Japanese rice

Glutinous rice, known in Japan as mochigome (もち米), is used for making mochi (餅), Okowa, and special dishes such as sekihan.

It is a short-grain rice, and it can be distinguished from uruchimai by its particularly short, round, opaque grains, its greater stickiness when cooked, and firmer and chewier texture.

Terraced rice fields cover many rural hillsides and are relatively small due to mountainous terrain and government controls on farmland consolidation.

In Hokkaidō, Japan's northernmost prefecture, hardier cultivars such as Oborozuki and Yumepirika have been developed to withstand the colder climate.

It is commonly used to prepare Japanese cuisine in North America, and is reasonably good as a sushi rice.

Brown rice is also consumed in its unpolished state, often for its health benefits, but it is considered a specialty.

Hatsuga genmai (発芽玄米) is brown rice that has been soaked in heated water until germinated.

[citation needed] It has a softer texture than ordinary brown rice and a pleasant fragrance.

Haigamai is rice that has been partially milled to remove most of the bran but leave the germ intact.

It may also be used for making a kind of pickle called nukazuke (ぬかづけ), as an organic fertilizer, and in livestock feed.

'cooked rice' or 'meal of any sort') consumed as part of a typical washoku (和食) meal accompanied by several okazu (おかず) dishes, tsukemono (漬物, 'pickled things'), and miso soup.

Takikomi gohan is made with ordinary rice which is cooked together with vegetables, meat, or fish seasoned with dashi and soy sauce.

In 2005, the Tokyo Grain Exchange announced that it would create a futures contract on rice with trading starting in the summer of 2006.

have led a small but increasing number of Japanese consumers and restaurants to seek out less expensive rice imported from China, Australia, and the US.