Millions go wild for Japan’s ‘giant hot pot’ cooked in a 6-meter-wide cauldron with a crane as the ladle

Taiwanese people love hot pot dishes, but Japan’s “giant hot pot” is equally crazy too. In Kyushu, Japan, the “Kumaso Hot Pot” stands out with its 70-centimeter-wide, 10-kilogram cauldron that dazzles diners with its lavish ingredients both visually and on the palate. But that’s not all — in Yamagata Prefecture, northeastern Japan, the “Imoni Hot Pot” doesn’t just “hang” a 6-meter-wide cauldron, but also requires a crane to serve as the ladle, cooking and serving enough for 30,000 people on-site.

When it comes to Yamagata, nothing beats the local comfort food, the famous taro hot pot, which is the taste of autumn memories. Friends and family gather during holidays to build stone fire pits by the river, where round, fluffy taro is simmered with meat, konnyaku (devil’s tongue jelly), green onions, and other ingredients. This rich flavor has even been ranked as Japan’s most popular local dish nationwide.

Locally, the largest Imoni Festival in Japan is held every autumn. The upcoming 29th Imoni Festival, set to take place in mid-September this year, will use locally sourced Yamagata ingredients to cook an outdoor “giant hot pot” along the Maizawa River embankment. The venue will burn 6 metric tons of firewood, with equipment and ingredients including a 6-meter-wide cauldron, 3 metric tons of taro, 1.2 metric tons of beef, 3,500 konnyaku blocks, and 3,500 green onion stalks.

Not only are the ingredient quantities astonishing, but the imoni hot pot also requires 6 metric tons of water, 700 liters of soy sauce, 200 kilograms of sugar, and 50 liters of Japanese sake to serve 30,000 people on-site. Moreover, besides using machinery to hoist the cauldron, the organizers also employ a specially modified excavator to stir and cook the ingredients, creating a unique sight for autumn travel in Japan.