Aloha Tokyo

This weekend there's not one, but two different festivals celebrating Hawaii.  Steve is putting the finishing touches on his book (That's right!  He's about to become a published author.  It's a technical book, so don't look for it on the fiction bestsellers list), so I go off by myself.  I decide to stop at the Aloha Tokyo one, located near the Yebisu Beer Museum and Mitsukoshi department store.

Yebisu Garden Place

No big sign announcing the festival, so I
make do with the posters.

The event has about 25-30 vendors selling food and drink, and I don't know if it's the Hawaii theme, but it seems like I see more English than normal.  That makes ordering easier!  I don't know if the food is really Hawaiian, though....it seems like most items are typical Japanese street foods.  However, most of the vendors are selling Hawaiian beer, so I guess it works!

Grilled sausages - Steve should have come with me!

More choices...and sausages!

Of course, lots of Hawaiian beer!

Near the food booths the performance stage is set up, and many hula acts perform.  

Some things are universal - everyone "aahhs" at the little girls on the stage..

...and chuckles when they become shy or forget to dance.

There are also 40-50 booths selling items, usually Hawaiian in theme.   I try to take a picture of all the vendors, but it's difficult to get a good one, from either end of the festival.

No, really, there's a lot more merchandise
than it appears here.

It extends all the way past the greenery.

Here are some random close-up photos of some of the tents.

Perfect to wear on your
next Hawaiian vacation!

Lots of items made from batik fabrics,
but I didn't buy any.

Tie-dye items (not my dog)

Jewelry and soaps/lotions are very common.

After browsing through everything I make my meal selection and find a place to eat, complete with my bottle of Hawaiian beer.

Yummy lunch!

I really took this picture to message to Steve
so he could see what he was missing.

It says from Hawaii, so I guess it's legit??

After I finish eating, I finally see the Ramen Burger booth.  This place was mentioned in the write up of the event, but I forgot about it until I saw the sign.  I wondered what a ramen burger was, but did not come up with the idea that the noodles make up the bun.  Honestly, I think I would've tried it if I'd seen it before eating, but I was too full by the time I saw the picture.


When I left Aloha Tokyo to head home, I found a much easier way to reach the train station!  To reach Aloha Tokyo I had walked along the streets, following Google's recommendations, but I was completely unaware of the Sky Walk until I happened to notice people going that way when leaving the festival.  It's enclosed (which is nice because a light rain has started falling), and has moving walkways in both directions.  I reach the station in half the time it took me to walk from it.  There's always something new to find in Tokyo!  

Self-explanatory