Ekimae Shoten Spring Festival x Nagato City Ekicon

Spring Time in front of Nagato Station

On Sunday, March 24, the "Ekimae Shoten Spring Festival" was held for the first time in front of JR Nagato City Station.

Surrounding the roundabout are booths for "chibiko fairs" where visitors can enjoy target shooting and ball scooping, an "e-sports" experience corner where visitors can enjoy playing video games on a large screen, and food and beverage booths where visitors can taste specialty products of Nagato City.

The menu included yakitori, a must for any event in Nagato City, Nagatori-men, a well-known local noodle dish, turban shells in a jar, and wagashi, a type of rice ball that stops both adults and children in their tracks.

A stamp rally was also held, in which participants who had collected eight different "Omirin" stamps were entered to win a game console and an assortment of kamabokos (fish cake).

Omirin, created in the fall of 2017 as a character to revitalize the station, is based on the Yasagata Hadakakamegai, a clione-like creature that lives off the coast of Qinghai Island.

Reprinted version of "Shomyo-shi Eki Bento

At the venue where various foods were gathered, the most popular item was the reprinted version of the "Shomyo-shi Eki Bento".

The ekiben is a modern version of the ekiben sold in the 1960s at Nagato City Station, which was originally called Shomyoichi Station when it first opened. 100 units were limited, so there was a long line of people waiting in the station even before sales began.

The wrapping paper reads "wakame no onigiri bento," and when the lid is opened, the first thing that catches the eye are two onigiri. It was also packed with a menu typical of Nagato City, including fish paste, fried chicken, and "kencho," a local dish of Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Concurrent event "Nagato City Ekicon

The "15th Nagato City Ekicon" was also held at the same time on this day, with the area around the container in front of Nagato City Station as the venue.

Many children enjoyed coloring and making paper crafts while looking at the model trains next to the actual running trains.

There is also a corner where visitors can actually experience riding a "track-automated bicycle" that runs on the tracks.

We could hear the laughter of the children as they enjoyed the scenery on the tracks, which they would not normally be able to see.

Incidentally, the next "The 16th Nagato City Ekicon" is scheduled to be held on Sunday, April 21.

Related Links

Special feature "Yakitori no Machi - Nagato" (Nanavi)