Traditional Round Rice Cakes Ready For New Year Holidays
It's still early November but Japan's food manufacturers are gearing up for the year-end holidays. One firm in the north of the country has begun shipping the traditional rice cakes that are the centerpiece of many families' New Year decorations.
A truck loaded with 770 kilograms of "kagami mochi" rice cakes left a factory in Niigata Prefecture, Japan's most prolific rice-producing region.
Sato Foods officials say they plan to ship at least 1,000 tons of the round cakes through December.
President of Sato Foods Sato Hajime says, " I'd like everyone to decorate our kagami mochi with their wishes to 'round' things off nicely in the coming year."
The company says it's also offering reduced-size rice cakes to suit smaller gatherings, as the pandemic continues.