Production of frozen versions of "osechi" traditional Japanese New Year meals is seen at its peak in Kaizuka, Osaka Prefecture. (Mainichi/Kenji Konoha)=Click/tap photo for more images.

       KAIZUKA, Osaka -- Production of frozen versions of traditional Japanese New Year dishes is at its height at a food manufacturer in this west Japan city, as it aims to fill 1.5 times more orders than 2020 amid stay-at-home trends fueled by the coronavirus pandemic.

       On conveyor belts at Asahi Wellness Foods Co.'s factory, shrimp, abalone and other food are packed beautifully in multi-tiered boxes which are then quickly frozen at minus 35 to 40 degrees Celsius.

       Production of frozen versions of "osechi" traditional Japanese New Year meals is seen at its peak in Kaizuka, Osaka Prefecture. (Mainichi/Kenji Konoha)=Click/tap photo for more images.

       More people than usual are expected to spend the New Year's holidays at home because of the pandemic, and demand for traditional "osechi" meals is high. Asahi Wellness Foods' lunch box-sized, one-person meals -- which do not need plates -- are popular. By the end of 2021 the company will have made some half a million sets of osechi meals.

       (Japanese original by Kenji Konoha, Osaka Photo Department)

       In Photos: Frozen 'osechi' Japanese New Year dishes' production reaches peak

       Font Size S M L Print Timeline 0