In fact, more than 90% of Japanese people
like this national dish!

Okonomiyaki is such a popular local dish that 90% of Japanese people say they like it. It packs plenty of
vegetables for well-balanced nutrition and a healthy meal. Okonomiyaki is also popular because it’s easy to
make and anyone can add their favorite (okonomi) ingredients, making it fun for everyone.
(Source: 2018 survey in Japan by Otafuku)

A Classic Japanese Dish
which Brings People
Together

In Japan, Okonomiyaki is a go-to meal for family or large groups of friends to eat and enjoy together. As well as being cooked at home, there are many restaurants in Japan specializing in Okonomiyaki, including some where customers grill their Okonomiyaki by themselves to their own taste. Recently, it has also become available as a quick and easy fresh side dish or frozen item at convenience stores and supermarkets.

The History of Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki was created in Hiroshima to satisfy people’s hunger amid post-war food shortages by adding easily-available ingredients to Issen Yoshoku, a flour pancake snack for children at the time. From the mid-1950s to the mid-60s, a wide range of ingredients came to be used across different regions and restaurants, gaining strong popularity from all walks of life as a dish that satisfies adult palates.

Otafuku sauce:
the essential flavor for okonomiyaki

The popularity of okonomiyaki started to grow after the war. At first, Worcestershire sauce was used in cooking okonomiyaki. In response to the concerns of okonomiyaki restaurants that the runny Worcestershire sauce flows right off the grill plate, we started to develop a sauce specifically for okonomiyaki. After extensive trial and error in partnership with okonomiyaki restaurants, we finally created our special okonomiyaki sauce in 1952. Otafuku Okonomi Sauce is a mellow sauce which blends around 20 kinds of spices with plenty of fruits and vegetables, and features the rich sweetness of a special ingredient: dates. We are proud that our sauce currently has a market share in Japan of over 80% in the home okonomiyaki sauce category. We are also laying the groundwork so that people not only in Japan but all over the world will fall in love with okonomiyaki.

About Otafuku

We operate seven production sites in Japan and abroad, safely and reliably manufacturing a variety of seasonings, including okonomiyaki sauce.

Borderless Food

Okonomiyaki can be made with whatever ingredients are readily available, wherever you are in the world. Okonomiyaki can be eaten by anyone regardless of nationality, religion, age, or gender - it is a genuinely borderless food.