Oyster Festival!

On Saturday, I went to the Oyster festival in Anamizu with several other JETs. It was a lot of fun and we ate so much good food! The festival was basically just a big outdoor seafood eating fest.

There was a large stage were there were a couple performances and then karaoke was set up for the rest of the afternoon with many eager volunteers to show off their singing skills. Directly in front of the stage were huge tents covering several rows of coal burning grills, with rows of benches on each side. People bought their various food items and then hovered under the tent until seats became available to sit around the crowded grills to cook and eat. My friends and I bought a seafood platter with various pieces of fish and seafood, two bags of oysters, and various other delicious festival foods. Cooking the oysters was especially fun. You place the closed shells on the grill, and when they pop open on their own they are ready to eat! It was always surprising when one popped and sputtered ashes and minerals into the air around us.

Hundreds of people crowding around grills

Squid stuffed with rice

Beef skewer

Fried Oysters

The beginnings of our seafood platter

Oyster- popped open!

Snail.