The best part of a Japanese matsuri has to be the food stalls. Without yatai, it just doesn’t feel like a festival.
Yaki ramen, a Fukuoka specialty
Yakisoba is famous all over Japan, but yaki ramen was probably created in Fukuoka not all that long ago. I’d gotten hungry while waiting, and I was curious how it differs from yakisoba, so I bought one.
Yaki ramen
It really does taste like ramen. It’s similar to shio yakisoba too, but the noodles are ramen noodles. The toppings and seasoning are pure ramen as well. If you ask whether it’s better than yakisoba, not really, but it’s a new kind of taste, so with curiosity thrown in I was pretty satisfied. Besides, even if the food is ordinary, it’s made right in front of you, so it was nice to eat it while it was still hot.
Fruit + candy
It’s a bit like fondue: fruit coated in hard candy. The strawberry one, called ichigo ame, is seriously good. The freshly set candy shatters with a crunch and fills a big, fresh strawberry with candy sweetness. It’s junk food, sure, but when it’s this tasty you’ve got to let it slide. They say strawberry beats apple or pineapple, so if you go to a Japanese matsuri, give it a try.
Maybe because so many people come, the lines last until late at night.
I saw lots of couples. I guess events like this really are meant for coming with your sweetheart… (These days I’m starting to think my camera, which is always with me, might be my sweetheart…)
An Atsugi horumon-yaki stall
Atsugi is a small city near Yokohama. It’s not a town known for much, but it became famous nationwide when its horumon-yaki won the 3rd B-grade gourmet Grand Prix (B-1 Grand Prix). I was curious just how good a first-place winner could be, so I ordered some.
Horumon-yaki
If this is first place, I could whip up anything and win first place myself. It’s a taste you can get at any gopchang place in Korea. Of course, eating it in Atsugi and eating it in Kobe might taste different.
The stall right next door was selling tori motsu nikomi (simmered chicken giblets), the winner of the 5th Grand Prix, which is to say this year’s.
Verdict… the meat was tough and the sauce way too sweet. Two failures in a row… dammit…
There was also this fun stall.
But I was already stuffed and couldn’t eat another bite, so all I have is the photo. No idea how it tastes, but coming up with the idea of making a hamburger out of ramen is pretty impressive.