Sapporo Autumn Festival さっぽろオータムフェスと２０１１

Occasion: Sapporo Autumn Festival 2011(URL: click HERE)

When: September 16th ~ October 2nd 

Venue: Odori Park

Address: Sapporo- Shi, Chuo- Ku, 4 Chome to 8 Chome, Odori Park

Random status report: 10 degree Celsius. Sun is out and the sky is looking good. 

Perfect Autumn day. (:

(back to the blog)

Just a couple of weeks back, JJ invited me to go check out the Sapporo Autumn Fest with him. The festival was being held at Odori Park 4 Chome stretching up to 8 Chome. With a variety of stalls set up, the event was definitely a very vibrant and lively affair. We had our fair share of fun joining the locals in enjoying good harvest of the season. 

What is Sapporo Autumn Festival? (as quoted off the official website) 

For URL please click HERE.

Sapporo Autumn Fest showcases the richness of food production around Hokkaido and its capital city Sapporo.

Hokkaido's four distinct seasons of the year enrich its vast land and ocean. The snow accumulated on the land during winter turns into fresh and clear water in spring, which is essential to all kinds of crop to grow in the summertime. Autumn is the harvest season, and Sapporo Autumn Fest brings us the best opportunity to enjoy and appreciate the benefit from nature.

The five sites along the Odori Park strip bring you to the food world of Hokkaido. Sapporo Autumn Fest is not an event of just eating, drinking or buying food. Through those opportunities, you will get to know more about the food in Hokkaido and the people involved in it: both your appetite and your heart will be fulfilled. 

Get embraced with the autumn harvest from all over Hokkaido.

Delight the palate and make long- lasting memories.

It is only possible in this time of the year at Sapporo Autumn Fest!

The weather was nice. We arrived at the event just in time for lunch. It is highly recommended to head over there to check out the mass selection of food that uses the best fresh ingredients harvested during this season.

Almighty sun was out to play that day...

JJ, a very happy festival goer.. lol

Obligatory pic of moi underneath the welcome gate

The festival segmented to 5 arenas that displayed different categories. Namely, they were:

• Odori 4- Chome Site: Welcome Gate
• Odori 5- Chome Site: Local Gourmet and Ramen Festival
• Odori 6- Chome Site: Bazaar and Cultural Performances
• Odori 7- Chome Site: Liquor and Delicacy
• Odori 8- Chome Site: One's Marketplace 

Firstly, start of your day from Odori 4 Chome. You will be greeted with a giant signboard welcoming you to the festival. Feel the energy from the crowd upon arriving there. It got me all excited and ready to start exploring anything and everything taking place on site. (:

Map indicating what the festival has got to offer to visitors

Makeshift information centre

At the first arena, one can find variety of beer and cheese tents all set up here. Feel free to roam about trying out local and international beers. Hokkaido is also famously known for their dairy products. Hence, it is no wonder that one can find cheese served at festival such as this.

Beer arena where make-shift booths were set up for patrons

Prost!! (that's 'cheers' in German)

Cheese.. cheese.. and more cheese.. (:

Next of, we head on down to check out the 'Farmer's Market' located at Odori 5 Chome Site. Here, the theme of this arena was 'Local Gourmet and Ramen Festival'. Plenty of good food and all types of ラーメン (Ramen) can be found here. I would have love to name a few ラーメン for your reference. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to savor it because I was saving my stomach space for soup curry that day. Sorry. I'll do ラーメン next year k.... hehehe... 

Farmer's Market
(ermm.. obviously but I dunno what to put as caption for this pic) :p

Cute and fresh vegetables on sale that day 

Mountain people mountain sea.. hehe
(some Chinese proverb)

There were also some handicrafts and art crafts being sold on site. Most were beautifully hand made products and would have made great ornaments to add into your home. 

Pottery utensils

Next, Odori 6 Chome was amazingly lively. This arena seems to be everyone's favorite. Not hard to figure out why. After all, the theme for this part of the festival was 'Bazaar and Culture'. Odori 6 Chome has got an outdoor stage that ran performances throughout the day. The crowd would be entertained with all sorts of cultural performances while enjoying their meal. We bought some food and decided to stay there as well for lunch. Lucky for us, we have got a nice little table at the front with a great view of the stage. So far so good. (: 

I swear the whole of Sapporo was there!!

I just like the name of the stall. Sounds funny. Tee hee (:

International food can also be found here. 

The bazaar was located along the side of the park. Accessories and jewelries were sold here. We stopped by some handmade craft stall that was selling specially embroidered chopsticks and other woodcrafts. 

Art craft made from wood

 JJ decided to pick a little present there for his family back home. Apparently if you add a little extra ¥200, you can have any names or words gold-inked onto your item of choice. That would have given your gift a personal touch to it. He went for it. Good choice! (:

Writing down what to inscribe onto the gift..

Some of the beautiful carved owls on sale..

Absolutely love the 'work in progress' being shown here (: 

Random shot of some super manja (pampered) dog
being carried around by his owner.. hehe

Music performance serenading the patrons while enjoying their meals

Some duo girl band sort of performance..
not very impressive to be honest.. sorry..

Random man in funny costume amongst the spectators..
YESH.. only in Japan... LOL

At Odori 7 Chome Site, wine and cocktails were being served here. Definitely another crowd's favorites. Prominent wine parlors and liquor shops in Sapporo took this great opportunity to showcase their best bottles and drinks for the season. 

Outdoor cocktail bar

Spacious tents set up for customers' conveniences

More outdoor bars surrounding the avenue..

Last but not least, we've reached the end of the festival. Odori 8 Chome- Site offered aplenty of local delicacies. One can find grilled seafood and barbecued meat here. Wondrous smell of yummilicious were lingering in the air. I was pretty sure all the food was calling my name!! LOL...

Oh... and the theme for this avenue is 'One's Marketplace'... 

Fresh flowers being sold here as well..

Stalls selling grilled seafood and meat.. *slurp*

Colorfully decorated food stall... in line with the autumn mode.. (:

Make-shift food counter for patrons to stand and eat...

Some even opt to camp and picnic out on the grass while
soaking up some warm Autumn sun.. nice... (:

SOUP CURRY!!! hehehe.. this was what I came for...
*salivate*

Finally, after checking out all the Autumn Festival sites, we planted our tired asses and enjoyed our food amidst being serenaded by the musicians on stage. Good stuff! (:

Pigging out on some festival food...
Clock-wise: Pumpkin curry ¥600, draft beer ¥500, some kind of mochi (dun remember)
and squid stuffed with rice イカめし¥390

the カボチャカレー (Pumpkin curry) was a delight
to both the eyes and palate.. (: 

So, that was it!! It was definitely a fun and satisfying day out. I don't think I have the stomach space to try everything all in a day. The event ran for the whole of 2 weeks. So, plan your schedule accordingly and don't miss out on Sapporo Autumn Fest next year. (: 

Obligatory photo of moi with the festival official logo (:

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."

~Albert Camus~