"Katsunuma Grape Village" was the translated name of our stop; we were welcomed at the tiny station by some enthusiastic festival attendants who pointed the way to the shuttle bus bound for the grounds.
Bordering the open field, a veritable lake from that morning’s rainstorm, around 40 tents were set up by vendors offering tastings. Another 30 or so stands were serving festival food such as fries, takoyaki, noodles, choco-bananas, and more. Spending 500 Yen ($5) on a commemorative glass allowed visitors to wander from booth to booth from noon until 6, requesting aka (red) or shiroy (white)…and when it was time to find a dry spot to sit and relax, there was a central tent with wine by the barrel—step right up and fill your glass. Grape juice for the kiddies, too.
Davin entered a grape-eating contest...
And people lined up for free samples from the grape ladies.
Free-flowing wine plus a slick muddy field presented a recipe for disaster—or something Woodstock-esque, perhaps—but the event remained relatively low-key. There were plenty of folks sloshing around sans shoes, and a trashed group of foreigners (from the U.S.? ‘Fraid so) creating a mini-scene by pig-piling onto a tarp and generally being obnoxious, but to balance the mood, an adjacent group of locals had spread out a full, fancy picnic complete with fondue.
We watched a variety of acts take the entertainment stage, including a steel-drumming group, a teenage rock band, middle-aged guys playing surfer tunes, and a synchronized dance troupe.
And when the sky darkened, we retraced our route home, arriving back in Shizuoka at 11:59—nearly the last train of the night :)The day was gorgeous. It took three washes to resuscitate my filthy shoes, but the taste, the cloud-shrouded Fuji foothills, the rest areas shaded by grape-covered canopies…sure, I’d go back for that.
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