When I tell people that I used to live in Sapporo, they sometimes ask if I went to the Sapporo Snow Festival.

Yes, I did. And yes, it was cool:

Also, cold.

...but I had a lot more fun at a different festival in Sapporo: the Yosakoi Soran Festival in early June.

Reading articles online, that festival is basically a giant dance competition.

I suppose that explains why I came across this pack of wild Pikachu:

I'm a bit ashamed to admit that, though I saw these dance troupes roaming the streets, I didn't watch the competition itself.

The reason I had so much fun at this festival, rather, was that I got to do some of my favorite things:
(1) Drink beer in the park.
(2) Learn lots of new Japanese words.
(3) Eat a ton of festival food.

At the time, we were living right across the street from 中島公園 (なかじまこうえん // Nakajima Park), just to the south of central Sapporo. As luck would have it, that's where most of the fun stuff was happening... although the dance competition was up by 大通公園 (おおどおりこうえん // Ōdōri Park).

When you go to a festival, (other than buying some refreshing beverages at a convenience store beforehand) you absolutely must try a ton of festival foods, which are sold at various 屋台 (やたい // [food] carts; [food] stands).

↑ In the above picture, you can see Rei and I enjoying some お好み焼き (おこのみやき). We were searching all over for the 大阪 (おおさか // Osaka) style of お好み焼き, but for some reason they only had the 広島 (ひろしま // Hiroshima) style, which includes noodles:

Ordering something at a festival can be pretty intimidating if you're not that good at Japanese (or even if you are good, if you're shy).

Just remember the phrases we saw back in this lesson:

これ一つください。
これ　ひとつ　ください。
One of these, please.
Literally: “this + one (thing) + please.”

それ二つください。
それ　ふたつ　ください。
Two of those, please.
Literally: “that + two (things) + please.”

あれ三つください。
あれ　みっつ　ください。
Three of those, please.
Literally: “that (over there) + three (things) + please.”


A large percentage of the food stands will only be selling one thing. In such a case, you don't need to include これ・それ・あれ. You can just say:

一つください。
ひとつ　ください。
One, please.
Literally: “one (thing) + please.”

二つください。
ふたつ　ください。
Two, please.
Literally: “two (things) + please.”

三つください。
みっつ　ください。
Three, please.
Literally: “+ three (things) + please.”

Hopefully the process will go nice and smoothly, as it did for Rei:

Looking online, most articles about festivals in Japan seem to single out specific festivals for their cultural aspects. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, but you'll probably have fun at just about any festival you go to in Japan because they'll all be packed with people, 屋台, and all kinds of cultural peculiarities you're not familiar with.

I was trying to find comprehensive lists of the festivals in Japan in English, but there doesn't seem to be a perfect site for that. These pages are helpful, though:
- Japan Talk: Japan Calendar
- JNTO: Festivals & Events

Note that there tends to be a lot of festivals in the summer months.

If you're traveling to a certain area, your best approach might be to simply look up "[place name] festival" online. Or, if you're feeling like a good student, type「[place name] お祭り」(that's おまつり, by the way — the Japanese name for festivals). Generally speaking the honorific prefix お is included. One case in which it's dropped, however, is when 祭り is attached to the end of a word.

If it's summer, you should also try looking up 花火大会 (はなびたいかい // fireworks festival). You'll typically find a lot of 屋台 (やたい) at these, as well. Also, you get to see fireworks, which is cool.

Don't forget to be adventurous and try some new foods:

Even if you hate it, it'll be a fun story. Even better, you might find some new favorites...

Maybe you'll also be brave enough to enter the お化け屋敷 (おばけやしき // haunted house):

Or you can play it safe and just get balloons and cotton candy:

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Useful Japanese

We'll start with a word list:

お祭り（おまつり // festival）

花火大会（はなびたいかい // fireworks festival）

屋台（やたい // [food] cart; [food] stand）

お好み焼き（おこのみやき // okonomiyaki [=a type of savory pancake]）

たこ焼き（やこやき // takoyaki [=octopus dumplings... sort of]）

たい焼き（たいやき // taiyaki [=fish-shaped cake filled with bean jam]）

綿飴（わたあめ // cotton candy [literally "cotton-candy"]）

イカ焼き（いかやき // grilled squid）

焼きそば（やきそば // yakisoba [=a type of fried noodles]）

フランクフルト（フランクフルト // frankfurter）

ドネルケバブ（ドネルケバブ // doner kebab）
↑ You may notice that the 屋台 in our picture writes ドンネルサンド (doner sandwich). Most people say ケバブ.

えびせんべい（えびせんべい // shrimp rice crackers）

唐揚げ（からあげ // fried chicken）

焼きダンゴ（やきだんご // grilled dango）

And now, some sentences:

あ、お祭りやってる。ちょっと寄って行こうよ。
あ、　おまつり　やってる。　ちょっと　よっていこう　よ。
Hey, they’re having a festival. Let’s go check it out.
Literally: “oh, + festival + are doing. + a little bit + let’s make a short visit (=stop by [and] + let’s go) + よ.”

屋台のお好み焼きっておいしいよね。
やたい　の　おこのみやき　って　おいしい　よ　ね。
Okonomiyaki at food stands is good, huh?
Literally: “(food) stand / (food) cart + の + okonomiyaki + って + tasty + よ + ね.”

焼きそば半分こしない？
やきそば　はんぶんこ　しない？
Wanna split (an order of) yakisoba?
Literally: “yakisoba + splitting in half / halfsies + won’t do?”