Minatomachi River Place

If you’re planning to eat and drink your way through spring, mark Saturday March 21 in your calendar. Part food market, part sake festival, Kamigata Sake World (or more precisely, Kamigata Nihonshu World) brings together 18 restaurants and sake breweries from across Japan for a six-hour tasting event at a riverside venue. Each brewery will be paired with a restaurant, with the duo serving up an exclusive dish-and-sake combo created specifically for the festival. The food and drink are chosen to complement each other and served at optimal temperatures. This year’s line-up includes Tottori’s Tomirei sake paired with washoku (traditional Japanese cuisine) restaurant Ao, Tokyo’s Aonisai collaborating with Niigata’s Abe Brewery, and Osaka’s Ritmicita joining forces with local doburoku (unfiltered sake) maker Utsutsuyo. The remaining pairings span breweries from Niigata and Shimane to Fukuoka and Saga. The format is simple: grab your tickets, browse the vendor booths, and sample pairings at your own pace. Although, with only six hours to work through 18 pairings at Minatomachi River Place, a little planning goes a long way.  Most of the stalls offer standing service only. However, there is a premium seating ticket option (price TBC) for a more leisurely experience, with dedicated areas to sit and relax between tastings. Tickets are now available online. Note that tickets do not include food and sake; these are sold separately on-site.

Osaka’s annual Hawaii Festival is a vibrant three-day event celebrating the significant cultural ties between Hawaii and Japan. Held from May 2 to 4 in Namba, the free-to-enter festival draws large crowds every year. The programme includes live music and numerous hula dance performances by troupes from all over Japan taking place from 10am to 6pm daily.  With beer and tasty festival food sold from food trucks and booths on site, you can enjoy some authentic Aloha spirit in what’s usually gorgeous Golden Week weather. Traditional Hawaiian clothing, beachwear, and accessories like iron-on patches, floral pins and flower crowns can be purchased at the festival’s small market. Be sure to bring cash just in case.