Setagaya Boroichi / 世田谷ボロ市

Setagaya Ward is known for it's historical flea market which has a four-hundred year plus history. Its held once or twice a year and draws a huge crowd. Why its held on a weekday is beyond me but I just happened to have that particular day off and Mikako was working. So, I decided to check it out on my own.

毎年一回か二回世田谷ボロ市が開催されます。でっかいフリーマーケットですよ。四百年以上の歴史がある市です。なぜ平日に開催するのは分からないが、今回僕はたまたまその日が休みだった事と美香子が仕事で一人で行ってみることにしました。

But you all know the real reason why I like going to these things. If you answered the food - then you're probably a regular reader of my blog. Of course I checked out all the products that were for sale and even bought a few items, but you know where my heart lies - the food!

僕にとってこうゆう市とか祭りの一番の楽しみは分かるでしょうか？食べ物と答えた人はさすがに僕のブログの読者ですね。もちろん食べ物以外のものも見たし、買い物もしましたよ。でもやっぱり僕の本心は‐食い物です！

The first food item I treated myself to was something called shapin, a Chinese snack that's similar to gyoza. More like a flattened gyoza. You might remember this from the Taishido Festival I went to in the summer.

最初に食べた物はシャーピンとゆうものです。餃子と似た様な感じなもの。もっと細かく説明するとぺったんこの餃子みたい。屋台には中国のおやきと書いてあった。

Shapin / シャーピン

And even though I can always find yakitori at any festival, or any izakaya for that matter, I thought the way this food stall grilled it's yakitori was unique.

焼き鳥はどの祭りでもあるし、どの居酒屋行ってもメニューにはだいたいあるし、でもこのボロ市であった焼き鳥の屋台で違ったのは、焼き鳥の焼き方。

I then came across a corner called the furusato ichi, which roughly translates to hometown. This area features the foods of different prefectures from Okinawa to Hokkaido. I found something interesting that I just had to try. I forgot what prefecture that was making this item but it was called somen pizza. Somen being a type of noodle. Pizza made from noodles?

ふるさと市のコーナーがあって、そこで日本全国の都道府県の屋台があって、一つ気になる食べ物を発見。どこの都道府県か忘れましたが、あったのはそうめんピザ。え？そうめんでピザ？そうなんですよ。生地がそうめんから出来てるピザです。

The picture on the left looks like a regular slice of pizza. But if you flip the pizza over, you can see that the crust is made from noodles. Oh, and it was quite delicious.

左側の写真は普通のピザしか見えませんが、右側はそのピザスライスを裏返して、生地をよーく見るとそうめんで出来てるのを分かりますでしょうか？美味しかったよ。

I seem to have forgotten one of the most important information of this post. Setagaya Ward being a rather large ward, I forgot to mention where the flea market was being held. On the Setagaya Line, you can get off at Setagaya Station or go one station further and get off at Kamimachi - this particular flea market is huge and there are booths from one station to the next and then some!

あれ、一番大切な事を書くのが忘れてたみたい。世田谷区は結構広いなので、どの辺でボロ市が開催してるまだ書いてませんでした。世田谷線で世田谷駅か上町に降りたら、その近くです。本当にどの駅に降りても良いです。駅から駅まで屋台や出店がいっぱい並んでる。

As I was walking around, I also came across something called the Setagaya Daikan Yashiki. It's an architectural wonder that's been preserved in its original state.

歩き回ったら、「都史跡 世田谷代官屋敷」をみつかりました。

Model of what the Setagaya Boro-Ichi was like in the Edo period.

江戸時代の世田谷ボロ市のモデル

As to what did I buy. A lot of incense for Mikako. And for myself? One of those old styled pocket watches (it was only a thousand yen).

僕はどゆう買い物をした。美香子にお香をいっぱい買いました。自分の為に買ったものは懐中時計（千円でかいました）。

But I did learn one thing today. Going to a flea market or festival by yourself limits the amount and variety of food you can eat. Best to go with a friend or a group so you can try lots of different food items and for me, beer tastes better when drinking with friends. As I was by myself on this occasion, I skipped on indulging in any beer.

今日一つ勉強になったことがあります。ボロ市か祭を一人で行くと、食べ物も多く買えないし、食べられないし、ちょっと寂しですよ。やっぱり友達と一緒に行くのが一番楽しいと思います。ビールも一人で飲むより、仲間で飲むもんだな（って事で、ビールは飲んでませんよ。）