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Tasty art brought to life — enjoy unique recreations of illustrated food at the Pixiv Festival!

Kay Sep 27, 2014
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Some of our readers may be aware of Pixiv, the popular Japanese online community that provides a forum for artists to share and receive feedback on their illustrated works. Well, we certainly think such a community is a meaningful use for the Internet, and now, we’re even more excited to hear that Pixiv will be putting on a real-life festival! It’s the “Pixiv Festival – where drawing is fuuuuuuuuun!!!!!!!!!!!!” scheduled to be held in Roppongi next month, and while the event is sure to provide plenty of opportunity for artistic action, it seems there’ll also be some very interesting food options available as well — yes, you’ll be able to sample dishes that have actually been recreated from illustrations shared on the site, so let’s take a closer look at some of the unique culinary creations that have been brought to life especially for the festival!

The Pixiv Festival, or Pixiv Matsuri as it’s called in Japanese, will be held from October 25 to November 24 at the Tokyo City View Observation Deck located in the Roppongi Hills shopping/entertainment complex. The event will feature numerous interactive artistic activities and attractions including an enormous tower (yagura) of animated illustrations dancing to music and also booths where you can color figures made using 3-D printers or take pictures in virtual surroundings while in cosplay costume, among others. And then, of course, there’s the Pixiv Drawing Cafe (Pixiv Shokudo Oekaki-dokoro), where some colorful and unique-looking dishes taken from Pixiv illustrations are on the menu.

▼The “Rainbow Punch” (800 yen [US$7.35]) containing pieces of jewel-like jelly is a feast for the eyes.

▼This “Shirimoto Curry” (900 yen [$8.28]) is based on the work of well-known Pixiv artist Shirimoto.

▼Here’s the “Fluffy Chick Parfait” (Mofumofu Hiyoko Parfait) priced at 1,100 yen ($10.11), containing 16 madeleine cakes created in the shape of the popular Pixiv chick character and topped with a yummy looking baked caramel custard pudding. The chicks are adorable, but we have to say we kind of feel sorry for them seeing them all squished together.

▼And this is the “Strawberry Rice Bowl” (Ichigo-gake Gohan) based on the work of artist Ochappa (original illustration shown on the left). The dish, priced at 700 yen ($6.43), consists of rice cooked in milk and sugar topped with a rich warm strawberry sauce. (And if you think that sounds like a strange combination, I recently had strawberry risotto cooked from rice, strawberries and mascarpone cheese, and it was surprisingly delicious!)

You’ll also be able to try out some state-of-the-art pen tablets as well as regular drawing utensils at the cafe, and even draw directly on the table if you’re in the mood for doodling, so you’ll have the chance to create a little bit of art yourself while eating and drinking!

Whether you’re artistically inclined or not, the festival sounds like a lot of fun, doesn’t it? The food alone looks interesting enough to warrant a visit, if like us, you’re into colorful and cute (and tasty) items. For anyone who may be in the area at the time of the festival and is thinking of attending, tickets will cost 1,500 yen ($13.79) for adults, 1,000 yen ($9.19) for high school and college students and 500 yen ($4.60) for younger children aged 5 and above. (Discount advance tickets are also available at Lawson Ticket or Lawson and Mini Stop stores across Japan.)

We hope everyone who makes their way to the event has a wonderful time, because as we say in Japan, Autumn is a great time of year to enjoy art!

Source: Pixiv Matsuri website via ITmedia (Japanese), My Navi News (Japanese)
Photos: Pixiv Matsuri website