I went for the first time to the Gyoza Fest in Komazawa Olympic Park after a friend recommended it. I was really looking forward to it, because I love Gyoza and Sui Mai and the billed flair looked really good on the official festival page. I arrived about 30 mins after it started and as expected, being a holiday and all, it was already packed. There was an option to get tickets, which my friend strongly suggested I should get, but there’s also payment via PayPay and other online payments.
There was a queue to get tickets, which we waited approx. 20 mins. Then the nightmare wait began. To get drinks at the Dewar’s station, there was a queue. After you get the drinks, there’s an even longer queue to get the different food options on offer. Particularly G-02, which had 黒豚羽根付き餃子 and あっさりネギポン餃子)、was so popular and it was barely moving. The people who were next to me and my friend, ended up being far back, while our line moved at a better snail’s pace, so to speak.
Cell service was lagging, latency probably due to the area being full of people, right next to Komazawa’s central business meant the whole area was busier than usual. I tried to check out some videos while waiting and I realized everyone was probably doing that to kill time, hence why the service lagging. That in turn meant, online payment options were also slow, holding back the line as attendants struggled to complete payments. Later on while leaving, I saw the attendants at the entrance were strongly encouraging people to get tickets instead. Even longer queue than we had when we arrived, so the time to get tickets increased.
My friend and I decided to have me stand on a different line after we realized that the chance to try everything on offer was futile, because it meant having to go to the back of the line and wait hours again. We were so hungry and it was 22°C (71.6°F for our US friends who hate the metric system lol) with the full sun beating down on everyone. A few people passed out due to heat exhaustion or standing too long (maybe a combination of both? Who knows!) and had to be stretchered out. Most people held on to their drinks they bought before joining the food queue and after 3 hours, that beer is now just fermented barley and hops tea my guy!
People were grumbling and it made sense why they were complaining. They didn’t have separate lines for ticket holders and those who wanted to pay using the speed points instead. The latter and the network latency issues, made delays even longer because staff had to wait to complete the transaction before moving to the next person in line. For example, if there were like 10 people without tickets in front, dang, you’re really in for a long wait while PayPay fails lol. Also, the organizers probably should have combined the drinks service with the food. So people get the drinks with their food, instead of ending up with drinking warm beers with their meal 3 hours later.
It took about 3 hours to get something akin to an appetizer, got a good dose of direct radiation from the sun, free tan, tired legs and a small meal. I was already hungry by the time I walked the 15 mins to Komazawa-Daigaku Station.
**TL,DR**: Disappointing first time experience at Gyoza Fest. Came hungry, left even more hungry. Probably better to find restaurants with a good similar flair and eating there instead.
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I went there and thought it was great. We knew it was gonna be busy af so we ate before we came, waited for like 20 mins for the gyoza we really wanted, are across the street in the shade and left. There is no way you can try everything. Way too expensive. Although they did have fast pass tickets / lines so some people (I’m assuming) paid for the fast pass tix and went straight to the front.
It was featured on the news on Monday so I think that made it much busier. When I went last weekend it was very manageable and no longer than a 5-10mjn wait for each gyoza.
First year in Japan?
22 degrees and passing out from heat? Good luck in summer lmao
That’s sounds awful. My husband suggested going today with our kid so I’m extremely glad we didn’t go now
>My friend and I decided to have me stand on a different line after we realized that the chance to try everything on offer was futile, because it meant having to go to the back of the line and wait hours again.
So, if my understanding is correct, you can’t just queue up and buy multiple like 5 menu items in one go and then just grab kombini beers somewhere and chill in the park? You’re limited to one item at a time?
Edit: Ah I think I get it. Each item has like it’s own separate line it sounds like. Can you pay for the tickets with regular paper cash?
Yeah, I feel you. Went to a meat festival years ago in Odaiba. After that one I decided to never go to a food festival in Japan again… at least not to actually eat.
Yeah all these food festivals sound great until you see the crowds and realize that you can get the exact same dishes at a restaurant for cheaper. However there still is that feeling of eating outdoors which is nice, unless it’s in Aug with humidity. Did these when I was new, but leave it for the others now
I live really close, so have been a few times. The first day on Friday was fantastic, only a couple of lines. Need to time it right or be prepared for the crowds. Bring drinks, too. And dress accordingly for the weather.