A few weeks ago I went to a reggae festival in Yoyogi. I’m not really into reggae, but a lot of my friends were taking part. The weather was perfect for an outdoor event, too.
A performance in front of Meiji Jingu
It was fun. It felt like some kind of matsuri, and I enjoyed it. Having lots of free events like this is one of the joys of city life.
But that’s not the main event..
This is the main event.
The Jamaican Embassy was taking part in it too.
Lots of people, right?
I happened to be hungry, so I ordered something called jerk chicken.
They grill it like this. It’s the must-have snack at a reggae festival, just like takoyaki at a Japanese matsuri.
Um.. this is the guy.
The portion was small, but the taste was decent enough. Probably because I was eating barbecue outdoors. Now that the weather’s getting nicer, being outside is even more fun. Although the rainy season just started, so it looks like I’ll be living a soggy life for a while..
The fresh green of the leaves was beautiful.
Not that it came out well in the photo..
After having a good time, I moved on for my next appointment. Reggae turned out to be more fun than I expected.
Since I was at Yoyogi Park, I stopped by somewhere nearby and bought some delicious cake.
The place is called Demel.
It’s very close to the station but tucked away in a corner, so it isn’t that easy to find. It’s an Austrian cake shop, famous for its Sachertorte.
A tart and a torte
The Sachertorte sold out right in front of me, so I swallowed my tears and bought a different cake, but the taste goes without saying. It’s even better than it looks. The cream in the berry tart was so fresh that I still remember it.
Tokyo Tower
Someone I know lives around here. Well.. they live in a nice place ^_^
On the way home I stopped by Shinjuku,
because Suminoe, a bakery I’ve been hooked on lately, is in Shinjuku.
They seem to run a French restaurant as well as the bakery, and it’s hugely popular.
People were lining up to buy.
Their bread isn’t better than VIRON’s or Joël Robuchon’s. But at 70% of the price for twice the amount, I’d say there’s no better place for value. At this level I could eat it every day without thinking twice. It’s inside the station yet hard to find, which is a drawback, but whenever I have a reason to go to Shinjuku I almost always end up stopping by. I also like that it’s open until 9:30 at night. Though if you go at that hour, there’s hardly any bread left.