Nobody goes to Fuji Rock for the food... but everyone has to eat, whether you're there for one day or four. This year, as always, the range of food stalls was wider than ever. We enjoyed local specialties, such as charcoal-grilled ayu sweetfish — conveniently located right next to the Niigata jizake stall — and were pleased to find JamRock's tasty jerk chicken alongside the cast of usual international suspects (British, Spanish and quasi-Ethiopian).
There were Russian piroshikis and borscht (not to mention dodgy-looking coils of grilled sausages)...
... and there were always long lines at the pizza stalls (I counted at least three wood-fired ovens this year).
At the Field of Heaven there was plenty of honest-to-goodness fare.
Pumpkin and chickpea Thai-style green curry served from a teepee...
...breads and cookies from the indefatigable Levain bakery...
... and tasty summer vegetable curry-rice topped with fresh tomatoes from the Taiyo Shokudo ("Sunshine Diner").
But the Food FIle's award for the best food on site went to the indomitable folks at the Soba Rock stall, turning out hand-rolled, hand-cut noodles of real quality.
You had to be quick to get it, though, as they were only serving 200 portions a day and they sold out fast.
¥500 for noodles alone; ¥1,000 topped with grated daikon, yama-imo and wild greens; add a dollop of wasabi to taste.
But at the end of the four days, it's the music that will linger in the memory, along with all the festive scenes, not the food. And that's the way it should be...
This is what I watched while slurping my soba. There's always something going on at the Tokoro Tengoku space!
Gypsy Avalon, the mellowest spot in the whole festival, and this year there was a good microbrew available from the Midorie food stall, up in the NGO 'Village'. This was the crowd for Martina TB's solo set...
A rather larger crowd for the Green Stage later on...
It was a Massive Attack, both aural and visual...
In the thick of an Aragonese onslaught at the Orange Court...
All very tasty indeed!
PS (added Aug.19): There were no stalls selling kabayaki (grilled eel) — but we did find unagi at the camp site...