Last year, I wrote about Foodpia Land, Kanazawa’s big winter food fair, in the context of street food and food culture in Japan. This year, a bunch of my friends and I went again to celebrate a birthday, so while I’m working on posts for the last two geeky/nerdy birthday cakes I made, I thought you all might like to see some photos.

Kanazawa had a mild winter this year in terms of temperature, but the somehow-even-more-constant-than-usual precipitation and the sideways snow that lasted through most of January and February were huge deterrents for wanting to get out and do things. For Foodpia Land, though, we braved the confusing weather, which started out sort of cloudy and warm and quickly became wet and cold, to enjoy some of our local favorites from all over Japan.

Our first stop was the Hida Beef Burger stand. Most Americans know about Kobe beef, but Hida beef is where it’s at. I’ve written about it here and here.

Served with an egg and lettuce, this burger just melts in your mouth. If you visit Takayama, go to Center4 Hamburgers and drop the yen for the Hida Beef Burger. You will not regret it.

 

 

Some of our group stopped for pitas at the Turkish place from Osaka:

 

 

 

Nihonkai Club, one of Ishikawa’s few craft breweries, always has a booth at the fair, so I got to have my Okunoto no Densetsu (The Legend of the Upper Noto) beer on draft.

 

Of course, then the weather turned to freezing rain, so we were all juggling food, umbrellas, and bags to help me get a few more shots of the food without destroying my camera.

Sweet potato fries made with satsumaimo sweet potatoes (not the orange kind) and dipped in sugar: delicious.

 

Chijimi from the Korean food stall.

 

Sunny’s Crepes has the best crepes in Ishikawa (and is apparently from Nagano originally), so my friends hit up that truck before we went into Daiwa to try to get warm.

 

I regret not getting more photos, but the weather was just awful.

 

Interestingly, in addition to seeing more couples holding hands on the streets of Kanazawa starting this summer, I’ve also noticed more people walking and eating. Having been here this long, it seems strange to me now, at least outside of Omicho Market. Have you noticed this in your part of Japan?

Also: Searchina, if you are reading this, I’m still not a man or a tourist.