Must-Visit Food Events in Tokyo: Ramen, Seafood, Dessert Buffets and more!
Numbers of seasonal events and festivals are held in Tokyo through the year with a variety of themes. Especially, food events are highly popular as they offer a great opportunity to taste seasonal dishes or local delicacies from all over Japan in one place. If you are an eager foodie who wish to explore Japanese food culture, you should definitely join delicious food events while travelling Tokyo 🙂
Many of food events are held in autumn as the season is known for harvest and there is even a phrase “Autumn Appetite” describing autumn as the best season for eating in Japan. In this article, I’m sharing the best food events in Tokyo for 2024 autumn including dessert buffets, ramen, Hokkaido food, craft beer and more!
-Autumn Dessert Buffets
All-you-can-eat dessert buffet has been a huge food trend in Tokyo lately, and it’s held at numbers of Tokyo’s high-end hotels. Strawberry, matcha, cherry blossoms, etc, high-quality and photo-worthy desserts can be enjoyed with various seasonal themes and ingredients through the year. During autumn, autumn/Halloween dessert buffets take place at many venues in Tokyo, offering delightful desserts with Halloween theme and flavours of autumn such as pumpkin, sweet potato, chestnut, persimmon and more. Check out the link below for the best autumn/Halloween dessert buffets in Tokyo this year!
Venue: several hotels in Tokyo
Date: September to November
More info:
-Autumn Afternoon Teas
Like seasonal themed all-you-can-eat dessert buffets, afternoon teas have also become increasingly popular in Tokyo. A number of luxury hotels and cafes offers delightful and picture-perfect afternoon teas, featuring seasonal themes and ingredients, served in front of you at table. In autumn, many venues offers the Autumn Afternoon Teas, consisting of high-quality desserts and savory bites made with autumn harvests such as pumpkin, chestnuts, sweet potato, pear and grapes. Or if you fancy something more unique and eye-catching, go for the Halloween Afternoon Teas, usually served with spooky Halloween motifs.
Check out the attached links below to find Tokyo’s best afternoon teas this autumn!
-Starbucks Japan Autumn/Halloween Collections
Starbucks Japan’s seasonal collections are released several times a year, including limited-edition beverage and merchandise featuring seasonal themes and flavours. The special menu and merchandise collection of Starbucks Japan are available in autumn and around Halloween season every year. The autumn and Halloween theme frappuccinos and desserts are served at Starbucks stores across Japan for a limited time, as well as the merchandise collection with a range of limited-edition drinkware such as mugs, tumblers and stainless bottles with cute and spooky Halloween designs.
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-Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Cafe
The limited time theme cafe of Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie, a prequel film to the Jujutsu Kaisen series, will open in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya this autumn, from late August to late October. The cafe offers a special menu with a range of food, drinks and desserts inspired by iconic scenes from the film and characters such as Yuta Okkotsu, Maki Zen’in, Toge Inumaki, Panda and Satoru Gojo. If you are a fan of Jujutsu Kaisen (a.k.a. JJK), don’t miss a chance to immerse into the world of Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie and enjoy delicious and photo-worthy food!
More info:
-Oktoberfest Shiba Park
The traditional beer festival from Germany, Oktoberfest can be enjoyed in Japan, too, and it’s held in several locations throughout the year. This autumn, Tokyo is hosting Oktoberfest at three locations over a month, including Shiba Park site, a public park situated next to Tokyo Tower from 13 to 23 September, Toyosu site at Urban Dock LaLaport Toyosu shopping mall from 20 September to 14 October and Jingu Gaien site, a park with a baseball stadium from 11 to 31 October. At each venue, a variety of German beer will be served along with traditional German food. There will be also a stage performance by many artists including traditional German music.
Venue: Shiba Park
Date: 13 to 23 Sep (Shiba site)/20 Sep to 14 Oct (Toyosu site)/11 to 31 Oct (Jingu Gaien site)
Website: https://www.oktober-fest.jp/
-Eevee Friends Afternoon Tea-
The Pokemon character themed afternoon tea event is taking place at The Strings Omotesando, a stylish and luxury hotel in the heart of Tokyo. The afternoon tea features one of the most beloved Pokemon characters Eevee, offering a delightful array of desserts and savory bites, accompanied with a selection of special drinks.
More info:
-Oedo Beer Festival
After taking place in Machida during summer, Oedo Beer Festival will be back in autumn in Shinagawa this time. The event is divided in 2 terms (4 days each) with different sellers and many types of beer can be tasted from German beer to local craft beer.
Venue: Shinagawa Intercity
Date: 19 to 23 September/25 to 29 September 2024
Website: https://oedo-beer-festival.jp/
-Hello Kitty 50th Anniversary Cafe
2024 is a special year for Hello Kitty and her fans as it marks the 50th anniversary of the adorable white kitten character, who debuted in 1974. Hello Kitty 50th Anniversary Cafe is one of the celebration taking places in Japan this year, and a red-themed Hello Kitty cafe offers a special menu with a range of food and drinks as well as original cafe merchandise. The cafe will open in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya from mid September to late October.
More info:
-Sumikkogurashi Cafe
The popular Japanese characters produced by San-X, Sumikkogurashi will have a cute and adorable cafe opening in Tokyo for a limited time. The cafe focuses on a new character from the Sumikkogurashi series, Ebiten no Shippo, and offers a special menu with a range of photo-worthy food and drinks as well as cafe merchandise. The cafe will open inside Tokyo Solamachi, a shopping and entertainment complex situated at the base of Tokyo Skytree.
More info:
-Hokkaido Food Festival
One of the biggest outdoor food event in Tokyo, Hokkaido Food Festival in Yoyogi (北海道フェアin代々木) attracts over 400,000 visitors every year. The 4-day event features a large number of food vendors offering delicious Hokkaido’s specialties including crab, fresh seafood, ramen, beef, melon, ice cream and many more. There are also events and performances which visitors can enjoy and get to know about the culture of Hokkaido.
Venue: Yoyogi Park
Date: 3 to 6 October 2024
More info:
-Kyushu Festival
Kyushu Festival (九州観光・物産フェア) is a 4-day event featuring the food and culture of Kyushu Region. The event features vendors offering delicious specialties from each prefecture of Kyushu such as tonkotsu ramen, beef, seafood, desserts and other local delicacies. The event also offers a large selection of regional alcohol beverages including sake, shochu and craft beer as Kyushu is well known for alcohol products. Food in Kyushu is quite unique and distinguished from other parts of Japan, so visitors can enjoy the different food culture of Japan through the event.
Venue: Yoyogi Park
Date: 11 to 14 October 2024
Hours: 10:00~19:00
Website: http://kyushu-yoyogipark.com/
-Tokyo Night Market
Tokyo Night Market is an event inspired by Asian night markets, such as Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand. The event takes place in Yoyogi Park near Shibuya, featuring approx 40 food booths serving international dishes, art exhibition and live music concert, that attracts people by food and art.
Venue: Yoyogi Park
Date: 23 to 27 October 2024
Website: https://tokyo-night-market.com/
-Tokyo Ramen Festa
The biggest ramen event in Japan, Tokyo Ramen Festa (東京ラーメンフェスタ), formerly known as Tokyo Ramen Show, is held annually at Komazawa Park in autumn. The event features a variety of Gotochi Ramen (regional ramen) by ramen stores from Hokkaido to Kyushu all over Japan. The 12-day event is divided into 3 rounds and each round features about 12 ramen booths. Don’t miss a chance to taste the best bowls of ramen in the heart of Tokyo!
Venue: Komazawa Olympic Park
Date: 24 October to 4 November 2024
More info:
‐Setagaya Bread Festival
Setagaya Bread Festival (世田谷パン祭り) is the biggest bread event in Japan that has been held since 2011. Approx 140 bakeries and vendors are gathering for the event and will be selling bread, food, drinks and bread-related products such as jam, spread, etc. There will be a variety of contents at the event such as hands-on activity, workshop and music performance.
Venue: Setagaya Park
Date: 2 and 3 November 2024
Hours: 11:00~16:00
Website: https://setagaya-panmatsuri.com/
-Dai Tsukemen Haku
Dai Tsukemen Haku (大つけ麺博) is a food event specialized in ramen, mainly tsukemen. Tsukemen is a type of Ramen which noodles and soup are served separately and is enjoyed by dipping noodles into the soup. The event will be held from October to November, featuring food booths of Tsukemen shops chosen from across Japan. Some of shops offers limited dishes which can be only tasted during the event.
Venue: Okubo Park, Shinjuku
Date: 10 October to 6 November 2024
Website: https://dai-tsukemen-haku.com/
-Sakana & Japan Festival
Sakana & Japan Festival (魚ジャパンフェス) is one of the biggest seafood events in Japan. The event is held with an aim of revitalizing the nutritious fish diet, which is an important part of Japanese food culture. The 4-day event features a large collection of seafood such as tuna, salmon, sea urchin, crab, oyster, etc. A variety of seafood dishes are sold at the event including kaisendon (fresh seafood on rice bowl), regional specialties, seafood paella and seafood ramen. If you love seafood, this event is the one that can’t be missed!
Venue: Odaiba
Date: 1 to 4 November 2024
Website: https://37sakana.jp/sjfesodaiba/index.html
Thanks for reading! A variety food events will be held in Tokyo this autumn. As autumn is known as the season for appetite in Japan, you may have a lot of chances to taste delicious food from autumn harvest this time of the year!
For more exciting events and the latest travel information for autumn in Japan, here are recommended articles for you!
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"The world is my oyster" A globetrotter 🌎 and hammock lover 🌞 who loves taking adventures to fuel wanderlust. Born and raised in Japan, I have spend almost a decade living and exploring countries across the world. Based on my travel experience, I'd love to share my knowledge and tips for travelling with my readers. I hope my stories help you plan your trip and have a great time in Japan 🌈