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Despite the chilly weather, the Japan Festival, held at Copley Square in Boston, was a hit . People were roaming around the many white colored tents, all enjoying the showcase of Japanese Culture. There was bands, dancers and merchants selling japanese goods. This is the Japanese Festival second showing, the first time being last year which commemorated the 100 year anniversary

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The food was on the far end of festival, the wafting aroma of cooked meats and spices filled the space, enticing festivals goers to travel further into the festival ground. There were about 34 food stands, each serving a few items from their menus and exhibiting the best of Japanese cooking. I only managed to try a few different things because of the long lines but everything I tasted was delicious!

I waited 45 minutes for this

I waited 45 minutes for this

The Ramen, which filled me up for the rest of the night,  had pork, garlic, bean sprouts, noodles and drizzled with soy sauce. It was amazing! The pork was cooked and seasoned just right, the noodles were al dente and the bean sprouts added texture to the ramen.

Worth it

Worth it!

Now, I needed something to wash this monster bowl of noodles down. And this drink did the job.

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While it was a hassle to open, this strawberry-flavored carbonated drink did hit the spot. What made this drink really good was that the strawberry flavor did not overpower you. It was subtly strawberry. Also, the fizziness to the drink was perfect too. It wasn’t over carbonated. This drink was just right and helped cut through the meaty flavor of the ramen dish.

Now on to dessert! It was an interesting experience, they had two types of desserts I noticed. Mochi and shaved ice. I didn’t get the shaved ice because it was way to cold for me, but it looked really good. Mochi is rice paste. Normally they are filled with sweet filling. Mochi has a gummy texture to it, think of a an unsweetened marshmellow and you have what mochi taste likes. The sweetness comes from wht  They look like this.

Red Bean Paste and Mugroot

Red Bean Paste and Mugroot

Strawberry

Strawberry

I had three different types of mochi. My favorite being red bean paste.

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I’ve had red bean paste before in moon cakes, so I knew what I was in for. The mochi was sweet, but not the traditional kind of sweet, such as cake or brownies. Red bean paste has more of an earthy sweetness to it. The red bean paste  also had some texture to it, a little grainy but went well with the gumminess of the mochi exterior.

Next is the mugroot Mochi.

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Honestly, they tasted almost the same to me. Though the mugroot had more of a smooth texture to it. Also, it was just a tiny bit less sweet.

Finally, my least favorite mochi of the day was the strawberry flavored mochi.

Strawberry

Where the strawberry soda was subtly strawberry, the strawberry mochi was not. Despite it’s pretty color, it was way too sweet for me. So sweet, that it almost didn’t taste like strawberry. It was a bit of a disappointment after enjoying the red bean paste and mugroot.

I ended up leaving just as it started raining, so didn’t have a chance to try anymore food, but everything I ate was good! Can’t wait to go back next year!

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