Food is always a huge attraction at the annual Matsuri -- that is, the Phoenix Japanese Festival -- and this year's (which takes place this weekend) will be no different. Think yakisoba, teriyaki obento, makizushi, daifuku made with fresh mochi, anpan... jeez, I shouldn't blog right before lunch, now, should I? (cue the stomach rumble)
But there's a little extra somethin'-somethin' on the 2009 schedule that caught my eye -- an udon-making demonstration by Koto Sanuki Udon-Ten, from Himeji, Phoenix's sister city in Japan. Check it out on the festival's main stage at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
The Matsuri, by the way, is free to the public and runs from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on February 21 and 22 at Heritage and Science Park (4th Street and Monroe).