Harajuku - Cascadian Abroad

A tramp to Tokyo VegefoodFesta last weekend led to a completely random and awesome day in Japan’s capital city.

The rain was just heavy enough to keep the crowds thin at Yoyogi Park, where two separate festivals were taking place simultaneously. VegefoodFesta is an annual beacon for Tokyo-area herbivores, offering a few dozen booths with 100% plant-based eats, fresh produce and responsibly-made goods.

Vegan Takoyaki — Takoyaki, a fritter that usually contains a piece of octopus, was vegetarian-friendly at VegefoodFesta

I love these kinds of events because it’s an opportunity to get a taste of traditional Japanese foods without the fear of meat or fish sneaking into the dish. There were vegan versions of takoyaki (octopus fritter), tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) and Japanese curry (usually has chicken).

Vegan Tonkatsu — A vegan tonkatsu sandwich. The breaded pork cutlet is a popular food in Japan.

One booth made “hie of fish” sandwiches, using Japanese millet (hie/ヒエ) to create a fish-like patty. They also offered an “American Dog,” which was a corn dog that replaced the “dog” with a large chunk of burdock root (gobou/ごぼう).

Our friends from Loving Hut were on hand with three separate booths featuring their meatless version of yakitori (meat on a skewer). Mana Burger was right by the gate and I had one of their veggie burgers in hand within moments of entering. I was looking forward to visiting them on our trip to Fukuoka, but they’d closed up shop. In July, they reopened in Yokohama and made the short trip up to Tokyo for the festival.

The other half of the festival grounds was hosting Fiesta de España. I’d pretty much eaten everything in sight at VegefoodFesta, but there was still room for some Spanish red wine and a churro. We watched a couple songs from Seville, Spain folk-dub-shoegaze duo IAMDIVE on the main stage before heading out.

We walked across the street and into the actual park area of Yoyogi Park. The leaves are in full autumn mode and the park grounds had transformed from summer green to fall yellows and reds. The park was crawling with photographers and models, taking advantage of the short-lived landscape.

Roppongi Tree Lights — The trees along the streets of Roppongi Hills light up blue…

After wandering around Harajuku for a bit, we hopped on the train for Roppongi. The trees along the streets near Roppongi Hills are wrapped tight with lights alternating from blue/white to red every few minutes.

Inside the Roppongi Hills complex, a small Christmas market featured small ornaments and German food and beer. Christmas in Japan is all about the secular and is very Western in terms of music and decor.

Roppongi Heart — The heart in the pond at Roppongi Hills. Tokyo Skytree lights up the night sky in the background.

The Tokyo night was brightly lit between the trees and the shining Tokyo Skytree tower in the skyline. Everyone was in good cheer—maybe because “Whisky Hills 2014” was hosting 300 yen (about $2.50 USD) whiskey tastings.

Roppongi Metal Tree — A metal cone with changing lights set up in 66 Plaza at Roppongi Hills

All the walking around worked up an appetite. We (barely) found the nearby Chien Fu vegetarian Chinese restaurant. A nondescript sign led to an elevator to the shop. We entered the dining room with its ornate tables and decorations. Everyone was dressed up for a night on the town. I felt a bit like a drowned dog after tromping around in the rain all day, but they didn’t seem to mind. We split a sweet and sour “pork” dish, spring rolls and an eggplant dish.

As we left, the sweet old man who greeted us when we came in asked “Vegetarian?” We said yes and his face lit up…. “Very good!!! Vegetarian… very good!”

I’ll say the same for Tokyo on that day… “Vegetarian… very good!”

Tokyo provides a lot of opportunity for tourism, shopping… your typical big-city stuff. But, the gems of a city are in the alleyways and parks. We found an abundance of both as our Tokyo adventures continued last weekend in Harajuku.

Dancers — The fashion scene was pretty subdued that day, but these girls were dancing in Yoyogi Park.

Our primary purpose for the visit was Tokyo’s Earth Day festival in Yoyogi Park, another of Tokyo’s fantastic public park spaces. Hundreds of vendors sold food and goods and non-profit organizations used the opportunity to reach thousands with their messages.

One booth demonstrated how you could pop corn with a reflector and sunlight.

Others reminded us of our need for the ethical treatment of animals, our food and ourselves. Not being able to read food labels is actually one of the few real downers of being in Japan. We do the best we can.

Anti-fur campaign — Booth reminding us where fur really comes from…

A live band filled the air with covers of American classics. A spot-on rendition of Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart” was followed by a rockabilly take on Elvis Presley’s classic “Hound Dog.”

The biggest draw to these things is usually the food, and Earth Day 2014 provided some great eats! Veggie “meat” on a stick, steamed “pork” buns and…

Arm-length french fries — French fries as long as my arm.

Deep-fried, cheese-filled avocado. Yes, you read that right…

Then there’s the innovative, weird and just plain Tokyo. A dog in a backpack, a truck that turns plastic into oil and whatever that thing is.

After the festival, we explored Harajuku. Shopping is abundant, of course, but there are little pockets of awesome all over the district. We grabbed some amazing raw milk ice cream in coffee at Shiroichi.

These guys were really enjoying their ice cream towers from Shiroichi.

We walked up Takeshita Street, which is the crammed-with-tourists home of Harajuku’s fashion movement. The video screen captures visitors in their last seconds of freedom before crowd-induced claustrophobia takes over.

We finished our big day out at Baird Brewing. At some point I’ll write a post about the beer “scene” in Japan, but on this day, we found a good one. Bryan Baird, a brewer with Pacific Northwest connections, has brought true craft brewing to Tokyo.

Baird Brewing's Harajuku Taproom — Baird Brewing’s Harajuku Taproom

The pub food was fantastic—we had grilled tofu, shitake mushrooms and edamame—but someone should tell the Japanese that you need to serve some carbs with beer approaching 10% ABV.

Reminders of home surrounded us in the corner of the bar. A postcard from Portland sat on the shelf to our left. Oregon breweries were well represented in the swiped coasters that lined the top of the bar.

Before we left, the bartender asked where we were from. I told him Oregon and he got very excited. He says “hold on…” and heads into the keg cooler. He comes back out with a 22-ounce bottle of Portland’s own Upright Brewing “Seven” and a big smile on his face. Apparently he’d just returned from his own craft beer pilgrimage to the Rose City.

I look forward to the opportunity to explore those alleyways again soon.