Japanese hot pot– tag –

As the leaves turn gold on the mountains and the first frost arrives in Akita Prefecture, families across the region begin preparing one dish above all others: kiritanpo nabe (きりたんぽ鍋). It’s a hot pot unlike anything most West...

Picture this: the first Sunday of September, the banks of the Mamigasaki River in Yamagata City, and a crowd of 30,000 people gathered around a single pot so large it requires a construction crane to stir. In that pot: six tons of satoim...