Grains
Rice varieties
米の品種
37 varieties
Rice varieties fall broadly into non-glutinous rice eaten daily, glutinous rice used for mochi and sekihan, and sake rice grown for brewing. Koshihikari, the benchmark for stickiness and sweetness, has become a parent line for many other varieties, while lines like Yamada Nishiki and Gohyakumangoku were bred for sake, and older varieties such as red rice and black rice remain in use. The same variety's reputation is said to shift with where it is grown. This section follows how varieties and their growing regions connect.
No single place of origin37
- Akamaired-husked rice tied to old harvest rituals
- Akitakomachia Koshihikari cross bred for Akita's cold climate
- Date MasayumeMiyagi's rich-tasting successor to Sasanishiki
- FufufuToyama's heat- and disease-resistant new brand
- Genki TsukushiFukuoka's brand rice bred for consistent quality
- Ginga no ShizukuIwate's cooled-and-still-good brand rice
- GohyakumangokuNiigata's crisp, dry-style sake rice
- HaenukiYamagata's steady, everyday-table standard
- HimenomochiKumamoto's smooth, low-cracking mochi rice
- Hinohikaria heat-tolerant favorite across western Japan
- Hitomeborea cold-hardy Koshihikari relative from Miyagi
- IchihomareFukui's homage to Koshihikari's birthplace
- Iwaia revived Kyoto sake rice for the local brewing trade
- Kamenoothe century-old landrace behind Koshihikari's lineage
- Kinumusumea soft, mild-sweetness variety of western Japan
- Kirara 397the Hokkaido variety that changed the north's reputation
- Koganemochia widely grown, glossy-golden mochi rice
- Koshihikarithe standard-setting sticky rice grown nationwide
- Koshiibukian early-harvest, everyday Niigata variety
- Koshi TanreiNiigata's cross of two celebrated sake rices
- Kuromaian anthocyanin-rich rice used since antiquity
- Milky Queena low-amylose rice with extra-strong stickiness
- Miyama Nishikia cold-hardy sake rice from Nagano's mountains
- Mori no KumasanKumamoto's ‘bear of the forest’ premium rice
- Nanatsuboshia cooled-and-still-tasty Hokkaido standard
- Niji no Kiramekia nationwide variety bred to withstand hot summers
- Nikomarua high-temperature-resistant variety from Kyushu
- Omachithe century-old ancestor of many sake rice lines
- SagabiyoriSaga's heat-resistant, big-grain premium rice
- Sasanishikithe once-dominant, delicate low-stickiness variety
- Seiten no HekirekiAomori's first premium rice brand
- ShinnosukeNiigata's answer to Koshihikari, big-grained and firm
- TsuyahimeYamagata's glossy, restrained-sweetness flagship
- Yamada Nishikithe ‘king of sake rice’, prized for its large core
- YukiwakamaruYamagata's firm-grained companion to Tsuyahime
- YumepirikaHokkaido's premium, especially sticky rice
- Yume ShizukuSaga's mild, everyday companion to Sagabiyori
View all Rice varieties on the map
Before you go
- Foods to look for in autumnA guide to foods often seen in Japan around autumn — returning bonito, Pacific saury, new-crop rice, matsutake, chestnuts, and tsukimi dango — with rough pointers for finding them.
- Regional harvest food festivalsAcross Japan, harvest festivals and "taste festivals" featuring local produce and seafood are said to be commonly held each autumn, with stalls selling new rice, seasonal fruit, and local dishes.