In the Snow Country Waiting for Spring: Traveling Seven Herbs and Evening Porridge

There is an elegant poem that goes, "For your sake, I went out to the spring fields and picked young greens; as I did, snow fell upon my sleeves." However, if you tried to put this into practice in Hokkaido on January 7th, you might end up as a casualty. Recently, there is also the risk of encountering a brown bear that failed to hibernate, so it is a life-threatening endeavor either way.

Even if you go out into the fields, all you find is snow. Snow, snow, snow. Even if you dig with a shovel, your hands will go numb when the tip hits the frozen earth, so I do not recommend it. For Hokkaido residents, the seven herbs are not something you "pick," but something you "buy" at the supermarket.

My own "Little Women"—no, my "Seven Herbs Story"—began at the end of last year, in a corner of a supermarket where the world was still giddy with thoughts of "Osechi! Crab! Sushi! Sashimi! Genghis Khan!"

Encountering the Early Seven Herbs

While shopping for New Year's, I saw a "Seven Herbs Set" sitting quietly, yet with a certain presence, next to the flashy New Year's ingredients. The actual day was still over a week away; wasn't that too early? I couldn't help but make a mental retort.

I hadn't even eaten yet. I hadn't even gained weight yet... no, I just lied. I had already gained weight. I apologize and stand corrected. In any case, before the feast that was about to begin, I felt as if someone had pointed at me and said, "You're going to ruin your stomach anyway, aren't you?"

Moreover, this is the snow country of Hokkaido. Outside is a world of silver. These green herbs must have been transported from far away. Their appearance in the pack, even if I look at them favorably, seemed tired, as if they were pleading, "Please eat us soon. It's freezing, and we're at our limit in every sense."

At that moment, I couldn't find the Japanese parsley (seri) for my ozoni soup, and I briefly reached out thinking, "Wait, isn't there parsley in the seven herbs set?" but I reconsidered, thinking that was surely wrong, and went home without buying it.

The Forbidden Taste Eaten at Night

Apparently, you are supposed to eat it in the morning. But I eat it at night. This is because I don't feel energetic eating porridge from the morning, and I feel like eating it at night gives me a greater sense of detoxification as a way to wrap up the day (though there is no scientific basis for this).

The logical argument that "If you just fixed your daily diet, you wouldn't need to rely on the seven herbs" crosses my mind, but as Tora-san would say, "If you say that, it's all over." I am a creature with the audacity to try and cancel out 364 days of unhealthy living with this one day, and this one meal, of porridge.

The time had come for those seven herbs that had been lined up since the end of the year (though I'm sure new ones arrive daily) to settle into my stomach. Last year, I resigned myself to what I could get in the deep snow and made a "three-herb porridge" with what I had on hand, but thinking of the seven herbs that were jostled during transport, spent the New Year in a corner of a supermarket, and withered away, I felt pity for them. Overlapping that with my own circumstances, I decided to buy them this year.

▽ Article on last year's (2025) "Seven Herbs"

It's okay if they're withered! Once they become porridge and settle in my stomach, they're all the same. As I bury my face in the steam, my only wish is sincere. Just as the destination of the seven herbs' journey is my stomach, I intend to make this porridge the starting point of my new year.