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1
Draw the dashi: combine kombu and katsuobushi in cold water and bring slowly to a near-simmer. Remove kombu before the boil; steep katsuobushi briefly; strain. Season with soy sauce, mirin, and salt to a pale, fragrant broth. The broth should taste mild — a foundation, not the finished thing.
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2
Score a shallow cross-hatch (kakushi-bōcho) into each face of the daikon rounds. Blanch in rice water until just yielding; drain. This removes bitterness and opens the flesh to broth absorption. The rounds should feel slightly softened at the edge but firm at the centre when pressed.
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3
Bring the seasoned dashi to a bare simmer in a wide pot. Add daikon, kamaboko, chikuwa, konnyaku, boiled eggs, and tofu. The surface should tremble, never roll — a vigorous boil will dissolve hanpen and cloud the broth irreparably. This is where the dish lives or dies: maintain the lowest possible heat through the entire cook and all subsequent days, never allowing a full boil.
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4
Simmer uncovered or loosely covered for a minimum of two hours on day one. The broth will begin to take on colour and body from the fish cakes and konnyaku. Remove from heat; cool; refrigerate overnight. On day two, return to the same bare simmer. The broth should smell markedly more complex — fish cake gelatin, sweet daikon, and savoury dashi now integrated.
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5
In the final hour of day-two (or day-three) service, add hanpen. It will soften rapidly; watch that it holds its shape. It is ready when just yielding to a spoon and faintly puffed — do not extend beyond this point.
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6
Ladle ingredients and broth into deep bowls. Serve karashi mustard at the table; its sharp heat is the required counterpoint to the gelatin-rich, long-enriched broth. Taste the broth: on day two or three it should carry the full shita-aji character — layered, complex, and gently sweet from the daikon, with no single ingredient dominating.