My 7 Must-Try Foods from JAPAN Fes.

Published May 17, 2025

Shade cooled the mid-morning walk through the Upper West Side of New York City to attend the largest Japanese food festival in the world — JAPAN Fes. With events throughout the summer, JAPAN Fes. brings together global vendors to locations across New York City, New Jersey, Miami, Paris, and Tokyo.

The 3 blocks of vendor tents and flags caught our attention. Crocheted stuffed animals, cottage-core dresses, prints, jewelry, and non-food vendors lined this block. We were ready to dive into the food, so we moved down the street until we reached the Japanese vendors.

Mid-morning was my favorite time of day for this event. There was space to move, reasonable volume, and hardly any lines. We tried 12 different vendors in total. Here are my top 7 favorites from JAPAN Fes. that I recommend.

My 7 Must-Try Foods from JAPAN Fes. New York

7. Catmint Wheel Cake: Imagawayaki 

Imagawayaki or “wheel cake” is a dessert filled with matcha, custard, red bean, or purple yam. Catmint Wheel Cake also added boba.

The wheel cakes were made to order and took 10 minutes. I enjoyed watching the cooking process — where two halves of the pan were filled with batter, fillings, and then smooshed together to make the thick cake. Even for early in the day, this vendor had the longest line. I took this as a positive indicator that these would be worth trying.

We ordered one matcha and one custard wheel cake. The crisp exterior reminded me of a fresh Belgian waffle. The filling was hot and gooey which was a nice contrasting bite. Between the two flavors we ordered, I liked the matcha the best, as I felt it had the most flavor. I would return to try all of their flavors, which is why Catmint Wheel cakes ranked in my top 7 foods to try from JAPAN Fes.

6. Karlsballs Takoyaki

I am the only person who likes takoyaki, so I enjoyed this vendor by myself. Like Catmint Wheel Cakes, I watched as the staff at Karlsballs prepared the takoyaki by flipping the circular batter in a copper pan until cooked. They were scorching hot when served and topped with a generous pile of bonito flakes.

They were so hot I had to wait a few minutes to eat them. I appreciated that this vendor gave a chopstick-like utensil to help eat these. The combination of sauces, seasoned batter, and tender octopus create a dance of flavors and textures. I’ve tried a lot of takoyaki and this is one of the best that I’ve had, which is why it ranks #6 in my list of top foods to try from JAPAN Fes.

5. Beard Papa’s Cream Puffs

Ironically, I had Beard Papa’s cream puffs a few weeks earlier at New Jersey’s chocolate expo, and they were divine. I was excited to see them at JAPAN Fes.

They offered full-size cream puffs too, including ones topped with Oreos, but we decided to try the classic mini cream puffs. Not only are the cream puff shells airy, but they are bursting with vanilla custard. You can even watch your cream puffs be filled-to-order.

4. Menya Jiro’s Tonkotsu Ramen 

Silky pork broth, charred pork belly, scallions, fried garlic, freshly cooked noodles, bean sprouts, and mushrooms. The portion and price was awesome, considering the quality. The broth was so delicious I would’ve paid to have that by itself in a cup.

3. Tanghulu

We tried tanghulu from two of the three vendors. You can see there’s a difference in the presentation and the types of fruit. Some even had a thicker layer of sugar on theirs than the others. I prefer less sugar to more.

This was my first time trying tanghulu. I’ve seen it frequently on social media, but to me, it felt overhyped. Sugar coated fruit, what’s the big deal?

After trying it, I can see why it’s so popular. Fresh, naturally sweet fruit coated with a crunchy layer of sugar made a perfect ASMR-worthy snack. I enjoyed the blueberries and mandarin oranges the best.

2. Musubin Onigiri

I love onigiri and I was impressed with Musubin’s minimalist vendor display. I ordered the crab onigiri which was made to order.

A thick triangle of warmed rice was topped with fresh snow crab (not imitation). The crab was buttery with scallions and topped with a layer of shaved cheese. It was a divine experience and why it is my #2 spot from JAPAN Fes.

1. Soofley NYC Soufflé Pancakes

The #1 must-try item from JAPAN Fes. was the soufflé pancakes from Soofley NYC. These pancakes have been on my to-try item for years — I even tried to make them at home, to my utter failure.

Soofley offers soufflé pancakes with syrup, which we ordered, or soufflé pancakes topped with strawberry syrup. They are made to order and take some time, since it takes multiple layers to create a fluffy stack.

I could not believe how cloud-like the texture was. The flavor was rich, and not eggy, especially with the maple syrup and whipped cream. It was not overly sweet and instead offered a palate cleanser with each bite. It was by far the best food we had from JAPAN Fes. and one of my newest favorite treats.

JAPAN Fes. 2025 Schedule

Check out the full 2025 schedule and locations to visit JAPAN Fes. this year. Leave a comment below with the vendor you’d love to try.

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