Savor the taste: Gyoza, Giggles, and Good Times

Craft Gyoza Fest 2025

There was a special time called Golden Week this past April and May. It’s a period of a week where there is a list of public holidays back to back. A lot of people have these days off and take this opportunity to travel.

Along with the increase in travel during this time, there are plenty of events and festivals to enjoy. It’s the perfect way to have some fun during this mini vacation. 

I’ve seen many food festivals popping up and wasn't quite sure which one to go to. But I saw the promotion of the gyoza festival and knew one of my friends would love it! So some of my friends and I got together and decided to go.

Now, this was not my first time at this particular festival. I happened to go to the one prior in Saitama. But this year, the event was held in a different location. 

The event started at 10:00 and ended at 20:00. We went a bit later in the day, hoping it wouldn’t be too crowded. We were also trying to avoid the sun, so we went around 17:00. 

The festival was held at the Komazawa Olympic Park. The closest station was Komazawa University. The walk isn’t too long at all. I would say around 6 to 8 minutes. Once we arrived at the entrance of the park, there were staff members welcoming us with signs. The staff were very helpful with their guidance to the main event.

When I go to food festivals, sometimes the lines tend to be long, and it might take a while until you can finally receive your food. But the food usually makes it worth the wait. So I went in with the same mindset, especially with people having days off to celebrate Golden Week.

The stalls had a pretty good turn wait. I was only in line for about 5 minutes. The cooking time for gyoza isn’t quite intensive, so the wait time was short.

All the gyoza I tried were fantastic. All the dishes were the same price: 700 yen. I didn’t have any complaints about the price since entry to the festival was free. 

If you do enjoy gyoza and would like to try multiple kinds at one time, I highly recommend going to this festival! It is also held in various locations throughout Japan, so you have more than one chance to go.