Welcome to the furusato festival at Tokyo Dome. Furusato means hometown, so this was a celebration of regional food, booze, and merriment from around Japan. Sounds awesome! Don't worry, I'll complain about it at the end.
My draw was the food. Hundreds of stands selling anything local you could buy out in the far stretches of Japan. Like different kinds of fish roe. Best part, free samples of everything. But it was dog eat dog, with little old Japanese grannies elbowing me in the liver to get to a teaspoon of beans or some shit.
Samurai pudding. It's slightly more bitter than regular pudding, said the staff.
Mmmm, whale. Whale is not delicious, but it's really nostalgic to a lot of people. I think in the next generation it will disappear naturally as something people want to eat. Off topic, did you see the video of the Sea Shepherd getting sunk? Hilarious!
Booze! Local liquid from across the land. This time I did the elbowing in the liver for the free samples.
There was also a stage show with local dances and what not. It's not really my thing, and I don't have a good lens for my camera that captures from a distance, so I didn't really check it.
Wow! What a great event, and just minutes from my apartment. Right?
Wrong! It was so hella crowded, and even though I tower above most people, that shit gets real old real fast. And I paid 1500 yen to get in, which is kind of a high price for the opportunity to just buy more crap. Remember, this is Tokyo, specialty food is not hard to find at all. I was expecting the free sample angle to be way radder, but it ended up being a pain in the ass. I was serious about the old ladies elbowing me in the liver.
If you want to buy regional foods, and even have lots of free samples, just go to the Isetan department store in Shinjuku. It's the same food experience, without the entrance fee or crowds.
Looking over this post, it's amazing how the photos can tell such a different story!
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