ShoukuHaku: Food Fest 2009

    ShoukuHaku is a grand event that happens once every four years in Japan.  It is a massive gathering of Japan's finest foods and most enthusiastic people, essentially the Olympics of eating.  It just so happens that I was here for that event, it was in Osaka, my taiko group was performing in it, and my host parents wanted to take me to it.  Obviously, it was destined to be.  

The cover of the guide pamphlet for ShoukuHaku.

I didn't get any pictures from my taiko performance but it was amazing, hundreds of people!  I was so ready to go back for the food the second time, I didn't in breakfast that day in preparation.

My host Parents and I eating our Hiroshima Okonomiyaki

(fried, veggies, noodles, meat, pancaked with egg batter)

Ice Cream Cones!  Flavors listed range from

green tea and vanilla to black sesame and squid.

Two old ladies nonchalantly making steamed buns

for the impatient line of customers.

Turkish ice cream, they pull out of buckets on long sticks.

It's so thick and much better than any other ice cream I have tasted.

Gargantuan burgers and the massive buns they come on.

Gyoza, essentially pot stickers with a thinner outer layer.

    The enormity of this festival was tremendous.  People were driving down from tokyo (about 9 hours) to make it to this event.  I was so lucky to be able to go to it much less perform in it!  Both times I went were incredible, with the taiko group, everybody just got drunk and make a laughing stock of themselves, you know, good natured humor.  With my host parents, we ate so much food from so many different places we skipped dinner that night.  Japan is big on local food specialties (kobe Beef, Hokkaido crab, Osaka octopus fritters, etc) and that is what this event was celebrating.  Yay Japan and food!  They do it like no one else could.

Note: Reflecting back, I realized for such a large event I saw about 3 other foreigners there, quite rare for a gathering of that size.  My conclusion: Japan's best-kept secret, no wonder!