Yesterday Ojika had a fun farmer's market featuring locals selling their vegetables, creating tasty sweet treats, and many stalls with amazing lunch options. In addition, talented artists sold their jewellery, knitted hats, and a few spots had second hand clothing available. We got to enjoy some interesting entertainment, lots of food, and enter a drawing for some great prizes!
Have you ever tried Imagawayaki? Imagawayaki is a tasty dessert that is commonly found in Japan at festivals, or as street food. Similar to Japanese delicacies like Taiyaki and Dorayaki, this treat is made in a special pan in which pancake dough is added. Then, a small dollop of either red bean or white bean paste is put into the center, before a second layer of pancake dough is added on top. Then, the two halves cook together and create a steamy little cake that is filled with sweet deliciousness!
We tried a few Imagawayaki and also had some delicious sweet potato fries. Some other treats we tried were some fried ebi (shrimp), fried chicken, a tuna sandwich, and some tomato soup.
Before I left, I grabbed two sweet potatoes that had been slow roasted in an large oven right at the festival for only 100 yen. I ate one right there, while sitting on the ground and watching the prize drawing at the end of the event, and it was absolutely perfectly cooked and all gooey inside. I saved the second one for my breakfast the next day!
We didn't end up winning anything at the raffle but it was wonderful to watch the locals jump up, excited, when their name was called out on stage and they got to come and take their winnings back to their seat with huge smiles on their faces.
After the festival, we had an enjoyable twenty minute walk back to the main city center and had a coffee at Otoya, a small shop run by a jazz musician with an artistic and inspiring ambience to close off our afternoon. The shop, normally quiet in the afternoon, was hustling and bustling with locals having a Sunday outing after the exciting festivities. All in all, it was an absolutely wonderful day!
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