Merry Christmas from all of us. Winter in Japan has its own food, and none of it looks much like a Christmas dinner here.
Nabe
The family-time food. Vegetables, meat, dashi broth and shiitake mushrooms, all cooked together in a ceramic pot in the middle of the table, everyone reaching in.
Oden
A convenience-store staple that only appears in winter. Daikon, eggs and fish cakes are sold separately and ladled out of a savoury-sweet broth.
Yuzu
The citrus of the season. It turns up in marmalades, in candy, and in bathing salts — on the winter solstice you bathe in yuzu for good fortune in the coming year.
Mochi
Rice pounded into a paste, traditionally over two or three days with the whole family involved. The modern version is mochi ice cream, which takes considerably less time. One warning that matters: mochi is a genuine choking hazard for small children and the elderly. Cut it small.