We went to the “Laporte Ennichi” festival held yesterday, August 27, at Laporte, the shopping mall directly connected to JR Ashiya Station!
↑ The passageway between the Laporte buildings was lined with festival-style food stalls selling fried chicken, taiyaki, shaved ice, baby castella cakes, yakisoba, takoyaki, candied apples, and more!
There were also special stalls from the Chinese restaurant “五福飯店” and the Japanese sweets shop “芦屋柳月堂玉川,” both located inside Laporte!
↑ Since it was around lunchtime, the place was packed!
↑ Game booths, including a “coin drop game,” were set up in front of the Main Building too!
↑ Families with children gathered around the various games, including shooting galleries, shuriken throwing, ring toss, and lottery draws, making the area really lively!
Greetings from Mayor Takashima and the ceremonial first pitch
↑ At noon, greetings were given by the chairperson of the Laporte Main Building Meitenkai, representing the organizers, and by special guest Mayor Ryosuke Takashima.
↑ After the greetings, the mayor threw a ceremonial first pitch at the Strike Out game corner!
↑ He winds up…
↑ And throws! He said he was aiming for number 5, but instead he landed a perfect hit on the number 4 panel, haha.
↑ After the ceremonial pitch, he played Strike Out together with the children at the venue, getting down to their eye level as he joined in.
“Cinnabon” sold out quickly. Maybe they’ll bring it back?
↑ The special “Cinnabon” cinnamon roll sale held alongside the festival was already completely sold out by noon. Too bad!
Sales were supposed to start at 11:00, so it looks like they sold out almost immediately. If they disappeared that quickly, we’d love for them to come back and sell them again! Please let us “visit again”!
↑ At the affiliated shop “Seattle’s Best Coffee Ashiya Laporte” in Laporte East Building, they were selling a “Coffee Float” and “Blue Citrus Soda Float” as special “Ennichi Floats.” The tart citrus flavor really hit the spot after the summer heat.
Finally
Thanks to the festival, the whole Laporte area was incredibly busy and full of energy that day! This Laporte Ennichi was held for the first time in four years due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it seems fair to say it was a big success.
