English
中国 臺灣 香港 한국어 ไทย Indonesia
Category
All Stay Activity Eat Shop See Seasons
Areas
  • All Areas
  • Tokyo
    Tokyo
  • Hokkaido
    Furano Hakodate Hokkaido Sapporo
  • Tohoku
    Akita Aomori Fukushima Iwate Miyagi Yamagata
  • Kanto
    Chiba Gunma Hakone Ibaraki Kanagawa Saitama Tochigi Yokohama
  • Chubu
    Aichi Mt.Fuji Fukui Gifu Ishikawa Izu Kanazawa Karuizawa Nagano Nagoya Niigata Shizuoka Toyama Yamanashi
  • Kansai
    Hyogo Kyoto Mie Nara Osaka Shiga Wakayama
  • Chugoku
    Hiroshima Okayama Shimane Tottori Yamaguchi
  • Shikoku
    Ehime Kagawa Kochi Tokushima
  • Kyushu
    Fukuoka Kagoshima Kumamoto Miyazaki Nagasaki Oita Saga
  • Okinawa
    Okinawa
Features
Videos

About us
Contact us
Privacy policy
企業の皆様へ
English
中国
臺灣
香港
한국어
ไทย
Indonesia
Areas Stay Activity Eat Shop See Seasons
IKIDANE NIPPON
Features Videos
Areas Stay Activity Eat Shop See Seasons
  • TOP
  • Features
  • Things To Eat at a Matsuri (Savory Edition)

2018-04-09

Things To Eat at a Matsuri (Savory Edition)

Festival food in Japan

©IKIDANENIPPON

Come spring and you can already feel the festive air around you! As the days get warmer, you are likely to come across various matsuri (festivals) – some large and famous, some local; but no matter what kind of matsuri you come across, the energy and buzz in the air is uplifting.
And when there is a matsuri, there is food!! Most Japanese festivals take place close to temples or shrines, but despite this, you will see yatai (food stalls) lining the clamorous, adjacent streets.

Want to know what all you can enjoy at these festivals? We have created a savory and sweet edition for “Things to Eat at a Matsuri.”
Let’s check out some of the yummiest savory treats!

1. Takoyaki(たこ焼き)

According to certain surveys in Japan, takoyaki remains the top pick for festival food. These are basically soft dough balls filled with octopus, baked and topped with mayonnaise (the Japanese kind) and a sweet, sticky sauce.

Even if you don’t like octopus, you can enjoy watching the chef’s skills as they pour, flip and flick them by the score!

2. Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き)

A popular “soul food,” these are thick savory pancakes with the batter mixed with ingredients like cabbage, prawn, meat, etc. and topped with okonomiyaki sauce (a sweet sticky teriyaki kind), dried seaweed powder, beni shoga (shredded pickled ginger) and bonito flakes.

You can find both the Hiroshima-style, stuffed with noodles,

as well as Osaka-style okonomiyaki at festivals.

3. Shioyaki(塩焼き)

This mainly is a small fish, usually yamame (mountain salmon) or ayu (sweet fish), grilled over coals. Sometimes, you will also find prawns and other white/small fish.

4. Kushiyaki (串焼き)

Simply skewered meat – chicken, beef, pork!

The meat is usually cut in small cubes, skewered seasoned with salt and pepper or tare, depending on the cut.

5. Ikayaki(イカ焼き)

You can smell ikayaki from a mile away! Soy sauce is generously brushed on squid which is grilled on a pan till it is pink and tender. Contrary to looks, squid tentacles are unbelievably crunchy and delicious. You can get a whole squid called maruyaki (丸焼き)or sliced.

6. Jaga Bata(じゃがバター)

Hot potatoes! “Jagaimo” in Japanese and “bata,” derivation of butter! Huge wooden, rectangular steamers are placed on top of one another to steam potatoes. Once steamed, the potatoes are topped liberally with butter. These days, you can also find tarako mayonnaise or mentaiko mayonnaise (salted or spicy cod roe mayonnaise).

7. Karaage(唐揚げ)

Now what’s so special about having Japanese-style fried chicken at a matsuri, you may ask? Nothing really, but it’s one of those things that smells so good, it’s hard to miss.

8. Oyaki(お焼き)

These look like buns but are actually made using fermented buckwheat dough filled with stuffing made from Japanese vegetables and are gently roasted on an iron pan. The fillings include burdock, eggplant, pumpkin and sometimes, minced meat!

9. Tomorokoshi (トウモロコシ)

Sweet char-grilled corn pasted with soy sauce or salt. We recommend trying the soy sauce version!

10. Yakisoba(焼きそば)

Although soba means buckwheat, yakisoba is made using wheat flour and flavored with a sauce similar to oyster sauce. These are stir-fried with bite-sized portions of vegetables like cabbage, carrots or onions and salt and pepper. Garnishing includes seaweed powder, bonito flakes, beni shoga (shredded pickled ginger) or mayonnaise.

★ Want to take something special back home with you?

You are bound to find a few stalls selling an assortment of spices and my personal recommendation is the freshly mixed shichimi (seven spices).

The best thing is most of these cost about 300-600 yen! So you can walk about and pick and choose various things. Make sure to check our updates on Facebook, Instagram, and website for more on festivals and events for the year!

Hope you get a chance to stumble upon many of these high-energy festivals.


Download our app and get discounts at popular stores in Japan!
iOS
Android

For reservations

  • No guarantor required! Weekly and monthly rates available. Good for short and long-term stay.

  • KKday is a site that offers optional tours in more than 53 countries.Find a special experience tour in Japan!

  • 48% OFF Sanrio Puroland E-Tickets for Hello Kitty Theme Park

  • Tokyo Disneyland Tickets 1 Day Pass (Direct Entry Tickets)

  • Universal Studios Japan™ Osaka 1 Day Studio Pass E-tickets

  • One Piece Tower Tokyo E-Tickets

Page Top

IKIDANE NIPPON
IKIDANE NIPPON
Areas Stay Activity Eat Shop See Seasons
Features Videos
About us Contact us Privacy policy 企業の皆様へ
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Privacy policy
  • 企業の皆様へ
©IKIDANE NIPPON. All Rights Reserved.