When the weather turns crisp and the autumn moon shines bright, Japan celebrates tsukimi, the traditional moon-viewing festival.

Can you imagine sitting under a glowing autumn moon, warming your hands and spirits with a bowl of egg drop soup? In Japan, as the air gets crisp and families gather for tsukimi, or moon viewing, this gentle soup transforms from a quick comfort food to a celebration of the season.

Regarding snacks, Japan knows how to turn simple ingredients into magic. Enter black sesame, nutty, slightly sweet, and super addictive. You’ll find it in everything from ice cream to mochi (Japanese rice cake), and it’s a game-changer. Never tried it before? You’re in for a treat, or ten.

When it comes to warm, cozy comfort food in Japan, curry udon is hard to beat. It’s thick, chewy udon noodles swimming in rich, flavorful curry broth. The soup is savory, a little sweet, and satisfying.

Aaron and Claire are back with another quick and flavorful Japanese recipe: shogayaki, or Japanese ginger pork. If you like simple, affordable dishes that taste like they came straight from a cozy Japanese diner, you’ll want to try this.

When you think of Japanese snacks, you might picture Pocky, mochi (Japanese rice cake), or soft, fluffy custard cakes. But Japan also has another snacking world: crunchy, savory seaweed treats made from nori (Japanese seaweed) and other ocean goodies.