Junsai Nabe is a summer hot pot dish centered on junsai (water shield, an aquatic plant), a specialty of Mitane Town in Akita Prefecture. Junsai is a water lily-family aquatic plant, and the tender young shoots that grow beneath its floating young leaves are eaten together with their jelly-like coating. The area around Kakusuke Pond in Mitane Town is known as a natural growing site, and thanks to community-wide efforts to maintain the pond, the area has developed into one of Japan's leading production regions. During the harvest season from May to August, the sight of harvesters in small flat-bottomed boats picking each shoot by hand has become a seasonal symbol of early summer. The dish is made by simmering chicken and burdock root in a broth made from chicken bones or Hinai-jidori chicken, then adding the junsai at the very end and eating it as soon as its color turns a vivid green — a summer hospitality dish of Akita enjoyed for its smooth, slippery texture and plump bite.
Origin
Junsai originally grew wild in ponds such as Kakusuke Pond in Mitane Town, and has long been eaten locally under the name 'nunawa' (pond rope). As environmental changes caused its natural habitat to shrink, local residents began maintaining and cultivating the ponds out of a determination not to let junsai disappear, and this effort is said to have led to the area's development into today's leading production region.
History
Blessed with clean water, including underground flows from the Shirakami mountain range, Mitane Town carried out community-wide efforts to reclaim and manage junsai ponds, and today the area accounts for the majority of Japan's total junsai production. Harvesting is still done today using the traditional method of hand-picking each shoot one by one from a small boat, and a local food culture has taken root in which junsai is served in a hot pot to entertain guests.
Features
To make the most of junsai's distinctive plump, slippery coating and smooth texture, it is added to a broth simmered with ingredients such as chicken, burdock root, and mushrooms only right before serving, and eaten as soon as its color turns a vivid green. Not overcooking it preserves its slipperiness and texture, and its compatibility with broth made from Hinai-jidori chicken is also considered part of its appeal.
Main Ingredients
Food Culture
Akita has a food culture of serving hot pot dishes to entertain guests, and in early summer, during the junsai harvest season, Junsai Nabe appears on tables as a dish showcasing the season's specialty. In Mitane Town, the harvest scene itself is cherished as a symbol of summer, and junsai is introduced to tourists as a proud local specialty.
How It Differs from Home Cooking
At home, boiled junsai is often used casually in vinegared dishes or soups, but when served as Junsai Nabe, fresh junsai is sourced in season and combined with Hinai-jidori chicken broth, added just before serving — a preparation that places particular emphasis on freshness and precise heat control.
Famous Shops
じゅんさいの館（お食事処 花河童）
秋田県山本郡三種町森岳字東二ツ森97
A restaurant attached to a direct-sales outlet for junsai grown in Mitane Town, serving Junsai Nabe and other junsai dishes year-round.
| じゅんさい鍋セット（濱乃家） | A mail-order Junsai Nabe set prepared by a long-established Akita City restaurant founded in Taisho 7 (1918). A set for 3-4 people costs around 13,500 yen (tax included).Where to buy →PR |
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