As soon as I get out of the subway station, I notice a completely different mood of the park. My sense organs catch various stimuli. I see families with small children eating ice cream and young couples in love looking for a store. I hear their joyful voices. The sights, the sounds, and above all, the exuberant atmosphere of the festival that I sense from my entire body makes me ready to savor food from now on.
Many people and stalls at night at Sapporo Autumn Fest
Sapporo, where I was born and raised, holds a food festival called Sapporo Autumn Fest every October. As many as two hundred stalls line up for one and half kilometers in the park, and visitors can taste the local specialties such as vegetables, seafood, and meat as they walk around. I used to visit this festival with my family, and it is still one of my most dearest memories. I remember how ardently I was longing for the festival as autumn approaches. The day I was told by my parents to go, I, in high spirits, exclaimed to my friends, “I am going to Autumn Fest today!”
Even though the temperature on October night usually discourages me from being outside, the thrill of coming to the festival immediately makes me forget about the cold. No sooner had I been in a state of euphoria that we started walking, being caught up in the waves of people. I move slowly, step by step, so as not to fall, like those of penguins. I look up from time to time through the gaps in the crowd and see the signs of stalls illuminated by bright lights. Banana crepe, yakitori, and ramen: they all look so delicious that my mouth waters.
In the next moment, I feel the mellow smell of potatoes from out of nowhere though I don’t see it in my eyes. I guess it is croquettes. Following the source of the flavor, I find a stall selling big potato and beef croquettes. I beg my mother to buy one and finally receive a piping hot croquette. I eat it alongside my brother as we walk. We split the croquette in half, and the steam filled the air at once. The croquette is freshly fried and extremely hot, so I eat as if I were rolling it in my mouth at first. As I softly chew next, the crispy batter breaks and the potato inside almost melts. Then, the sweet taste of steamed potatoes spreads in my mouth and nose. Delicious, delicious, delicious! I exclaimed and exchanged a look of amazement with my brother. He returns a look that expresses the same feeling.
Big potato and beef croquettes showcased in the stalls
I enjoyed various foods that I could eat at Sapporo Autumn Fest. Being able to taste these flavors every year was the pride of my hometown. Also, the pleasure of selecting dishes according to my sensibility was unforgettable. However, what the festival genuinely gave us was the foundation to “just” savor food.
My parents were determined to raise their children strictly because they did not want them to be ashamed of their actions wherever and whenever after becoming adults. Even regarding food, there were numerous rules and manners that I had to conform; appreciating who made dishes, having a well-balanced diet, eating without being picky, not watching TV and talking too much. I was a kid who wanted to receive praise from my parents, so I tried seriously to dine in a way they desired. At the same time, however, I regularly felt tension that I would disappoint them once I missed to comply with the rules. Dining had become a rigid ritual that required careful attention to each and every movement.
I loved the magic of the festival that naturally released me and my family from this sense of constraint. Even if I was outside until nine o’clock, ordered something oily and unhealthy, and crammed my mouth in eating while walking, my parents were smiling to see me enjoying it all on that day. Moreover, I loved to see them enjoy the festival not as my mother and father but as a person. It was odd to help them so drunk to go back home, but I was happy that they could get some respite from their everyday obligations on kids.
Dining is the practice of connecting the mind and the body through food. However, this can not be done fully without a peaceful mind state where the mind focuses on savoring the food. Sapporo Autumn Festival sets us free, taking away all our daily worries and obsessions. As my fresh mind raised my discerning level to my taste buds, I felt that the food here tasted better than anything else I had eaten. Even now, I look back on my memories and savor culinary delights and the peaceful family time that the festival brought to me.
Kana Sakamoto is a first-year student at Oberlin College studying as a Sociology Major. Her childhood memories of enjoying local cuisines throughout Japan and the world, as well as a four-month farming internship during gap term, have driven her into the connection between society, life, and food. Kana loves fried horse mackerel, consommé soup, and udon, all of which she is struggling to find in a small town in Ohio. Kana’s personal blog (in Japanese) can be found here: https://note.com/ka________7
