Lemon Sour Festival 2018 IN Osaka, Japan's first large-scale food and beverage event specializing in lemon sour, will be held for three days from May 10th to 12th at Minatomachi River Place. This will be the first time the event is held in the Kansai area.


The menus of the famous lemon sour shops with locations in the Kansai area that will be participating in the event have been decided. Kushikatsu no Mise Yoneya Namba Minami branch, a traditional kushikatsu restaurant that has been loved for over 70 years since it opened in Umeda shortly after the war, is a place where you can't double-dip your skewers and enjoy all-you-can-eat cabbage. They're introducing flag-shaped "gyukatsu" (140 yen per bottle), a dish invented during times of scarcity, and their original lemon sour "Jun High" (350 yen), made with Takara Shochu "Jun," which pairs perfectly with the shochu. They're also offering a "Jun High Set" (600 yen), which includes this Jun High and two shochus of gyukatsu.

Kushikatsu Restaurant Yoneya Namba Minami Branch
Left: "Junhai" (350 yen) Right: "Gyukatsu" (1 skewer for 140 yen)

"Sakaba Yoneya" was founded last year in the Kiyamachi area, located in the heart of Kyoto city. At Yebisu, you can enjoy a wide range of drinks, including the main dish "Shiga Prefecture Kuroge Wagyu Beef Croquette" (200 yen each, 500 yen for 3), which uses Shiga Prefecture Kuroge Wagyu beef, as well as the "Famous Lemon Sour" (500 yen), "Famous Honey Lemon Sour" (500 yen), and "Ikuchijima Lemon & Blood Orange Sour" (500 yen), which use domestic lemons delivered directly from farmers on Ikuchijima, Hiroshima.

Sakaba Yebisu's "Famous Lemon Sour" (500 yen)
"Charcoal Grilled Meat Bar Nikumaru," which opened in Tamatsukuri, Tennoji Ward, Osaka City on Meat Day (the 29th) last May, is a popular bar that operates under the concept of "lemon sour x meat." Popular lemon sours include the "frozen lemon sour" (400 yen) made with ice-cold lemon, and the "lemon lime sour" (400 yen), which combines lemon with lime, as well as "thick-sliced grilled beef tongue with salt" (900 yen).

Sumibi Niku Maru "Lemon Lime Sour" (400 yen)
Typhoon Restaurant by Popular Restaurant Stand Sonoda, which serves tropical cuisine from Thailand, Taiwan, Okinawa and other countries under the theme of "cuisine from countries along the typhoon's path," is a new restaurant that just opened on April 9th as a sister restaurant to Popular Restaurant Stand Sonoda in Tanimachi, Osaka and Chinese Noodles Sonoda in Fukuyama, Hiroshima. In addition to the "Lemon Sour" (500 yen), you can also enjoy dishes such as the "Typhoon Noodles" (500 yen) and Taiwanese fried chicken "Kampong Chee Skewers" (500 yen).

Typhoon Restaurant by Popular Restaurant Stand Sonoda "Lemon Sour" (500 yen)
Takoyaki Restaurant Takonotetsu Marubiru Branch, a takoyaki shop founded in 1979 that has continued to focus on providing fun, delicious, and timeless flavors, will be offering takoyaki that can be enjoyed with several types of sauce, as well as the colorful and cute-looking "Lemon Sour Gummy Drop" (400 yen), which was developed specifically for this event.

Takoyaki Restaurant Takonotetsu Marubiru Branch
Left: "Lemon Sour Gummy Drop" (400 yen), Right: "Fried Takoyaki (Pineapple Chi Sauce)" (500 yen)
Yakiya Ando, a yakiniku izakaya near Kyoto's Keihan Sanjo Station, is known for its sour drinks made with fresh domestic beef offal and fresh fruit, and has introduced the refreshingly sweet "Meyer Lemon Sour" (500 yen), "Kyokaze Lemon Sour" (500 yen), and "Salt Lemon Sour" (500 yen). Guests can also enjoy their signature meat dish, "Simmered Skirt Stew Beef Tendon" (500 yen), which goes perfectly with the lemon sour.

Yakiya Ando "Meyer Lemon Sour" (500 yen)
"Saien, a place to enjoy lemon sours," uses "Jun" shochu as its base and is particular about using domestic lemons, so you can enjoy a variety of lemon sours and dishes that go well with lemon sours. Among them, the "Lemon Sorbet Sour" (600 yen) is a drink that is sure to look great on social media, as you can enjoy the changing flavors as you drink it by dissolving the sweet sorbet.
Saien, a place to enjoy lemon sours
Left: "Lemon sorbet sour" (600 yen), Right: "Andes salt shumai" (500 yen)

In addition, special sponsor Takara Shuzo will be setting up a booth where you can sample free samples of Takara "Exquisite Lemon Sour," which was released on March 20th and is the "official drink" of the Lemon Sour Festival 2018. Furthermore, there will be a booth where you can enjoy 100 different lemon sours, each with 10 types of shochu, 5 types of domestic lemons, and 2 types of carbonated drinks, allowing you to experience the difference in taste between refreshing and mellow lemon sours depending on the type of shochu used. You're sure to find your favorite drink.

In 2018, the Tokyo event attracted over 10,000 visitors over three days. Why not enjoy some delicious food while trying out the wide variety of lemon sours to find your favorite?