Garlic is King

Jeff and I have lived here 6 weeks now and are really trying to take advantage of this opportunity.  We figure we have two choices on the weekends: stay at home or explore!!
Exploring sounds way more fun. :)

Now as you know, the Japanese love to celebrate.  And beef & garlic are no exception.  The Beef & Garlic festival is an annual event located about 2 hours away in Takko (taco) town, so we tagged along with some peeps from the dental clinic and off we went!

You may be thinking how can you possibly celebrate beef & garlic!?
Well, the process is pretty simple:
1) buy meat and veggies
2) cook everything
3) enjoy!

:)

The festival is located at the base of a mountain that serves as a ski lift in the winter.

You can purchase meat a few different ways-already cooked from a rotisserie or packaged raw meat to cook yourself.  Cooking everything yourself is a major part of the experience, but we just had to try the rotisserie beef as well.

{that was an entire cow at one point}

They had indoor grills available to use, but we wanted to be outside where all the action was happening. :)

{our own hibachi}

{these guys were serious}

This group had an amazing set up.  Along with the beef and veggies, they brought their own prawns and whole fish!  A lot of people brought chairs and coolers too.

Now we know for next year. :)

When we were finished grilling, we walked around the festival to see what vendors were there.  They were selling everything from garlic (duh) to french fries to carnival toys.  I also loved seeing the mascots that were roaming around!

{little girl photobombed my photo op}

{happy garlic}

{hope there's no radiation in those scallops}

{fried balls of octopus-not bad}

{black garlic}

{garlic is king}

{sweet kid}

This event was so much fun; we'll definitely be going again next year!