In Japan, lotus root has long been considered one of the most precious and medicinal vegetables. The root is a variety of water lily. It grows in deep mud in still ponds. Lotus root is usually prepared in dried form. Fresh lotus may be sliced into many wonderful shapes, and its hollow inner chambers are a beautiful geometrical wonder of nature.

Giant white radish (daikon) is the most popular vegetable in Japan, and Japanese cooking is impossible to imagine without it. Mitoku Sun-Dried Daikon is made the traditional way, by simply shredding the fresh daikon and leaving it to dry in the sun during the clear, dry days of winter. After shredding, it is laid out on rice mats (tatami) to dry outside in the sun for several weeks.

Burdock has been cultivated by farmers in Japan for centuries; its long, slender, dark-brown root is a perennial favorite amongst Japanese, for whom it is a staple winter vegetable. The traditional way of preserving burdock is Sasagaki Burdock: the root is shaved into fine slivers, then left to dry in the sun during the clear, cold days of winter.