Odawara Oden (小田原おでん)

Oden, normally, is comfort food you don't think too hard about — a lazy pot of stuff simmering in dashi at the convenience store counter on a cold night. Odawara oden is what happens when a whole city decides to take it seriously.

This seaside town in Kanagawa has been making kamaboko (fish cakes) for centuries — some of the finest in all of Japan — and its local oden is a showcase for that craft, gathering items from thirteen different kamaboko makers into one glorious pot. Then it does something else clever: instead of the usual sharp yellow mustard, it serves the oden with plum miso, a tangy condiment made from local Odawara plums. The result is an oden with genuine pedigree — and if you're riding the Shinkansen past Odawara, it is absolutely worth getting off for an hour.

A traditional industry, reinvented

Here's a story I love: Odawara oden was deliberately created, in 2003, as a local revitalization project. The city had always been famous for kamaboko, but as eating habits changed, demand was slipping. So local producers banded together to build a new showcase dish around their craft — and Odawara oden was born. It grew into an annual festival and a real reason to visit. It's a model for how a town can take a fading tradition and make it a destination.

What makes it special

Two things set it apart:

The fish cakes. Thirteen local shops each contribute a specialty — iwashi (sardine) dumplings, gobō-ten (burdock-root fish cake), vegetable tempura, octopus tempura, even Odawara beef-tendon. Each piece is a different maker's craft and character. It's a tasting tour in a single bowl.

The plum miso. Instead of mustard, you get ume-miso, made from locally grown Odawara plums blended into miso. Its bright tartness cuts the rich dashi beautifully — a small swap that completely changes the experience.

How it's made

1. Build a dashi broth from bonito flakes and kelp
2. Add the fish cakes and simmer slowly until they soak up the broth
3. Add daikon, konnyaku, and other vegetables
4. Serve in deep bowls with plum miso on the side

Before you go — work the pot

Your questions, answered honestly

"What do I order from all those choices?" — Don't overthink it — pick a few different fish cakes to taste the range (that's the whole point), plus a wedge of slow-simmered daikon, which soaks up the dashi like a sponge and is everyone's secret favorite.

"Mustard or the plum miso?" — Try the plum miso — it's the local signature, and its tartness against the rich broth is the thing that makes Odawara oden Odawara oden. You can always have mustard too.

"Is it a full meal or a snack?" — Both. Graze on a few pieces with a drink, or load up a bowl into a proper meal. Oden flexes to your appetite.

"When's it best?" — Cold months, like all oden — though Odawara celebrates it year-round, including at its summit-style food events.

What the staff will ask you

To order, just point and say "Kore to, kore o kudasai" (これと、これをください) — "This one and this one, please." Pointing is completely normal at an oden counter.

Where to eat it

• Odawara, Kanagawa — a stop on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, an easy hop from Tokyo. Look for oden spots near the station and the castle, and for the annual Odawara Oden Summit if your timing's lucky.

Hours, shops, and events change, so check before you go — and hop off the train. It's right there.