10 Best Japanese Festival Street Foods to Try This Summer
- Marion P.
- Jul 7
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 30
From takoyaki and kakigori to yakitori and dango, here are the 10 best street foods to try at festivals (matsuri) in Japan that are both delicious and affordable while you soak up the joyful, summer atmosphere.
If you're visiting Japan in July or August, you get a chance to witness an important part of Japanese culture and taste various street foods at a low price by going to a summer festival, or matsuri.
Many booths – called yatai in Japanese – sell food and drinks to enjoy on the premises.
You may already be familiar with some of them – for example candied apples, cotton candy, and popcorn – but some are more specific to Japan. Here is a list of the top street foods you should eat to fully immerse yourself in the matsuri atmosphere.
What's Matsuri?
Matsuri are traditional festivals that are regularly held throughout Japan to celebrate holidays, seasons, and special events - like the blooming of cherry blossoms or hydrangeas. While you can find matsuri year-round, they’re most commonly associated with summer. Typical matsuri activities include parades, dancing, games, and fireworks.
Although the biggest festivals are often featured on tourism websites, during the summer you might also stumble upon a small local matsuri by chance. That’s exactly what happened to me!
I was planning to head to Ueno and Asakusa, but ended up finding a matsuri right next to my train station. Come with me as I recap all the matsuri street foods I ate that day.
Top 10 Japanese Festival Street Foods
Jump to your favorite matsuri street food below:
Yakisoba - 焼きそば
Starting with the savory dishes, yakisoba is a matsuri staple. These noodles are sautéed with a sweet-savory sauce, meat and vegetables, and topped with pickled ginger and aonori seaweed.
The sauce sticks nicely to the noodles, so it's easy to eat without worrying about getting stains on your clothes. After taking this photo, I ate the yakisoba while standing, it's just that easy!
Takoyaki – たこ焼き
Another classic matsuri food: takoyaki! These savory, bite-sized balls are made from a flour-based batter mixed with tempura flakes and pickled ginger, each with a small piece of squid inside.
They’re finished with a topping of sweet-savory sauce, mayo, and green onion.
If you're not a fan of squid, try it anyway, the piece is small enough that it's not an issue. However, be careful when you eat them, the inside is very hot! Even if it seems bite-sized, it's better to eat it in several bites to leave some time for the inside to cool down.
Yakitori – 焼き鳥
Barbecue fans should not miss the yakitori booths. Those grilled meat skewers are a very popular choice at matsuri.
They are usually made of chicken and covered with sweet soy sauce (tare) or seasoned with salt (shio), but some booths like the one above specialize in other meats like beef or pork.
Ikayaki – いか焼き
If you prefer seafood to meat, ikayaki is the festival food to try. This grilled squid skewer is covered with a soy sauce glaze, sometimes served cut into rings, sometimes with entire tentacles, sometimes served in one piece, which gives the skewers a bold and unmistakable look.
Chips and Rice Crackers – せんべい
If you don't feel like eating warm food during the summer, there is often a booth selling some savory snacks like rice crackers.
I even found a booth selling freshly fried renkon (lotus root) chips with various seasonings, packaged in a very cute paper bag.
Taiyaki – たい焼き
After all those savory foods, time for a sweet treat! With their truly original shape and appetizing smell, taiyaki are difficult to resist.
These fish-shaped waffles are traditionally filled with anko (sweet red bean paste) but most shops sell chocolate and vanilla custard flavors as well.
Fun fact: you might have seen ice cream taiyaki in other countries, but it's an American invention! You won't find them at matsuri in Japan.
Baby Castella
Baby Castella are the ideal matsuri treat if you want something that's not too sweet and easy to eat. Simply enough, they're spherical mini-sponge cakes.
These bite-sized sponge cakes are usually plain, though you’ll occasionally find them filled with sweet red bean paste or custard.
Always freshly made in signature circular molds, watch in awe as the skilled yatai stall owner expertly flips out perfectly round, golden Baby Castella.
Kakigori – かき氷
You won't have any problem finding a nice refreshing drink at a matsuri, but if you want to beat the heat the Japanese way, you'll want to try the kakigori. It's a pile of shaved ice topped with a generous amount of syrup.
I chose the classic flavor, strawberry, but they often have a few to choose from. For example, my local festival also had orange, lemon, cola, ramune (Japanese version of lemon lime soda soda), Blue Hawaii, melon, pineapple, grape, peach, and even mysterious flavors like princess, alien, and Dracula.
Depending on the booth, they either pour the syrup for you or you have a station where you can pour it yourself. If that's the latter, you can try several flavors in one kakigori portion – half-strawberry and half-melon for example – or even make your own flavor by mixing different syrups!
The advantage of kakigori, compared to ice cream, is that it melts slowly, so you can take your time to eat it without worrying. Once it's melted, the plastic spoon can be used as a straw to enjoy your kakigori until the last drop.
Ichigo Ame – いちご飴
Candied apples may be a staple at Western fairs, but in Asia, the concept has been taken to the next level by coating all kinds of fruits in a glossy, crunchy sugar coating.
Originally made in China where they're called tanghulu, those candied fruit skewers are now popular in Japan too. Strawberry skewers are the most common, but grapes and mikan (mandarin) can be found too.
Dango – 団子
I couldn't finish this list without this typical matsuri treat. Dango are skewers of small mochi balls. You can usually find several types like green tea or anko, but my favorite is mitarashi dango, grilled mochi covered with a sweet soy sauce glaze. Another popular type is hanami dango, typically enjoyed during cherry blossom season, made with green, white, and pink mochi.
Final Thoughts
Of course, there are many more types of food and they vary depending on the festival, you might even stumble upon some seasonal flavor variants or local specialties!
The advantage of eating at matsuri is that you can try many small portions of classic Japanese food for a reasonable price: most of the foods listed above are sold at 150-400 yen.
It’s a delicious way to discover Japanese cuisine even if you travel on a tight budget.
Hungry to explore more of Tokyo’s street food scene?
Join our Tokyo Street Food Tour and taste your way through hidden local gems along Tokyo’s longest shopping street - guided by our friendly, food-loving experts!
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