Sakura Matsuri – Japanese Street Festival

What do you mean El Nino caused these flowers to bloom early?! Where was the pink!
*sigh* welp, I still bought my ticket to come and enjoy the festival!
This was my first time attending DC’s coveted sakura matsuri. Apparently they had moved it over to Navy Yard for the first time, and were trying it out to see what the attendance would be like. From the looks of it, I thought this was a successful event for the community and sponsors. However, it wasn’t anything I couldn’t already get by going to a Mitsuwa or trying a varied Japanese restaurant.
Contrary to what folks have said, I ended up going closer to the end and paid only $ 5 to enter. Now, festivals (and museums) in DC tend to be free, so I was shocked that there was even a cover charge. I am happy to support the Japanese American community in DC, but would have liked to get some kind of souvenir with my entrance, or have it be donation based instead.
Inside, you have your standard overpriced vendors that sell your favorite Japanese street foods. The stage area held some cute performances, and it was cool to be in an environment that reminded me of AnimeCon. If you aren’t into seeing cosplayers, then this festival is not meant for you.
I wouldn’t necessarily be running back to the festival in the future to be honest. Like I said, everything there can be found elsewhere for much cheaper, and you’d probably be away from the crowds and the heat.

As everyone else has mentioned, you definitely want to make sure you arrive early because this place gets PACKED with a capital «P». Wow!
While I was a little disappointed that there weren’t more Japanese food options and the J-​Pop stage seemed more like your little sister’s dance recital than anything remotely related to Japan, I did have a pretty good time. I’m just still a little confused as to what «All That Jazz» has to do with Japanese culture, but hey!
We did have some sushi and watched a really good drum company perform. And there is certainly no lack of people watching to be had here! Cos players galore!

Horrible. Extraordinarily over crowded. I attended with my two-​year old daughter, and navigating this «festival» with her– in or out of her compact stroller– was a nightmare. Even without the stroller & small child to keep track of, I wouldn’t have enjoyed this– far too many people crammed into poorly laid-​out grounds that felt extremely claustrophobic, impossible to purchase food without waiting in long lines, often impossible to get close to the art & culture booths because of the masses of people crowding around too. NO green space– held in a black-​top parking lot that made a glorious, 70-​degree day feel much hotter, plus no water access or even views despite being on the SW waterfront/​Navy Yard. What? Topping everything off, the «festival» was held in the middle of a construction zone this year, which really made the whole experience visually unappealing and getting around a PITA because a large trench in the middle of the grounds was almost entirely closed off, leaving only one very narrow access point allowing movement from one side of the event to the other. The «picnic» area was a small section of the parking lot w/​o shade, seating or tables. Lovely (not). Just horrible, and I can’t believe I wasted $ 10 on this. Also, the masses of cosplayers were extremely annoying, as they mostly just stood around in clumps, further stymying the flow of people and rendering the narrow walkways impassable. Oh, and what merchandise I did see looked EXTREMELY overpriced– think Eastern Market at its worst. After staying for 45 minutes or so (absolutely the max I could stand), I booked it over to the Navy Yard shops and restaurants and enjoyed two delightful hours frolicking on the boardwalk and in the wading pool with my daughter– FOR FREE.

The Sakura Matsuri is a fun way to spend a few hours outside in DC on a nice day. I would recommend incorporating it into a full day of fun walking around the city. The event gets crowded around 1pm. Bring cash.

Not worth it. While there are interesting and eye-​catching displays of Japaneses culture, much like any tourist attraction in DC, this festival gets overrun with people. There’s barely enough room to stand, let alone enjoy some authentic food. Lines to see anything stretch for miles and you’re liable to get yelled at by event officials if you attempt to sit in one of the few places you see with empty real estate.
I’d save the 10 bucks and skip this one.

So disappointing. I had heard great things about it, but it was seriously just a huge disappointment. My biggest gripe was how unorganized the entire thing seemed. You’d think that, after almost 10 years of running this, it’d be set up better.
Firstly, It was beyond crowded. Some places were so packed you couldn’t even move. And this made it a huge problem when it came to getting to any of the booths… Which is kind of the point, right? Like, I didn’t pay to get in to walk around a crowded street.
The selection of the booths was *ok*. There were a good amount of people selling an okay variety of foods… but for the hour plus wait to get any of that food, no, it was terrible. And expensive, but I can’t really get mad because festival/​street food is always pretty expensive. The lines were so bad that they had to lay down tape on the ground and zig-​zag people back and forth so it wouldn’t block the main walkway. And they had to post volunteers at the lines to regulate them. It was a mess.
I didn’t see any of the performances on the stages, but they sounded pretty good. Well, some of them did. And some of them definitely didn’t. But there were so many acts on the stages (and so many different kinds of acts) that you were bound to find something that caught your eye if you hung around long enough.
The sponsor booths were probably my favorite part of the festival. They had the standard ones that you expected to be there (NHK, the Japan Railway Company, etc) but they also had some universities who wanted to promote their international programs, some culture/​arts and crafts, and (my personal favorite) booths about history. I was particularly surprised to see a WW2 veteran at one of the booths promoting a book about Japanese internment. I got to talk with him a bit, because my grandpa as a Japanese-​America fought in WW2 as well, so it was really nice to share some information with him, and hear some of what he had to say as well.
The merchandise booths, on the other hand, awful… They were taking stuff they had bought from the dollar store and selling them for $ 20 or more. I mean, good on them for making a killer profit, but it’s pretty messed up for people who don’t know better and think they’re buying Japanese things, when in reality it’s just Chinese massed produced dollar store junk.
But, basically, to sum it up: overcrowded, not worth the money, mediocre food, poorly organized, full of weebs.
Basically, don’t take this to be an accurate representation of Japan at all. This was a better attempt at getting people uninterested in Japanese culture. Take it from someone who’s lived in Japan for years… This was just a sad mess.

Don’t get me wrong. I KNOW that street festivals are supposed to be crowded. I KNOW that the number of people careened into a small area and forced to buy food and trinkets twice the amount of what it normally sells for is part of the deal. But holy cow this Japanese festival in our nation’s capital took it to a whole new level. The word crowded is an understatement. Let me delve into my vocabulary for something more to describe the amount of people present. How about I-just-rubbed-up-against-sweaty-arms-because-that’s-how-close-I-am-to-everyone-else!
I am writing this review to warn others and more importantly myself should I choose to take on this foolish endeavor once more in years to come. I want to make it clear that going into this festival is not worth your time. The line for the food was ridiculously long and the cashier at one of the stalls touched the money and then scooped up some noodles with her bare hands for the guy behind me. I nearly barfed at the thought of what else she’s been doing! I’m in no way shape or form a germaphobe but seriously can’t you at least wear gloves woman! Then I take a bite of my assorted teppenyaki and noodle dish and instantly more disappointment. There is nothing Japanese about the plate in front of me. All I got was fried American-​Asian food. If I had to wait in line for food it better taste good, but nope I have nothing good to say about what I got.
After being unhappy with the food, more disappointment came with the vendors and stalls that were present. If this festival was suppose to celebrate the wonderful culture of Japan, I would take a samurai sword and start swinging because it did not do Japanese culture any justice. There was nothing authentic about the things being sold nor the experience. Just another American festival with teenage cosplayers dressed up in their favorite Kenshin or Street Fighter characters. If this is what’s presented as a Japanese festival at our nation’s capital then the people putting it together should really take a moment and realize their mistakes. My advice to would be visitors for next year’s festival – save time, money, and aggravation and visit some authentic Japanese communities near you and really be immersed in the culture instead of drowning in disappointment at Sakura Matsuri!

it was too crowded and all they seemed to be serving was teriyaki chicken on a stick. i thought it would have been more foods items related to their culture. almost everyone had the same things. it was also very hot too, so being in those crowds sucked. I thought i would get some sushi, and the lines were too long, and the sushi was very americanized. I had higher expectation for gifts items as well. i thought i could get tea sets, buy wines etc.
Probably won’t do it again.

It was my first time at this festival and I was trying not to expect a lot from it. My bf and I had a good time but it was WAAAAY too crowded. We are glad we came right when it began at 10:30AM, it wasn’t as crowded and we were able to walk around and see all the goodies and food booths before it was packed. We arrived earlier than our friends which kinda forced us to walk around which we were glad we did. Once the crowds started to arrive, the food lines were super long and you could barely walk around without bumping into anyone. We still enjoyed ourselves though. The Taiyaki was a hit for us — it’s a dough shaped fish with red beans inside. Was pretty good for our first time trying it! Would have probably tasted delicious with a scoop of ice cream! They also had $ 6 chicken on a stick (like bbq on a stick) and they were really good! Worth the money. I probably wouldn’t come here again, it was nice to experience it just once. A little advice for those who do want to go when it comes back around next year is to come early and bring cash for the food booths!!! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

The biggest hype for me was Tako Grill for their octopus puffs, which I heard are really good, but when I finally had them they were very average.
This event was definitely jam packed and all the Japanese vendors were completely overwhelmed with the demands. Lines were extended down the street; to compact the lines they formed an ‘S’ where they were like a human-​snake game, coiled nice and tightly.

It was really nice! The street it was on this year (2015) was very large, and open, it felt wide enough for the big crowds. I bought and printed my tickets ahead of time, and I was able to walk Right in.
The majority of the booths were very small, and unattractive. That’s probably because the lack of support in it; I would like to see more support in future Sakura Masturi festivals. (It’s not their fault, I know.) I *expected* more Japanese looking tents.
The music and shows on each stage were neat. Everyone was very friendly, and there were fairly interesting things. But everything seemed, small. I didn’t see any plushies I really liked, or, I guess, stereotypical Japanese toys or things. There was about two booth I saw selling animé stuff.
It looked like a lot of Asian families were selling things there though, and that drew me in to buy things from them. It supports them and I get a Lucky Cat.
The biggest thing that got me down about the festival was that the ONLY FOOD that I wanted to try were gone by the time I got there; which was only about 1:30.
No melon bread, no Takoyaki, no Dango, no SWEETS. I couldn’t even get strawberry lemonade! I understand it IS only a day festival, but it was really disheartening.
The lines were also extremely long as well, so that was a little frustrating.
There were a lot of cosplayers, and people just dressing up– it was really nice to see.
But I saw someone wear a Hanfu and that kind of annoyed me.
3/​5, might go again.

What a fun spring festival! How this was my first year going is beyond me since apparently the festival has been around for many years! For a $ 10 entrance fee, festival goers get to enjoy so much Japanese cuteness, cosplay, and culture. Because Sakura Matsuri is part of the national cherry blossom festival, of course it’s going to be packed!
There were 2 stages on opposite ends of the festival with lots of little booths in between. There was an arts and crafts area with some unique Japanese vendors and some more modern, animé type boutiques at the other end. The food booths were all extremely packed. I picked the «shortest» line and waited 45 minutes for my food.
All in all this is such a fun festival to attend! Everyone is in great spirits after hibernating in the cold winter. I will be back next year for sure! :)

Great experience. The food very good obviusly waiting in the line for 30 minutes. Nice perfomances, interesting people walking around. The japanese culture its so beautiful and I know this is just a small portion because the festival also mix culture but it is very interesting.

If you go after 3pm they will charge you $ 5 instead of $ 10. I went with my husband and my lil brother who is an animé freak. We didn’t find anything worth buying, all they were selling you can buy it cheaper on ebay. This event should be free… They only thing worth our tome here were the free sunglasses we got from Unilocal, it was a bit sunny and they came in handy. I won’t give it one star because all the japanese people from promotion tents were extremely nice.

Great! Festival was very nice. Lots of food and events to try and see. Love the shopping for bargains. Got a few nice items. Need to attend this at least once if your in the area next year. Be nice if this was a two day event and if there was more Japanese food.

If you haven’t been to Japan before, I promise you that this festival takes the cake with all the perks without the 15 hour plane ride, or $ 1,000 price tag. It’s the best of Japan really and you can feel it from everyone there. It was not only excellent people watching, but we were able to taste great foods and see all the green tea goodies that are really hard to find year round in DC.

So this is your typical festival except more of a japanese theme (food/​items/​activities). You also have to pay for tickets to enter. The food was overpriced and mediocre. The worst part was that it’s so crowded, it was bad management over the lines for people wanting to buy food. Some lines just zig zags and no one knows where the line starts. Overall, not really worth coming unless you’re really into the japanese theme festivals or you have time to kill.

I’ve been attending this festival since 2006 and every year it seems to get better and better. This year I noticed that there were more Japanese food vendors, so that was a nice change. There were some great performances and a lot of unique vendors. Also, the weather was fantastic! Overall, I had a great time and can’t wait for next year!
For those of you complaining about the crowds: What exactly did you expect? This is one of the largest street festivals for Japanese culture in the US. There are going to be a ton of people that show up!

The Sakura Matsuri was okay… just something to do and somewhat entertaining. Admission was $ 10, but getting into the city and parking was a huge hassle.
There were plenty of food/​dessert vendors, both Japanese and non-​Japanese. I think Sushi Taro was my favorite vendor and offered the highest quality festival foods. Tako Grill was a huge let down. At Japanese festivals, takoyaki is supposed to be a staple and freshly made. Those offered at Tako Grill were pre-​made, lukewarm, doughy, and with invisible octopus meat. I was a fan of the Thai iced tea vendor that offered the half liter-​sized containers.
The performances were interesting. I wasn’t impressed, but then again I wasn’t expecting much. I was a bit surprised that there was a j-​pop group of four with only one Japanese member.
The cultural vendors were pretty neat. Plenty of Japanese souvenirs/​collectibles were available. Throughout the area were people dressed up as Japanese cartoons, so people watching was one of my favorite things to do at festival.
Overall, not bad.

2014 Sakura Matsuri:
I have an irrational love for Japan. I lived in Tokyo for 4 months and love all things Japanese. I’m not into the whole cosplay thing (more power to you if you are), but I absolutely love Japanese culture, language, games both in video game and traditional board or card form, life style, and cuisine. While I’m not obsessed with it, I do enjoy animé and manga. I absolutely loved going to the shrine matsuris and any festival that was going on in Tokyo when I wasn’t studying.
I really wanted to love this festival. I really did. But, well…
Pros:
——
+ The performances were for the most part pretty good. Not advertising, but the taiko drum performance group Nen Daiko was really quite good. The others I saw ranged from a sword demonstration to J-​Pop to various music groups. All were worth watching.
+ Despite the upcoming Cons, the general «feel» of the place had good intentions. Busy festivals in Tokyo are crowded with people who are happy to be there, and for the most part people seemed to be enjoying themselves.
+ While a lot of the food wasn’t authentic, there were some hidden gems that offered taiyaki (red bean paste filled, fish shaped baked goods) and Japanese curry, and those were pretty good. I also saw some yakitori (grilled chicken skewers), okonomiyaki (grilled pancake with various toppings), and takoyaki (grilled octopus dumplings) that looked good. Yakitori, taiyaki, and takoyaki are always found at shrine festivals in Japan, so it was cool seeing some of those.
+ Free stuff from Sponsors. McDonald’s actually put on a really neat gift package that featured a Japanese themed tote bag, calendar, and some promo coupons.
+ They make an effort to keep kids entertained. There are a couple stations for kids to do things.
+ It’s a great way to spread the word on Japanese appreciation local clubs looking for recognition or members like the Karuta club, Go club, and some of the language appreciation clubs. Spreading actual Japanese culture in the States is something I never get tired of seeing.
Cons:
— — –
— The whole festival is fenced in. One of the most frustrating things about festivals and areas of huge foot traffic is being constrained even more. The reason it’s fenced in is because it costs $ to get in.
— It costs $ 10 to get in ($ 8 on pre-​order). It’s not that it’s expensive, it’s just that they’re charging anything to get in the gate. It’s not like the food is free, you still have to buy it. The only free thing is a small gift set from McDonald’s. You can still see the presentations from outside of the fence without paying.
— A lot of the shops and stands seemed tacky. There were a few neat stands with Japanese stationary, tiny porcelain figurines, and «history of» stands (like history of the JR train line, kind of cool!), but the majority of it was questionable knock-​off jewelry, knock off stuffed animals, or things you’d find in a hobby shop. It’s not that a Japanese festival wouldn’t necessarily have some of these types of shops, but it seemed like a high ratio of «meh» to «legitimately interesting» shops.
— Going along with that ratio, there were a lot of food stands that were in no way authentic. Most of the stands were just Americanized Asian items like teriyaki or Chinese takeout. There definitely were some legit Japanese vendors, but if you didn’t know better, you might end up eating something that Yummy Garden could out-​perform.
— Food line wait times. There were some stands that had a 15 minute wait, but most had times over an hour. It’s hard to tell what’s at each until you’re closer as well.
— I alluded to it above, but it’s way too crowded. The volunteer staff had to literally redirect people around the other side of the festival because food lines were too long.
Overall:
— — — -
It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t great. It had its strong points. Ultimately I think it was a little too crowded with not enough to enjoy or experience as a legitimate Japanese festival. The main problem I have, and is blatantly obvious in my review, is that I’m stuck on trying to compare it to the real thing, and that’s my fault. To be honest, it’s probably more authentic than anything else you’ll find in the States, and don’t get the wrong vibe from this review; I still enjoyed it. I was just hoping that I would love it, and it just fell a little bit short. I’d still recommend that anyone check it out who is interested though, as the intentions of the festival are good and you’ll probably enjoy at least something in there.