For Japanese homemaker Kirina Mochizuki, okonomiyaki—a savory pancake beloved in Hiroshima—has always been a go-to comfort meal. However, with the price of cabbage, a key ingredient, tripling recently, preparing the dish has become a struggle. To cope, Mochizuki scours supermarkets daily for discounts or substitutes dried seaweed when cabbage is out of reach. She has even started regrowing leeks in a glass of water using the discarded root base. “I never imagined okonomiyaki would become a delicacy,” she admits.
Inflation has tightened household budgets across Japan, forcing many consumers to rethink their food choices. Government data revealed that cabbage prices in Tokyo have more than tripled compared to last year. Meanwhile, inflation-adjusted wages have fallen in 29 of the last 32 months, and the Engel’s coefficient—indicating the share of income spent on food—hit a 40-year high in 2023.
The rising cost of food is pushing consumers to find innovative ways to save. A single head of cabbage now costs around 1,000 yen ($6.43) in Tokyo—equivalent to an hourly wage—while wholesale rice prices surged by 60% in December. Concerns about food affordability have also led to a drop in vegetable consumption among Japanese adults, reaching an all-time low in November.
As a result, many households are turning to inexpensive alternatives like furikake—seasoned dried condiments sprinkled on rice—to replace costlier meals. Research firm Fuji Keizai predicts that sales of furikake reached record highs last year as more families sought budget-friendly solutions.
In response to voter concerns, the government has rolled out economic stimulus measures, including cash payouts for low-income households. For the first time, the farm ministry is also considering selling stockpiled rice to agricultural cooperatives in an effort to lower prices.
Amid the financial strain, home gardening has gained popularity. YouTuber Kazuki Nakata, who started indoor farming as a hobby during the pandemic, now has nearly 90,000 subscribers eager to learn how to regrow vegetables in water. He quit his retail job in 2023 and now cultivates 47 vegetable varieties in plastic bottles, beer cans, and even a bicycle basket.
Despite the challenges—his wife struggles to breastfeed in a sunlit living room full of plants—Nakata believes his efforts are worthwhile. He recently grew cabbage leaves in a kitchen bowl using a discarded core and liquid fertilizer, a success he plans to share in his next video. “Home gardening has really helped us cut down on food costs, and I want to help others do the same,” he said.
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