This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend Tokyo`s annual Vegefood Festa, 2012. For those who do not know, the Vegefood Festa is a vegetarian/vegan themed festival that promotes all kinds of animal-free, vegetable-based food and products. It is quite a popular event, as my friend and I had to push through and maneuver around crowds crammed between two sides full of booths. Nonetheless, it was worth the going through the crowds for some delectable food and to simply see everyone having a good time.

The Vegefood Festa is held in Yoyogi Park, Shibuya and lasts from Saturday to Sunday weekend. I had gone to the event last year, but sadly did not get a chance to try the many varieties of prepared food sold because my friend invited me to a picnic at the park beforehand; by the time I was able to look around the Festa after the picnic, most of the food was gone and it was slowly coming to an end (plus I was stuffed already from 10 different kinds of picnic food!). This year, I arrived at the event in the early afternoon with another one of my friends, ready to take on some vegetarian/vegan goodness. At the main front part of the Festa, a few food carts and trucks were selling meals like taco rice, curry, and kebab sandwiches to hungry customers. The middle part consisted of booths promoting health and lifestyle changes- products included organic packaged food, 100% hemp or cotton clothing, and organizations with goals to promote veganism/environmental protection. There were even paper craft and plant decoration areas for the kids to enjoy while learning about the benefits of sustainability. At the end section of the whole Festa was more food booths and a set-up stage where speakers went up to talk about the benefits of veganism and tips on how to turn your life into a more eco-friendly one.

After much internal debate and comparison on what to try out, I ended up settling on a "chik`n" kebab sandwich for lunch. The sandwich was pretty much fake chicken chunks made out of soy protein and glazed with a super red colored coating (it was not spicy, however), then placed between a naan bread with lettuce, onions, and some sauce. Overall the sandwich was filling, with the chewiness of the "chick`n" and pita making my jaw muscles work overtime. My friend got the taco rice with rice (of course), avocadoes, lettuce, beans/peas, some vegetables in a tomato sauce, and sour cream drizzled on top. She said it was a really good non-meat taco rice, so I guess I will take her word for it.

For the booths that sold products, some were packaged food that was from Japan or imported and others were hand-made by locals. There was so much to try, yet I did not bring enough cash to buy everything, which meant limiting my purchases to only what I really wanted. By the end of the event, I had only gotten a vegan blueberry cheesecake slice along with some soy chocolate pudding to-go. I was content though, since my small purchases impressed me greatly in taste.

Would I come back again? Certainly would. The Vegefood Festa was a very informative event that brought together families and also people of different nationalities/ethnicities in order to spread vegetarian/veganism and environmental awareness. It taught me the importance of reducing our use of resources on the planet, the multiple benefits of a plant-based diet, and how easy it is to make small changes for a better life. The atmosphere of the Festa made it feel welcoming, something that can be difficult to do at a large event such as this.

More information on the Vegefood Festa website:
http://www.tokyo-vegefest.com/english.html

Eat Well,
T.W.