Festival food in Japan
The leaves turn a fiery red, days shorten, temperatures fall and the days left on the calendar reduce to one page. Japanese autumn and winter are very different from the hellish heat of summer. The wall of noise that is the cicadas has vanished, and convenience stores start selling sweet potato snacks and start taking orders for Christmas cakes. During this season Japan experiences a plethora of festivals all celebrating different things.
In anime this is the time where characters dress up in Kimono, meet crushes among a sea of people at festivals, loose one another and are reunited in a way where time seems to stand still and they lock eyes. They pray at the temple, share a romantic confession which is covered up by the thunderous roar of fireworks or even share a gentle kiss. They also eat an array of food. Today’s blog will focus on the food that can be found at festivals in Japan and deep dive into the mainstays that anime often features.
The first festival food is perhaps the most famous, Takoyaki, a doughy fried ball with pieces of octopus inside these can be found everywhere! They feature in anime and can also be found as street food in many cities. The next food that often features in shows and can also be found as a street food and in convenience stores is Taiyaki. Shaped like a fish, it has a crispy exterior and cakey interior often filled with red bean paste, chocolate and matcha. Another main stay at festivals is long potato, it is easy to explain because it is exactly what you’re thinking! Very long French fries often sold with a variety of condiments.
More general foods include ramens, sobas, udons, Japanese curries and various hamburgers from the local area. Another mainstay which is featured in anime is fried squid and often characters are seen munching on skewers with that familiar shape of squid on them. You will also see stalls offering fried Okonomiyaki, this dish hails from Osaka and is a variety of vegetables and noodles fried on a hot plate and topped with sauces and bonito flakes. They come in many variations and there are high end stores which will cook them in front of you in a performance style. Stalls selling Karage are easy to find too, this food was one of the first to cross the seas to the west and make appearances at comic conventions and Japan matsuri in London.
Stalls selling rice wrapped in pork and coated in soy sauce can be found, I recommend eating these fresh of the hot plate as eating them cold wasn’t a memorable experience. During the summer and even colder festivals shaved ice stalls will be present with a variety of toppings or sauces. There are often stalls selling candy fruit in the UK for bonfire night and Halloween the toffee apple is a mainstay. Candy fruit is this, but it extends to other fruits too! Candyfloss and arcade shooting gallery games can be found for a chance to win prizes and candy. Vendors selling masks for children are usually present somewhere.
There is usually also a variety of vendors selling meat skewers which include a variety of meats, seafoods and sometimes even wagyu. I advise you to walk around and see all the stalls first, this is because there will always be a stall charging more than others for the same product. Plus, it’s a good way to weigh up all your food options.
Sometimes you may find a baked potato vendor, but the toppings are limited and if you want a buttered potato the butter is not enough to coat the whole thing. Sweet potatoes will be on offer during winter events and during summer iced cucumbers will be available. At some events I have been to tacos are sometimes on offer and if you are lucky taco rice may be available, a specialty of Okinawa. Another mainstay of anime and Japanese games is dango, mochi balls on a skewer these often come in an array of colours, however the most featured is the trio of pink, white and green.
Ice cream stalls are present at larger events and during summer. Sometimes if the event is large enough collabs with chains may be found such as Mos burger. Local vendors will sell an array of dishes too these are usually the stalls I try to hit as they are often family run business.
The amount of variety you find will depend on how big the event is and when, where and how long it is on for. The above items are mainstays I have found at multiple festivals now across Japan. Anime often shows the mainstays of festivals and is a great way to introduce festivals to a western audience. I fully recommend checking a festival out in Japan if you have a chance to. The atmosphere and food make it worth it plus the dances and fireworks are a great way to experience a different side of Japan.
