Imo namasu (vinegared potato salad)
Hokushin region (Iiyama City)
Imo namasu is a regional dish using potatoes, passed down around Iiyama City. "Namasu"...
NAGANO
Nagano Prefecture
The surveyed city is Nagano. Of all 394 items in the household survey, Nagano Prefecture stands out most for Peaches — 2.8× the national average (Nagano 3,094 JPY / national 1,103 JPY). It is Japan’s top producer of Lettuce, Celery (Ministry of Agriculture data). Across the 52 surveyed cities, Nagano ranks No.1 for Enoki mushrooms, Wheat flour, Miso and 9 more — 12 items in all.
2.8×Biggest standout
Peaches
per household / year
Peaches
per household / year
12Items 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 Nagano’s value as a multiple of the national average.
| Item | vs. average | Nagano | National | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PeachesFruit | 2.81× | 3,094JPY | 1,103JPY | #3 |
| ApplesFruit | 2.07× | 16,784g | 8,095g | #2 |
| Salted salmonSeafood | 1.84× | 2,226g | 1,213g | #2 |
| Wheat flour#1Grains | 1.80× | 3,649g | 2,028g | #1 |
| Pickled seafoodSeafood | 1.77× | 5,331JPY | 3,010JPY | #3 |
| Simmered seafood (tsukudani)Seafood | 1.75× | 1,556JPY | 889JPY | #2 |
| Sweet bean jelly (yokan)Confectionery | 1.72× | 1,284JPY | 745JPY | #3 |
| Enoki mushrooms#1Fresh Vegetables | 1.68× | 4,170g | 2,483g | #1 |
| Wakame seaweedDried Foods, Seaweed & Soy Products | 1.60× | 1,133g | 708g | #4 |
| School lunchDining Out | 1.59× | 12,297JPY | 7,756JPY | #11 |
| Bamboo shootsFresh Vegetables | 1.57× | 895g | 569g | #4 |
| Miso#1Oils & Seasonings | 1.50× | 6,606g | 4,410g | #1 |
MADE
What Nagano produces most in Japan
From Ministry of Agriculture statistics (2024): items where Nagano 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: Apples (#2), Grapes (#2), Plums (#2), Buckwheat (soba) (#2), Napa cabbage (#2), Kabocha squash (#2), Cauliflower (#2), Peaches (#3), Yam (#3)
Source: MAFF Crop Statistics Survey and Marine Fishery Production Statistics (e-Stat, 2024 final figures).
#1
Where this prefecture ranks #1
Items where Nagano ranked #1 among the 52 surveyed cities.
- Enoki mushrooms
- Shimeji mushrooms
- Miso
- Cabbage
- Other root vegetables
- Other grains
- Wheat flour
- Oils & fats
- Oils & seasonings
- Sugar
- Seasonings
- Cooking oil
Q&A
Nagano food: common questions
What is Nagano famous for producing?
By Ministry of Agriculture statistics (2024), Nagano is Japan’s top producer of Lettuce, Celery.
What food is Nagano No.1 in Japan for?
In Japan’s household spending survey (2023–2025 average), Nagano ranked No.1 of 52 cities for Enoki mushrooms, Wheat flour, Miso and 9 more. This ranks what households buy, not what the prefecture produces.
What to eat in Nagano?
Households here buy far more than the national average of Peaches, Apples, Salted salmon, Simmered seafood, Sweet bean jelly.
What are the local dishes of Nagano?
Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture records 29 regional dishes from Nagano, including Imo namasu (vinegared potato salad), Koikoku (miso carp soup), Shioika no sunomono (vinegared salted squid), Teuchi soba (hand-cut buckwheat noodles).
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.
Konetsuke (grilled rice and shiso cake)
Main ingredients: Rice, wheat flour, green shiso
→ Wheat flour is 1.6× the national average in Nagano (1,025 JPY, #1 nationally)
Takenoko jiru (bamboo shoot miso soup)
Main ingredients: Bamboo shoots, mackerel, onions, tofu, egg, miso
→ Bamboo shoots is 1.4× the national average in Nagano (955 JPY, #4 nationally)
Koikoku (miso carp soup)
Main ingredients: Carp, miso, rice
→ Miso is 1.4× the national average in Nagano (3,133 JPY, #1 nationally)
Kobuna no kanroni (sweet-simmered crucian carp)
Main ingredients: Crucian carp, soy sauce, sugar
→ Sugar is 1.3× the national average in Nagano (1,520 JPY, #4 nationally)
Shimi daikon no otaue no nimono (simmered freeze-dried daikon)
Main ingredients: Daikon radish, dried herring, kombu, bracken fern, carrots, konjac, chikuwa fish cake, satsuma-age fried fish cake
→ Kelp is 1.3× the national average in Nagano (238 g, #14 nationally)
DISHES
29 regional dishes from Nagano 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.
Koikoku (miso carp soup)Wi
Saku City
Saku City in eastern Nagano Prefecture, on the Saku Plain where double-cropping is difficult, has a tradition of raising carp in paddy fields...
Shioika no sunomono (vinegared salted squid)SpSu
Hokushin and Nanshin regions (throughout Nagano Prefecture)
Nagano Prefecture is far from the sea, so seafood was processed where it was landed and carried inland along the "Salt Road"...
Teuchi soba (hand-cut buckwheat noodles)SpSuAu
Throughout Nagano Prefecture
In Nagano Prefecture, soba is the signature regional dish—so much so it's called "Shinshu soba." In the cool climate...
Konetsuke (grilled rice and shiso cake)
Hokushin and Toshin regions
Konetsuke is said to have been eaten by the warlord Sanada Yukimura to fuel up before battle...
Takenoko jiru (bamboo shoot miso soup)SuAu
Hokushin region
Takenoko jiru is a miso soup made with nemagari-take bamboo shoots, eaten in the Hokushin region and Niigata's Joetsu area...
Tenyose (colorful agar jelly)
Suwa region
The agar-making industry in the Suwa region, blessed with a cold climate and stable weather, has operated longer than in other regions...
Nira senbei (chive pancake)
Hokushin region
In the mountainous parts of the Hokushin region, surrounded by mountains, steep fields are common and paddies scarce, so instead of rice...
Notamochi (edamame-coated rice cake)SuAu
Suwa region, Kamiina region
Notamochi is a regional dish eaten in the Suwa and Kamiina regions. The "nota" in notamochi...
Yatara (chopped vegetable and pickle mix)Su
Hokushin region
Yatara is finely chopped vegetables and pickles mixed together, a summer vegetable topping...
Ego no sumiso ae (seaweed jelly with vinegar miso)
Hokushin and Chushin regions
Ego is made by boiling and setting egogusa seaweed, also passed down in Niigata Prefecture and elsewhere...
Oshibori udon (udon with spicy daikon juice)AuWi
Hokushin region
Oshibori udon, passed down around Sakaki Town in Hanishina District, is made by grating spicy daikon and mixing the juice...
Gudakusan misoshiru (hearty miso soup)Wi
Throughout Nagano Prefecture (especially around Nagano City, Matsumoto City)
Gudakusan misoshiru is a hearty soup packed with seasonal vegetables, meat, fish, and more...
Sake no kasuni (salmon simmered in sake lees)Wi
Toshin region, Kamiina region
In Japan, it's customary to prepare a New Year's Eve feast to welcome the toshigami (New Year deity)...
Shimi daikon no otaue no nimono (simmered freeze-dried daikon)Wi
Throughout Nagano Prefecture
Shimi daikon is a preserved food made using winter's cold, exposing daikon to the outdoor winter wind...
Shoyu mame / Shoyu no mi (soy sauce-fermented beans)Wi
Hokushin and Chushin regions
Shoyu mame, also called shoyu no mi, is a steamed bean dish passed down in the Hokushin and Chushin regions...
Hangoroshi (partially mashed rice cake)
Toshin region
In Nagano Prefecture, hangoroshi refers to botamochi or ohagi, made from partially mashed cooked glutinous rice...
Hitashi mame (soaked green soybeans)
Hokushin and Toshin regions
The soil of the northern Nishiyama region is well suited to growing soybeans, and grains and beans have long been cultivated there...
Hoshi kabocha no egoma ae (dried pumpkin with perilla dressing)SuWi
Hokushin region
The Kinasa area, also called the "capital of the valley," has a food culture of drying vegetables for preservation...
Tanabata houtou (Star Festival noodle soup)SuAu
Matsumoto region
Matsumoto City, with the Northern Alps to the west and the Utsukushigahara plateau to the east, sits near the center of Nagano Prefecture...
Sunkizuke (fermented turnip greens)AuWi
Kiso region
The mountainous Kiso region has long had its own distinctive food culture, one example being fermented pickles made from red turnip leaves...
Gohei mochi (grilled rice cake skewers)
Kiso region, Ina region, Kamiina region, Shimoina region
Gohei mochi is half-pounded non-glutinous rice skewered and coated with a miso- or soy sauce-based glaze...
Oyaki (stuffed grilled dumplings)SpSu
Hokushin and Chushin regions (throughout Nagano Prefecture)
Oyaki is made by mixing wheat flour and buckwheat flour with water or hot water, kneading it, rolling it thin, and wrapping it around sweet bean paste or...
Nozawana zuke (pickled Nozawana greens)AuWi
Throughout Nagano Prefecture (Nozawa Onsen Village)
In this prefecture with severe cold, no greens can be harvested from the fields in winter, so in late autumn...
Houba maki (magnolia leaf-wrapped rice cake)Sp
Kiso region
Houba maki is made by kneading rice flour with boiling water, filling it with sweet bean paste, and wrapping it in magnolia leaves...
Kobuna no kanroni (sweet-simmered crucian carp)Au
Saku region
Saku City, in eastern Nagano Prefecture on the border with Gunma Prefecture, raises freshwater crucian carp and carp in its paddies...
Sasazushi (sushi on bamboo leaves)
Iiyama City (Hokushin region)
Sasazushi is vinegared rice laid on bamboo grass leaves and topped with ingredients, found in Iiyama City and Niigata...
Yashouma (rice flour Buddha's death-day sweet)
Hokushin and Chushin regions
In the area centered on the north, February 15 is observed as Nehan-e, the day marking Buddha's death...
Inago no tsukudani (sweet-simmered grasshoppers)Au
Throughout Nagano Prefecture
The Ina Valley in the Nanshin region has a long-rooted insect-eating food culture, including locusts, bee larvae, and...
NEARBY