Mitsuwa Natsu Matsuri 2007
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My husband and I headed out to dinner tonight. On the way to the restaurant, we drove by Mitsuwa Marketplace in Torrance and saw that they were having a Natsu Matsuri (summer festival). The restaurant we were planning on eating at turned out to be closed. Apparently, fate wanted us to go eat okonomiyaki and BBQ beef bowl. =) For those not familiar with Mitsuwa, it's a chain of Japanese markets. I'm not sure of the demographics of the other stores, but the Torrance store especially seems to cater to the workers from the local major Japanese businesses (Toyota, Honda, etc) and others from Japan. The Natsu Matsuri drew a lot of Japanese nationals, including a large number of teenagers, plus some Japanophiles and others. We got there as the event was winding down. They had just started to clean up the stage equipment, so we missed whatever live entertainment they had. J-pop music played loudly on the speakers as we got our food, ate, and walked around a bit. They had already run out of some things and were trying to finish cooking and selling the rest. In addition to okonomiyaki and BBQ beef bowls, there was also takoyaki (a popular booth), udon, and corn dogs (this seemed out of place, but since they had run out, I wasn't able to check whether it was some sort of Japanese variation). There were also a few game booths, and several areas with cultural toys for sale. Natsu Matsuri - July 22, 2007 Mitsuwa Marketplace 21515 South Western Ave Torrance, CA 90501 310.782.0335
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paper lanternsThese festive lanterns welcomed us as we drove towards the parking lot. The natsu matsuri was held in the area above the parking structure next to the side entrance to the market. This photo is actually from the back. The tent got in the way, so I was going to … |
vkm
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okonomiyaki boothWe were hungry, so we quickly scanned the food booths. We purchased one order of okonomiyaki from this booth. Their signage touted it as a Japanese-style pizza. That's not how I would describe it, but it was good. |
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okonomiyakiTheir version included squid, shrimp, and pork in addition to cabbage. It was all mixed into the batter. The okonomiyaki sauce, Kewpie mayonnaise, ao nori, and bonito flakes went on top. It was very tasty and filling, but I still prefer the Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki that I grew up with! =) |
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BBQ Beef Rice BowlThey were barbecuing the beef on a grill at the booth. Pretty good quality meat, and a light sauce made for a good bowl. My husband and I shared a "bowl" (it was actually in one of those square styrofoam take-out containers) and one okonomiyaki for our dinners. |
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Japanese masksIn addition to the food, there were also some Japanese toys for sale, including an assortment of plastic masks. It was interesting to see characters from Japanese folklore mixed in with Sanrio characters and anime/comic book characters like Pikachu and Astro Boy. There were even non-Japanese children's characters like Spiderman … |
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Oni maskThis was one of the plastic masks they had. It's of an oni, a Japanese folklore character. |
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Hello Kitty maskHello Kitty looks a bit bewildered as she finds herself in mask form. She was one of the several Sanrio characters they had. Others I noticed were My Melody (you can see part of her ear in the photo) and Lala of Little Twin Stars. They made feel very nostalgic … |
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Japanese yo-yoI looked online, but can't figure out what these are called in Japanese. They're basically small water balloons with elastic string tied to them so that you can bounce them up & down like a yo-yo. The colorful balloons are apparently very popular attractions at summer-time festivals in Japan. |
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Japanese yo-yo close-upHere's a closer shot of two of the balloon/yo-yos. Many have some sort of pattern on them. If anyone knows what they're called in Japanese, please comment and let me know! |
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ring toss gameThey had a couple of game booths. I just thought it was kind of funny that they used products from the store. For this game, players toss rings at these columns which just happen to be candy containers, Ramune bottles, and tonkatsu sauce bottles. Another game had people shooting toy … |
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