Food is the stuff of life, but it is also the stuff of culture, and is deeply rooted in many countries' histories and citizens' memories. Knowing that, I have made it my personal goal to try all sorts of foods during my study abroad program, and recently, my friend Lucy and I got the chance to travel to a local festival. We went on a side quest to visit Yokote, a city in Akita Prefecture roughly an hour away by train from Akita City, where our campus is located.
Yokote is famous for their Kamakura festival and Yakisoba festival. The annual Yokote Yakisoba festival was held this year on September 26th and 27th, and had six stalls of local restaurants with unique takes on traditional yakisoba. The festival was held in a local amusement park that also had a museum inside of it detailing local art and traditions of Akita Prefecture.
Going to the Yakisoba festival, of course we had to eat Yakisoba. And boy, did we eat lots of it! Each plate of yakisoba was ticketed at 500¥ (yen), roughly $3.00 USD. Each of the six stalls had two different types of Yakisoba. Between me and Lucy, we ate a total of four plates of noodles, each a different flavor and supporting a local restaurant.
