#yaki imo

[morethansalad]

Perfect Baked Japanese Sweet Potatoes / Yaki Imo (Vegan & Gluten-Free)

crispy and caramelized on the outside, creamy sweet on the inside, and taste like cake

[ilovetokyo]

焼き芋専門店ふじ . Yaki Imo Specialty Store Fuji

[yeetmeoffearth]

May 29

The purple skinned sweet potato leaves are a bright green compared to the dark green in the other one

I'll take the slips off next week and hopefully root them

[callmepo]

Another way to keep warm in winter.

Holiday Hottie tiny doodle of Ashi with a yaki imo.

[Come visit my Ko-fi and buy me a coffee hot potato!]

[braykun]

New horror story idea: Stranded in a forest and you suddenly hear the sound of the Yaki-Imo van. yaaaaaaaaakiiiiiii iiiiiiiimmmmmmooooooo

[agirlinjapan]

The Yaki-Imo Man!

I finally saw the yaki-imo man tonight!

I think I need to backtrack first though.

Yaki-imo are roasted sweet potatoes. They’re a popular winter snack here in Japan. You can buy them on the streets, outside of supermarkets, at outdoor events, and so on during the colder months. Or, if you’re really lucky, someone might come down your street at night, selling them out of a truck, and blasting music like some sort of Japanese, potato ice cream man.

During my time in Nagoya, some of my friends said they had a yaki-imo man go down their street pretty regularly during the winter. One friend even said that her host father had dragged her out of the house in the middle of dinner to buy a yaki-imo from the yaki-imo man when she asked what the sound was. Unfortunately, no such yaki-imo man ever came down my street in Nagoya, no matter how much I listened for one.

When I moved to my current city and the weather grew cold though, I discovered that I finally had my very own yaki-imo man. He drives down my street at least 3 or 4 times a week, blasting an old-fashioned sounding Japanese chant-like song that goes, “YAKI IMOOOO OOOOH YAKI IMOOOOO” for a while before saying some things in a more normal sounding voice and ending with “Oishii da yo!” (They’re delicious!)

The first time I heard the yaki-imo man, I really had no idea what it was. He didn’t pass my house, so all I could do was listen and try and figure out what the chant/song was saying. I actually thought it was some sort of religious procession coming down the street that first night. But when I heard it again and again and finally started picking up the words, I realized pretty quickly that it was the yaki-imo man.

For a while I really considered chasing him down and buying a yaki-imo. However, as good as they are, I’m shy and I found it awkward enough chasing down the ice cream truck in my own country when I had known the guy for years (there was only one ice cream man in my town). There was no way I was chasing down some guy I didn’t know in a foreign country and language after dark to buy a potato. This is still true a year later. I haven’t been out to buy a yaki-imo from the yaki-imo man. In fact, even though he’s changed his route so that he actually drives past my apartment instead of just further down my street, I haven’t even gone to the window to look at the truck driving past. I’ve figured out what the sound is. I guess I’m just not curious enough.

But tonight I finally saw him!

I was riding my bike home from the movie theater and waiting at a light when I heard the song. And then I saw the truck! I guess I was expecting a food truck of some sort, but it’s just one of those normal, tiny, Japanese pick-up trucks with some lights on the side. It was so unassuming. But the music was twice as loud and obnoxious as I’ve ever heard it and it made me so happy. XD

I kind of wanted to follow him down the street, but unfortunately, he turned off the road I was taking home and I had to say goodbye.

But now I know what the yaki-imo man’s truck looks like!

[cheyfromcanada]

Yaki Imo - Baked sweet potato recipe.

[sighkingu]

FHDい～しや～きいも～♪ The yaki-imo (roasted sweet potato) truck.

[Via jnr381shinano.]