Travelling to Japan this summer? Beat the heat with these cooling dishes

BBC News

20 hours ago

From chilled ramen to flowing noodles caught with chopsticks, these regional specialties blend flavour, fun and centuries of heat-beating wisdom.
In recent years, Japan's scorching summer weather has become increasingly intense and heat exhaustion can quickly sap the joy out of a trip. Fortunately, nearly every region in Japan has developed its own unique cooling dishes rooted in local climate, culture and ancient wisdom.
From north to south, residents have adapted their diets with regional shokibarai (literally: "beating the summer heat") meals. Some are served chilled to lower body temperature, while others feature hydrating ingredients like pickled vegetables or digestion-friendly broths. From icy noodles to refreshing rice cakes, each dish shows how cuisine and climate are deeply intertwined in Japan. Here are eight mouthwatering foods to try as temperatures rise.
North
Chilled ramen
Japan's northern Yamagata Prefecture is renowned as one of the country's ramen capitals, boasting the nation's highest consumption per household. Among the region's many distinctive noodle dishes, hiyashi ramen (chilled ramen) stands out as a uniquely summery specialty. Both the noodles and soy sauce-based broth are served cold, sometimes with ice cubes floating in the bowl.
"Even on scorching days, I find myself willing to wait in line for a bowl," says Chihiro Hasegawa, who lives in Yamagata City. Ririka Hirabuki, another Yamagata resident, echoes this thought. "It's a must-have flavour during Yamagata's hot summers," she says. "On especially hot days, I crave it even more!"
Hiyashi ramen was created in 1952 by the owner of Sakaeya Honten, a Yamagata noodle shop, after a customer suggested that if soba could be served cold in summer, why not ramen, too? So, the shop's original owner, Senshiro Abe, set out to create a broth that would stay flavourful and fluid without the fat congealing, even when chilled.
According to Toshihiro Suzuki, tourism director at Yamagata Prefecture Tourism and Products Association, Yamagata's location inspired this innovation. "It's a basin city, and summers are brutally hot," he says. "In fact, Yamagata once held the record for Japan's highest temperature – 40.8C in 1933."
What began as one man's invention has become a regional icon served in diners and noodle shops throughout the region every summer.
Zunda mochi
In the city of Sendai, summer isn't complete without a serving of zunda mochi, a strikingly green rice cake made with mashed edamame. The beans are boiled, peeled and lightly mashed with sugar and salt to create a textured, nutty-sweet paste that is generously spooned over freshly pounded mochi.
According to Takeshi Ito, a Sendai-based mochi shop owner and self-described "zunda evangelist", the dish is more than just a sweet. "Zunda mochi is a perfect match of nutrition and tradition," he says. "The mochi provides quick energy through its easily digestible carbohydrates, while the edamame paste is packed with protein and vitamins like B1 and B2, ideal for recovering from summer fatigue." Some shops even offer a chilled version in summer, known as hiyashi zunda, designed to be served cold for an added cooling effect.
This refreshing, high-protein treat has long been a seasonal staple in Miyagi Prefecture, often served during mid-summer family gatherings and festivals. It's also visually distinctive: the vibrant green of the edamame contrasts beautifully with the pure white of the mochi underneath.
Today, zunda has gone beyond mochi and found new life in a variety of modern sweets, from zunda milkshakes and parfaits to zunda soft-serve ice cream.
East
Yanagawa nabe
In the sticky Tokyo summer heat, one centuries-old dish still promises nourishment and nostalgia: Yanagawa nabe. This hotpot features deboned freshwater loach (dojo) simmered in a sweet-and-savoury soy broth with burdock root (gobo), then finished with a layer of beaten egg, forming a silky, golden topping. Despite being served hot, it's long been considered a restorative summer dish, as it's packed with nutrients that help replenish energy, support digestion and fortify the body against the heat.
Once seen as a working-class dish, Yanagawa nabe remains a local delicacy, especially in Tokyo, where certain restaurants have preserved its original recipe for generations. "Some foreign visitors don't seem to know what dojo are," says Chieko Hirai of the eponymous eatery Hirai. "When they see them alive, some even leave before ordering. But loach are incredibly nutritious and they really help you beat the Tokyo heat."
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, loach and burdock were both prized during Japan's Edo period (1603-1868) for their ability to replenish energy and stamina – qualities especially valued in the draining summer months. Loach is rich in protein, iron and vitamins, which can support metabolism and help combat fatigue, while burdock is thought to have cooling properties in traditional East Asian medicine. Combined in a hot, easy-to-digest broth, Yanagawa nabe is a restorative dish that revives body and spirit after a long day in the heat.
Mizu manju
Gifu Prefecture provides a cooling antidote to the heat with mizu manju (jewel-like sweets filled with red bean paste and chilled in spring water). Its delicate, translucent skin is made from powdered kudzu (a starch derived from the root of a fast-growing vine) and bracken starch, which becomes elastic and slightly chewy when steamed and then chilled. The result is a dessert that looks like a raindrop and melts gently on the tongue.
This elegant summer treat hails from Ogaki, which is often called the "City of Water" for its abundant underground springs. The dessert originated in the Meiji era (1868-1912), when locals used idobune (well boats) to cool produce before refrigerators were common. Leveraging this cold-water tradition, confectioners began making mizu manju as a seasonal indulgence and a celebration of summer itself. Just as produce floated in the well boats, these glassy confections now float in display tanks at local sweet shops – a cherished seasonal sight that marks the arrival of summer.
"In the peak of summer, people often lose their appetite, but mizu manju goes down smoothly," says Motoyoshi Matsushita, head of the Ogaki Confectionery Association's youth division. "The starches we use, like kudzu and agar, are gentle on the stomach, and the natural sweetness of the bean paste helps quickly restore energy."
West
Mizunasu
In Japan's western Kansai region, summer refreshment comes from the astonishingly crisp and juicy mizunasu (water aubergine). Native to the coastal Senshu area south of Osaka, this variety is prized for its mild flavour, high water content and paper-thin skin, so delicate it can be eaten raw or sliced into delicate pickles known as asazuke.
One place preserving the tradition of cultivating mizunasu is Kitano Farm. "Our mizunasu is as juicy as fruit and faintly sweet, so special that it's one of the rare aubergines in Japan that you can enjoy raw, like sashimi," says Tadakiyo Kitano, the farm's representative.
Farmers have grown mizunasu here since the Edo period, enjoying it as a natural thirst quencher during hot afternoons in the fields. The pickled version, made by briefly soaking the aubergine in rice bran or lightly seasoned brine, is still a staple in local homes. "Traditionally, mizunasu is mostly enjoyed as nukazuke, or rice bran pickles. But my personal recommendation is wrapping it with prosciutto to highlight its fresh, delicate flavour," Kitano says.
Uji kintoki
In Kyoto's heat, few things offer relief like Uji kintoki, a matcha-flavoured shaved ice dessert named after the famed tea-producing town of Uji. This refined take on kakigori (Japanese shaved ice) starts with fluffy, snow-like ice drizzled with vivid green matcha syrup and topped with ogura an (a sweet red bean paste made from azuki beans).
Other classic toppings include shiratama dango (mochi balls), green tea ice cream or a splash of sweetened condensed milk, turning a simple dish into a parfait-like work of art.As with mizunasu and Yanagawa nabe, the dessert has roots in the Edo era, when sugar, shaved ice and powdered tea were rare luxuries enjoyed by nobility and warlords. According to one theory, the sweet-toothed shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu, who ruled from 1603 to 1605, added red bean paste to matcha-sweetened ice, laying the foundation for the dish.
This green-hued classic is a seasonal highlight at Kyoto cafes and teahouses, where it's served in glass bowls to showcase its layers. For travellers braving Kyoto's midsummer humidity, a bowl of Uji kintoki offers both cooling relief along with a delicious glimpse into Japan's long love affair with tea.
South
Nagashi somen
Nagashi somen ("flowing noodles") is less a meal than a hot-weather ritual. At the height of Japan's steamy summer season, diners gather around long bamboo chutes where chilled somen noodles come sliding down streams of cold spring water. Armed with chopsticks, children and adults then try to catch the noodles before they slip away.
Though now enjoyed across Japan, nagashi somen traces its roots to the mountain town of Takachiho in Miyazaki Prefecture. The idea is said to have originated when local newspaper correspondents stationed here in the 1950s were cooling off during summer fieldwork by eating freshly boiled noodles that had been chilled in the cold river water. Inspired by this scene, a local restaurant owner formalised the practice in 1955 by building bamboo channels to send noodles rushing through ice-cold spring water from nearby Takachiho Gorge.
That restaurant, Chihonoie, still stands today and is widely credited as the birthplace of commercial nagashi somen. Set against the backdrop of lush forests and waterfalls, it offers an immersive culinary experience with water splashing and communal laughter when someone misses their noodles yet again.
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Once caught, the noodles are dipped in tsuyu (a chilled, umami-rich sauce made from soy, mirin and dashi) then slurped down between bites of tempura or cool slices of cucumber. "It's the perfect dish for summer when the heat dulls your appetite," says Ishi Take, director at Chihonoie. "Nagashi somen is light, refreshing and easy to eat – even when [it's so hot outside that] nothing else sounds appealing."He adds, "We get all kinds of visitors here – parents with kids, couples, even travellers from overseas. Everyone gathers around the bamboo flumes, laughing and trying to catch the noodles. It's not just a meal; it's a shared summer memory."
Kanzarashi
In Shimabara, Nagasaki Prefecture – another so-called "City of Water" for its crystal-clear springs – locals have long cooled off with kanzarashi: small, glutinous rice flour dumplings served in a chilled sugar syrup.
This traditional sweet dates back centuries when locals ground their rice into flour to stretch their supply. To keep it from spoiling during the hot summer months, they formed the flour into dumplings, cooled them in spring water and served them with syrup. Over time, the region's abundant sugar production gave rise to this elegant seasonal dessert, served cold to welcome summer guests.
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