Each year during summer there is a Shaved Ice (Snow Cone) Festival at Aeon Lake Town in Koshigaya. This year’s theme is literally something like ‘all ages from east and west’, but the general idea is ‘all ages and countries’ or all-encompassing. In recent years these type of food fairs have become really popular in Saitama Prefecture. Moreover, the organizers of this festival are the same as the popular Ice-cream fair and Chukaman Expo food festivals that take place in Lake town in the first half of the year.
Shaved Ice Festival
Kakigori is the Japanese for snow cones / shaved ice. It was once really popular in summertime. It still is, but in recent years, thanks to the emergence of shaved ice speciality cafes, you can enjoy it all year round. At the shaved ice festival in Lake Town you can try such things as traditional kakigori, gourmet kakigori, kakigori made from natural ice, Taiwanese shaved ice or even shaved ice with meat in it! The area is actually relatively small, but the choice is great (and the queues are long)! The shaved ice festival will be on for ten days around Obon.
Information
Event: Shaved Ice Festival かき氷祭
Dates: Friday August 11th to Sunday August 20th 2023.
Time: 11 am to 7 pm. (until 5 pm on the last day).
Cost: no charge to enter the food festival area, the kakigori prices vary greatly!
Venue: Fountain area “噴水広場 特設会場” on the 1st floor of Mori Mall, Koshigaya Laketown. View on Google Maps.
Access
The mall is located close to JR Koshigaya Laketown Station. Where possible, they advise you to come by public transport because the area can be very congested with traffic. There is parking at the mall, charged by the hour.
Organizer’s website: the featured photo was taken from this website.