Last year’s Tanabata Festival brought back lighting for the first time in four years, both in Hiratsuka City.
The “72nd Shonan Hiratsuka Tanabata Festival” will be held in Hiratsuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, from the 5th to the 7th, and over 1 million people will attend, focusing on the shopping area north of JR Hiratsuka Station. The main malls, Shonan Star Mall and Beniya Pearl Road, are lined with 100 large Tanabata decorations about 10 meters long. It is said to be the most luxurious in Japan, with eye-catching decorations that reflect popular athletes and social trends. This year’s special feature is new products and new projects from local restaurants that come with Tanabata.
The festival opened at 10 am on the 5th at Beniya Town Machikado Square, where 15 colorful “children’s decorations” made by children were displayed. The Tanabata Odori Parade of nine thousand will begin at 10:30 at Shonan Star Mall. During the event, various stages will be held at the Hirashin Hiratsuka Cultural Arts Hall, and event stalls and booths will be set up at nearby Mitsukedai Park.
President Nakamura (right) and others from Chuo-Autumn Kamaboko shop promoting “Shonan Tanabata-age”
The focus is on food this year too. Starting from the 5th, the long-established kamaboko shop “Chu-Autumn Kamaboko Store” near the north exit of Hiratsuka Station will be selling “Shonan Tanabata-age” (¥220), a deep-fried kamaboko that is that. half-fried and half-stuffed with minced meat and leafy vegetables such as Hiratsuka’s specialty komatsuna.
Kamaboko is made with low-moisture vegetables such as burdock root, but it is rare to find kamaboko made with leafy vegetables. If there is too much water, the surimi will spoil and will not be suitable for making dough, so the surimi is lightly pickled to remove the water and finished by hand. The texture, elasticity, and umami of the vegetables remain. Developed jointly with the Prefectural Fisheries Technology Center, President Akinobu Nakamura (41) is focusing on creating a tourism product that will attract people to visit Hiratsuka.
The City Food and Beverage Association will serve Tanabata event food and some dishes at non-Japanese restaurants during the event. This is because Tanabata somen is less well known than other ceremonial foods, such as chimaki and kashiwa mochi during the Boys’ Festival, eel Ushi no Hi, and toshikoshi soba on New Year’s Eve.
Mizushima, chairman of the city’s federation of food and beverage industry associations, encourages the festival with Tanabata somen
24 shops participated in the call. All restaurants are allowed to prepare raw noodles using Kaori wheat produced in Hiratsuka in Chinese or French style. Chairman Kazuyo Mizushima (80) says, “I want to spread some Tanabata culture from Hiratsuka, the home of Tanabata, and make the festival more exciting. I hope that the number of participating shops will increase next year and in after.” (Seio Nishioka)
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