Saturday, April 13, 2013

UCSD Matsuri Festival 2013 Photo Post!


Every year at UCSD the Japanese student associations get together and 
plan a large Japanese food and culture fair on Library Walk, at the center of campus.
I think I've gone every year for the last 3 years (my sister's made it over to LJ at least once).

I promised my friends and Austin that I'd wear my yukata to MF, but I literally
found out about MF -the day of-, so I didn't exactly have it with me ready to go. :c
Either way, there were a lot more people wearing them this year - including some people
with really fancy ones (fancy for a street fair anyway).  A lot of people who brought their kids
dressed them up in yukata, and there were a few kids in small groups who might've been from
the nearby middle school/high school who dressed up as well.

("Matsuri" is the Japanese word for "festival"...so the title of the event
always seemed kind of funny to me - "Festival Festival!")

The MC girls were so cute & hilarious c: I think one of them was an MC last year too.


The big attraction here is always the food!

There's usually some new/different booths every year, but they 
always have yakisoba, shaved ice, and ramune soda.  Lucky for me those are
the things I like the best so I always get them - shaved ice is a must, they put condensed milk
in the middle so the strawberry syrup  makes it taste like strawberry milk.  

This year they added strawberry daifuki, oshiruko, and crepes.  
My boyfriend really wanted to eat a crepe (I was super surprised because they're so sweet).
They also had takoyaki - it's always the most popular booth, and the line gets crazy long.  
They had to open a second booth this year!  I don't like it, but it's my sister's favorite snack here. 


At night they turn on the lights behind the booth signs and the whole walk looks really cool.
The balloon scoop pool is really pretty - I didn't win one this time.  I didn't manage to 
get a goldfish this year either, boo.  (Tossing a ball into a cup is a lot harder than it looks.)

The best part though is the paper lantern field (with safe electric candles, but you can't tell).


If you're at UCSD you should go at least once - it's a lot of fun, and the money goes to support the orgs
and/or a charity for Japan (this year the profits went to help people and animals affected
by the recent earthquake).  

Also it's open to everyone, not just students!  
There were a lot of younger attendees from nearby 
high schools / middle schools, as well as people from the area.  
So check the website around March next year to find out the 2014 date. 

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