Tokyo Solamachi

Start the new year with a gourmet extravaganza beneath Tokyo Sky Tree at Solamachi’s Sky Arena, where the National Delicious Nakamise Festival is taking place from December 29 to January 12. The festival features a variety of tasty local dishes from all over the country, plus plenty of ‘B-grade gourmet’ – a term used in Japanese culinary circles to refer to affordable yet satisfying comfort foods like ramen, curry rice, yakisoba and gyoza. As the festival unfolds during the coldest months of the year, you’ll find plenty of piping-hot fare to keep warm, from comforting bowls of oden to steamed Jomon oyaki stuffed with nozawana greens from Nagano. Be sure to pair the dishes with a cup of warm Uji matcha amazake, a gently sweet, fermented rice drink.