Imobota is a traditional rice cake from Tottori Prefecture made with sweet potatoes and glutinous rice. This rustic local delicacy reflects the ingenuity of earlier generations, who made the most of locally available ingredients when rice was scarce. The sweet potatoes add a gentle sweetness and distinctive flavor, creating a comforting treat rooted in the region’s food culture.
To make imobota, sweet potatoes are peeled and cut into manageable pieces, then cooked together with glutinous rice and a little sugar. The mixture is pounded with a rice paddle or wooden pestle, shaped into small rounds, and coated with roasted soybean flour, known as kinako. It is also a traditional way to use up leftover New Year’s rice cakes: the mochi is steamed together with sweet potatoes and transformed into imobota.
Imobota is traditionally associated with the Yumihama Peninsula, where sandy soil made rice cultivation difficult. Sweet potatoes became an important crop because they grew well in these conditions.
During the middle of the Edo period, Heizaemon Ido, an official overseeing the Ōmori magistrate’s district of the Iwami Ginzan silver mine territory, arranged for sweet potato seed tubers suited to sandy soil to be brought from Satsuma Province, in what is now Kagoshima Prefecture. Sweet potato cultivation subsequently spread throughout the area.
By around 1887, sweet potatoes had become a major crop in the region. Because glutinous rice harvests were limited, people combined sweet potatoes with rice to make their supplies go further. This practical approach gave rise to a distinctive local tradition of rice cakes and sweets, including imobota.
Imobota may look similar to botamochi, a traditional Japanese sweet made from rice and often coated with or filled with sweet red bean paste. However, the yellowish flesh of the sweet potato can be seen through gaps in the bean paste or coating.
When eaten, imobota offers a gentle sweetness from the sweet potato, which takes center stage more than the texture of the rice. Its simple flavor and soft texture make it a nostalgic treat that reflects the resourcefulness of traditional home cooking.
Today, imobota is sometimes prepared in a colorful variation known as three-color imobota. Different coatings and toppings, including kinako, green seaweed powder, and sweet red bean paste, add contrasting colors and flavors. These variations give the traditional rice cake a fresh appearance while preserving its connection to local culinary heritage.
First, peeled sweet potatoes are cut into pieces and placed in a rice cooker. Glutinous rice is added on top, followed by water, and the ingredients are cooked together.
Once cooked, sugar and salt are added. While the mixture is still hot, it is mashed with a wooden pestle, shaped into small rounds, and finished with a coating or topping of choice. Kinako, green seaweed powder, and sweet red bean paste are among the ingredients used to add flavor and color.
Imobota is more than a traditional sweet. It tells the story of how communities on the Yumihama Peninsula adapted to sandy farmland and limited rice harvests by making creative use of sweet potatoes. For travelers exploring the Yonago, Daisen, and Sakaiminato area, this humble local specialty offers a delicious way to discover Tottori’s history and everyday food traditions.
Sweet potatoes, glutinous rice, and sweet red bean paste.