobiki-ni (simmered eel)
Tone River, Lake Kasumigaura area
Lake Kasumigaura, Japan's second-largest lake, connects with the sea and is rich in plankton...
Gosai-zuke (pickled saury and daikon)Wi
Rokko region, Kashima and Hokota
The Kashima Sea, stretching from Cape Oarai in Ibaraki to Cape Inubo in Chiba, is a prime fishing ground where the cold Oyashio and warm Kuroshio currents meet...
Deep-fried carp
Southern region, Lake Kasumigaura, Namegata City, Tsuchiura City
In Lake Kasumigaura, Japan's second-largest lake by surface area, carp farming began mainly in Lake Kitaura around 1965...
Kaiso-yose (seaweed jelly)Wi
Kashima City, Namegata City
Kaiso-yose is a local dish eaten along the Kashima coast, from Kashima in Ibaraki to Choshi in Chiba...
Aka-mochi (red sorghum mochi)Au
Kanasago district and elsewhere
Aka-mochi is a red-colored mochi made from red sorghum flour. Around the Kamakura period...
Mitsume no botamochi (third-day rice cake)
Throughout Ibaraki Prefecture
Mitsume no botamochi is a large botamochi rice cake eaten three days after a first child is born...
Soboro natto (natto with dried daikon)
Central Ibaraki region
In Mito City during the Edo period, this dish was devised as a tasty way to eat early-harvest small soybeans picked before typhoon season...
Yuzu daikon (yuzu-pickled radish)Wi
Northern region
Ibaraki Prefecture, one of Japan's leading agricultural areas, ranks first nationwide in the harvest of many crops including green peppers, lotus root, and burdock...
Peanut miso
Throughout Ibaraki Prefecture
Peanuts, also known as "nankin mame," are said to have been introduced to Japan around the Edo period...
Imogara gomoku-ni (simmered taro stem medley)Wi
Throughout Ibaraki Prefecture
Imogara is the dried stem of taro leaves. Its name varies by prefecture...
Renkon kinpira (stir-fried lotus root)
Throughout Ibaraki Prefecture
Lotus root cultivation thrives around the shores of Lake Kasumigaura, Japan's second-largest lake, accounting for a large share of domestic production...
Handmade sashimi konnyakuAuWi
Northern region
The Okukuji region of Ibaraki Prefecture has long cultivated konnyaku and is said to be its birthplace...
Shimi-konnyaku (freeze-dried konnyaku)Wi
Northern region
The Okukuji area in northern Ibaraki Prefecture has long cultivated konnyaku, and since the Edo period...
Anko no tomozu (monkfish with liver vinegar-miso)Wi
Northern region
A local dish of boiled monkfish dipped in vinegar-miso mixed with its liver. Monkfish is a local...
Paita-yaki (grilled minced fish patties)
Hitachinaka City
A fisherman's dish of minced saury or sardine mixed with miso and green onion, then grilled. "Paita" means...
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