Experience the captivating Japan Festival 2026!

It's September already—can you believe how fast the summer flew by? I wanted to take a moment to reflect on my experience as a food vendor at the Japan Festival this year, which was my first time participating.

On July 11 and 12, 2026, we spent two days at Skokie Sport Park for the festival. As a visitor, festivals and street stalls are always so much fun, but being on the vendor side was a different story—the preparation was much more challenging than I’d imagined.

Unlike running a restaurant, we had to figure out everything from scratch: how to set up the kitchen, how to transport heavy supplies to the tent, and how to keep our food safe in the heat. It felt like a mountain of details to manage. We also had to get creative with our banners and signage to make sure people knew "Tenjin" was there, even though it’s hard to replicate the atmosphere of a full restaurant in a tent.

Despite all that, it was a fantastic experience. One of the biggest takeaways was being able to see directly what customers were looking for through our sales numbers, which is a different kind of insight than what we get at the restaurant.

There was another big challenge: I really wanted to sell a drink featuring "Tenjin Coffee Jelly."

This was inspired by a drink I absolutely loved back in Japan—a silky, smooth coffee jelly mixed with milk. I used to buy it at convenience stores every time I visited home, but sadly, it’s been discontinued.

I thought, "Well, if I can't buy it, I’ll just have to make it myself!" So, I decided to take on the challenge and add it to the Tenjin menu. It was a "Coffee Jelly Latte" layered with jelly, coffee syrup, milk, and whipped cream. I truly hope I can share it with all of you again someday!