Pickles accentuate Japanese food. Now, I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you about nishinzuke, made mainly in the northern parts of Japan such as Hokkaido and hakusaizuke, a winter delicacy. My grandmother Umeko lives in Sapporo, Hokkaido and in recent years, she has been sending me homemade pickles. My grandmother uses most of the pickles that she makes by herself, and sends me the remainder. There are no particular types of pickles that stand out in my memory, but I do know that my family never lacked for pickles at the dining table. When I thought about pickles again, there were many things that I noticed. Now I would like to introduce my grandmother's special recipes for Nishinzuke and Hakusaizuke.