夏祭りの屋台を堪能！食べ歩きブログ Trying Japanese festival food 2026!

<< English entry below >>

夏祭りで食べ歩き！日本の夏の醍醐味
Eating and reviewing Japanese Summer Festival Food!
1. 🎆 Another Year, Another Festival, Another Full Stomach!

夏祭りで食べ歩き！日本の夏の醍醐味

出来るだけ毎年、夏祭りに行って食べ歩きをすることにしています。
近場でも規模が大きいものが2，3箇所で開催され、今年も訪れることができました。

今回来た場所は毎年決まって出店されているものもあるので、それを狙うとともに、何が新しくなっているかを見て回り、食べながら雰囲気を楽しもうと妻に連れられて来ました。

さて、今年はどんなものに巡り合え、何でお腹を満たせるのか…

いつも何か食べ物を買う前にチャレンジしているのが、ピンボール。
レトロゲーマーと自負しているけど、それでもこれ以上レトロにはできまい（笑。
300円を払って全てのマスに白いボールを入れることができれば、何と10万円の賞金が手に入る！
普段はギャンブルとは無縁の僕ですが、レトロゲーマーとしての血が騒ぐ！
ボールを1個も無駄にすることはできない！
結果は御覧の通り…　↓

お祭りがあると必ず妻が欲しがるのが水風船。
彼女は慣れているので一個のフックでも2，3個ゲットできるのに、あえて僕にやらせるという厳しさを見せています。
ここで僕の腕前を披露！　↓

「ハシマキ？初めて見るね」と2人とも販売屋台に吸い寄せられていき、試しに1本購入。
要は名前通りお箸に巻かれたお好み焼きなのだけど、ボリュームが少ない分チーズの味が引き立つ！
手軽で美味しかったけど、今度試すならお好み焼きが良いかな　↓

ついつい手を出してしまったフライドスパゲッティ。
これは以前にも食べたことがあるけど、長持ちするので食べ歩きにはピッタリ。

揚げた後にコンソメや塩、チョコレート何かの甘いものがあるけど、自分はハードコアにBBQ味にしました。
ポリポリとした触感を楽しむうちに気付いたらお腹で膨れている、不思議な一品です。　↓

ココは気が狂ったのか？マヨネーズを直飲みだと？！
飢餓状態になったらそれも躊躇なくするけれど、ご安心ください、これはただのプリンです。
入れ物がわざとマヨっぽいのが可愛い　↓

焼き鳥があったら必ず買うのが「軟骨」！
しかもこちらのは一本150円、そして何よりもタレが美味しくて何本もいける！
この美味しさならもっと他のも頼んで焼いてもらえばよかったね、と後で2人で話していました。他のお祭りに行けば、また出会えるだろうか…？　↓

鶏の次は牛だぜ！というわけで牛タンを購入。
動物の舌というのはだいたい美味しいので、こちらもためらわずにガブリ！
焼き鳥程タレの主張が無かった分、素材の味と触感を存分に楽しむことができました。
肉はやっぱり美味しい～　↓

妻が水風船を外せないように、僕にとってはこの揚げチーズはお祭りではマスト。
韓国発のスナックで名前があるみたいだけれど、それよりも振りかける大量の砂糖とケチャップのダブルパンチが味覚をバグらせ、楽しませてくれる。
相反する2つの調味料のはずなのに、何でこんなに美味しいのだろうか？

体に100％良くないのはど素人の僕でもわかるけど、年に数回くらいは大丈夫！…なハズ。　↓

チーズに目がない僕は、他の屋台でも買っては平らげていきました。

最後にはさすがにお腹いっぱいになったけど…。　↓

今年もあった！500円の10円！

渋谷で数年前に流行ったスナックが地元にも来てくれたおかげで、遠征することなく味わうことができます。
中に入ったチーズ（またしても）のとろけ具合がカスタード生地と合って、究極のスナックが出来上がります。
なんだかんだ言って、これを売っている屋台を見つけるといつも買って食べてしまいます。　↓

今年も満腹、大満足！

アユの塩焼きや焼きイカ、メダカすくいが新しく、僕たちが足を止めなかったスーパーボールすくいや綿あめ、お面屋さんや射的などなどたくさんあったけれど、食べ歩きしながらそれらを楽しんでいる人々を見れたのが何よりも楽しい思い出となりました。

盆踊りとは違った体験なので、機会があれば他のお祭りにも顔を出していきます！

English ————————————————————-

Eating and reviewing Japanese Summer Festival Food!

Every summer, BearFriend and I make it a point to hit up at least one summer festival for some serious food crawling. Luckily, there are two or three fairly large festivals held nearby, and this year we managed to make it out again!

Some of the stalls at this particular festival show up every single year, so we always go in with a game plan — track down the regulars we love, scout out what’s new, eat our way through everything, and just soak up the whole atmosphere. This year, BearFriend was the one dragging me along (not that I needed much convincing!).

So what did we stumble across this year? What ended up filling our stomachs? Let’s get into it…

Pinball Challenge — Because We’re Retro Like That

Before I even think about buying food, there’s one thing I always try first — the pinball game.
I call myself a retro gamer, but honestly, it doesn’t get much more retro than this (😂). Pay ¥300, land a white ball in every single slot, and you could walk away with ¥100,000 in prize money!
Gambling really isn’t my thing, but something about this wakes up the retro gamer in me. Not a single ball can go to waste!

So… how did it go? ↓

Water Balloon Scooping

Whenever there’s a festival, BearFriend absolutely has to play the water balloon game.
She’s a total pro — she can snag two or three balloons with just one hook.
And yet, she always makes ME do it instead, fully aware of how that’s going to turn out.

Time to show off my skills… ↓

Hashimaki — What Even Is This?!

“Hashimaki? Never seen that before!” — we both said in unison as we were drawn straight to this stall like magnets.
We grabbed one to try.

Basically, it’s okonomiyaki wrapped around chopsticks — exactly what the name suggests.
Because it’s a smaller portion, the cheese flavor really pops!
It was easy to eat and genuinely delicious, though next time I’d probably go for a full okonomiyaki. ↓

Fried Spaghetti — A Festival Classic

I couldn’t resist the fried spaghetti stall.
I’ve had this one before, and the great thing about it is that it stays crunchy for a long time — perfect for walking around and snacking.

After frying, you can choose your seasoning: consommé, salt, chocolate, or other sweet options.
Me? I went full hardcore and picked BBQ flavor.

There’s something almost magical about this snack — you just keep munching on that satisfying crunch and before you know it, your stomach is completely full. ↓

Wait… Is That a Mayo Bottle?! (Spoiler: It’s Pudding)

Has this stall lost its mind?!
Are they seriously selling drinkable mayonnaise?!

Okay, okay — I’d definitely down straight mayo if I were starving, but don’t worry — this is just pudding.
The container is deliberately designed to look like a mayo bottle, and honestly? That’s adorable. ↓

Grilled Cartilage Skewers — An Absolute Must

Any time I spot grilled chicken skewers at a festival, I zero in on the cartilage.
Every single time.

These ones were only ¥150 a skewer, and the tare sauce was so good that I kept going back for more.
We both agreed afterward that we should have ordered way more while we had the chance.
Will we run into these again at another festival someday…? ↓

Next Up: Beef Tongue!

After the chicken, it was time for beef. We grabbed some gyutan (beef tongue) and didn’t hesitate for a second — animal tongues are almost always delicious, and this was no exception.

It was less sauce-forward than the yakitori, which meant the natural flavor and texture of the meat really came through.
Meat is just… amazing. ↓

Fried Cheese — My Festival Non-Negotiable

Just like BearFriend can never leave without her water balloons, I cannot leave a festival without getting the fried cheese. It’s non-negotiable.

This one’s originally a Korean snack, and apparently it has a proper name — but honestly, what matters most is the insane combo of a mountain of sugar AND ketchup sprinkled on top.
It absolutely breaks your taste buds in the best possible way.

Two totally opposing condiments… and yet somehow it works perfectly.
I know deep down it’s 100% not good for my body, but a few times a year has to be okay… right?! ↓

More Cheese, Obviously

Being the complete cheese addict that I am, I kept finding excuses to grab more cheese from other stalls too.
By the end, I was genuinely, properly full… ↓

The ¥10 Snack for ¥500 — It’s BACK!

And there it was — the snack we’ve been waiting for! ¥500 for what looks like a giant 10-yen coin!

This snack blew up in Shibuya a few years back, and now it’s made its way to our neighborhood — no need to make a special trip into the city anymore.

The cheese inside (yes, more cheese 😂) is perfectly melted and pairs beautifully with the custard-based dough. The result is an absolutely legendary snack.

I tell myself every year that I might skip it… and every single time I spot the stall, I buy one without a second thought. ↓

🎆 Another Year, Another Festival, Another Full Stomach!

This year brought some fun new additions — salt-grilled sweetfish, grilled squid, and medaka fish scooping were all fresh faces.
We also spotted super ball scooping, cotton candy, mask stalls, shooting galleries, and all the classic festival staples — even if we didn’t stop at all of them.

But honestly? The best part wasn’t the food (okay, the food was amazing).
It was watching everyone else around us — families, couples, kids — enjoying it all in their own way.
That energy and vibe is what makes summer festivals so special.

Since this is a totally different experience from a bon odori dance festival, I’d love to check out some other festivals whenever we get the chance!