This year they decided to designate this weekend for a "Portland Festival". Curious, I made a point of stopping by to grab some lunch during my break on Saturday. I was underwhelmed at its lack of Portland-ness (or even Oregon-ness, for that matter), but nevertheless, I headed back on Sunday--camera in hand--to document a little slice of the Japanese interpretation of my hometown.
Columbia Sportswear was sponsoring the event, and after being greeted by their tremendous sign at the entrance--paired with a wooden cow?--a person could barely walk two yards without maneuvering past a Columbia camping chair or tent.
Yesterday, just for kicks, I stopped by a couple of booths and asked vendors if they were from Portland. The closest answer I got was "I wish I was from Portland". But that was satisfactory.
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| I will award points for color-coordinating ability...but have no idea how this display was related to Portland. |
There was plenty of Oregon beer (including a friendly vendor for Rogue Ales) and wine along with tables of t-shirts and books, but not much else. There was Tillamook beef jerky available, also sold by a very friendly fellow, but I'd hoped for some cheese curds or ice cream instead. ;)
There may have been some musical entertainment provided by people from Portland, but that rumor is still unconfirmed.
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| The triangle-shaped planters were perhaps my favorite part of the festival. |
Where were the PDX carpet stickers? blueberry desserts? plates of salmon? Voodoo doughtnuts?! What I wouldn't have paid for a Grape Ape, a couple of Dirty Snowballs, or perhaps an apple fritter... (Blue Star even has a Tokyo location and didn't make an appearance at the festival.)
In all, the festival left much to be desired but I'll keep my fingers crossed that they try again (with improvements!) next year.
Returning to the main area of the market I decided to wander through the stalls of Japanese produce. Even though I wasn't shopping, there's always plenty to look at.
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| For even the pickiest of water-drinkers... |
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| Practically any kind of pepper your little heart could desire |
The weather was sunny and, although it wasn't very warm, I decided to walk for a while before getting on the train. It was also a perfect opportunity to document some of the odd shops in the Aoyama and Shibuya districts of Tokyo.
For example, my friend @LikesBlueBoots and I *love* that there is a shop exclusively for harps in the neighborhood near our school. Not even once have we seen a customer on the premises, but you never know when someone will have a harp emergency and need to rush right over. Better safe than sorry, I guess.
If harps aren't your thing, but you're feeling hungry, then just take a short stroll down the street and in minutes you could be feasting on a fungus rice sandwich(!).
Or you could get your hair done?
Or, if you'd like a little furry friend, how about a bunny?
Whatever your tastes, there's sure to be something to catch your eye here.
And last but not least, I'll leave you with the upgraded version of my favorite graffito (you didn't know I had one, did you?). Ages ago, when I first started working in this area, there were walls all over the place spray-painted with the phrase "NECK FACE". I didn't know quite what to make of it, but liked it anyways. It made me laugh.
Over the years, parts the neighborhood have been spruced up and most of the tags have been painted over. But this week, to my delight, I discovered that this brilliant street artist cannot be kept silent. In fact, Mr. Neck Face seems to be stronger than ever:
Portland friends: What do you think? What would you like to have seen at a Portland / Oregon festival held in a foreign country?
1 comment:
I've seen that graffiti before, but I always read it as "NECK FALE." It always amused me, because I assumed it was a *failed* attempt at writing "NECK FAIL." But who knew that Godzilla would become a graffiti artist in his spare time!?
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