Eating and Drinking

Japanese food is always popular, and this year there are over 20 vendors of Japanese and Asian cuisine on the streets of the Sakura Matsuri. Sushi, yakitori, yakisoba, okonomiyaki, Japanese tea and snack food. It’s all there, and it’s hard to resist the smell and taste of great Japanese food.

There are also two Kirin Ichiban Beer Gardens, with Japan’s best draft beer on tap. Kirin, which traces its roots to 1870, is Japan’s best-selling beer and has been a favorite of Sakura Matsuri visitors since it became the official beer in 2007.

Hakutsuru Sake, one of Japan’s most famous sake brewers (founded in 1743), is again sponsoring the Sakura Matsuri’s Sake Tasting Pavilion. Come in and learn about the many different kinds of Japanese sake as you sample five very appealing varieties of sake from Nada, “the Napa Valley of Japanese Sake.”

Four Matsuri Markets sell a wide variety of soft drinks from Coca-Cola, as well as Ito-en Tea, Honest Tea, and Japanese snacks.