Corn is a vital crop with immense importance. It provides food, feed, and fuel, and serves as a staple in various cuisines worldwide. The Yatsugatake corn variant grows well in Japan and is said to be sweeter than various fruits, and it's celebrated at a fun annual event in Shiga Prefecture which has been running for the past four years.
The highlight of the Corn Festival is a corn peeling competition, which will be held on July 30th. The event is divided into child, youth, and adult categories, and participants compete to see who can peel corn the fastest. Along with the corn peeling competition, there will be corn harvesting experiences, and the opportunity to try a variety of corn-centric foods such as corn flavored soft serve ice cream.
Please note that the event doesn't run every single day during the period. The dates are as follows:
- July 22nd (Sat), 23rd (Sun), 29th (Sat), 30th (Sun)
- August 5th (Sat) through 13th (Sun), but closed on Wednesday
Getting there
The Corn Festival takes place at the tourist information center in front of Kanou Shojuan, a Japanese confectionery shop in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture. On-site parking is available – there's a charge of 1000 yen, but in exchange you get a voucher for 1000 yen which can be used to purchase items at the event.
