The tastes of winter in Japan

Winter may be almost over, but the surveys on the season are not! This recent one from MyVoice looked at the tastes of winter.

Demographics

Over the first five days of February 2008 15,230 members of the MyVoice internet community completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were male, 2% in their teens, 13% in their twenties, 37% in their thirties, 30% in their forties, and 18% aged fifty or older.

I don’t really feel winter – down where I live it never really gets below freezing and the weather is closer to the end of autumn in Scotland – perhaps because the leaves fall off the tree about two months later I’m out of sync, and now with the plum trees coming out in flower I’m into spring already. Talking of when spring starts reminds me of a recent post from Shibuya246 on when Japanese think spring starts.

The top taste for me is also satsuma (mikan in Japanese), which has an interesting tale behind why it is so-called. The wife of an American diplomat in the 19th century who introduced it to America apparently confused it with the old provice Satsuma which was a producer of said fruit. It also appears there are three towns in the USA named Satsuma, in Alabama, Florida and Louisiana.

Research results

Q1: When do you start to feel winter? (Sample size=15,230)

Mid November or earlier	10.6%
Late November	27.4%
Early December	30.0%
Mid December	10.9%
Late December	11.5%
Early January	3.7%
Mid January	2.0%
Late January	2.0%
Early February or later	1.0%
Don’t feel winter at all (to Q3)	0.9%

Q2: What makes you feel it’s winter? (Sample size=those who feel winter, multiple answer)

Temperature, weather	83.7%
Scenery	45.0%
Clothes	43.9%
Events	42.8%
Home electricals	36.8%
Furniture	22.8%
Plants	22.1%
Information, news	20.7%
Supermarket, convenience store, other shop	15.2%
Food, drink	11.8%
Restaurant menu	10.0%
Daily goods, sundries (hot-water bottles, etc)	7.5%
Facilities, services	5.8%
Busyness at work	5.6%
Transportation facilities	3.7%
Medicines	2.3%
Other	2.0%
No answer	5.8%

Q3: The chances of doing which of the following meal styles increase in winter? (Sample size=15,230, multiple answer)

Cooking and eating at home	19.7%
Eating out	4.2%
Buying in, delivery food, eating at home	3.1%
Cooking at home, eating outside	1.0%
Buying in, delivery food, eating outside	0.5%
Other	4.3%
No style in particular increases	70.2%
No answer	0.4%

Q4: What are the tastes of winter to you? (Sample size=15,230, multiple answer)

Satsuma	59.8%
Hakusai (chinese cabbage)	51.8%
Oyster	40.3%
Daikon (radish)	38.5%
Crab	38.3%
Winter amberjack/yellowtail (fish)	29.0%
Apple	18.6%
Onion	15.0%
Salmon	13.4%
Fugu (blowfish)	12.2%
Angler fish	11.9%
Turnip	10.4%
Spinach	7.3%
Iyokan (citrus fruit)	6.5%
Hassaku orange	5.2%
Lotus root	3.8%
Duck	3.7%
Lobster	1.2%
Other	3.5%
Nothing in particular (to Q6)	5.6%

Q5: What points are important when you are experiencing the tastes of winter? (Sample size=those with a taste of winter, multiple answer)

Freshness	44.5%
Price	33.2%
Appearance, colour	26.8%
Atmosphere	20.4%
Smell	14.9%
Bite	10.8%
Who I am eating with	9.9%
Feel on the tongue	9.6%
Where I am eating	9.3%
Knowledge of the food	6.1%
Local flavour	4.6%
Genuine flavour	4.5%
Brand of ingredients	4.5%
Other	2.5%
Nothing in particular	18.9%
No answer	7.6%

Q6: What alcohol goes best with the tastes of winter? (Sample size=15,230)

Sake	31.5%
Shochu (spirits)	10.2%
Beer	9.4%
Umeshu (plum wine)	3.4%
Wine	2.7%
Chuhai (high-ball)	1.8%
Whisky	0.8%
Liqueur	0.3%
Other	0.2%
Nothing in particular	16.4%
Don’t, can’t drink alcohol	23.0%
No answer	0.4%