Japanese Fall Food Festival to share Japanese cuisine with Salt Lake City community

SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake Buddhist Temple is hosting its annual Japanese Fall Food Festival Saturday afternoon, giving Salt Lake City residents and visitors the chance to enjoy Japanese cuisine.

The event, which dates back to the temple's beginning in Japantown, will run from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., according to Troy Watanabe, president of the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple. He said it is the second-largest fundraising event after the Obon Festival.

"I remember helping unload some of the produce as a child and my mom always looking forward to purchasing some of the fresh harvest," Watanabe said.

He said the festival began as a way to celebrate the harvests gathered by Japanese American farmers, since they would often share parts of their harvests with the temple. It began as the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple Bazaar before eventually transforming into the Japanese Fall Food Festival.

The Salt Lake Buddhist Temple would also host a farmers' market as part of the bazaar, allowing farmers to sell their produce to the greater Salt Lake City community.

The event will sell a variety of different foods, including takoyaki, okonomiyaki, gyoza, curry, udon, yakitori, sushi, tonkatsu, and more. Parking near the temple costs $20, but includes a $20 food voucher for people to use.

"It's the food that is the highlight and has always been that way," Watanabe said.

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