June 30th was the 5th Otaru Pride! Although I don’t usually go out on Sundays or twice a weekend, but since this is an event that’s once a year and I really want to go, I hauled myself out of the house again over to Otaru. I’m not the type to walk in a pride parade by myself, but luckily, I knew a friend going, so I was exicted to walk with someone I knew.
I arrived in Otaru around 11, and learning from last year, arriving right at 11 when reception starts isn’t super important. Instead, I popped into the Mister Donut, wanting some boba, but came out with a mango jelly drink instead. Read about my drink here!
The parade is kind of at a weird time, right in the middle of lunch time, so I tried looking at the savory selection. None really looked appealing to me, so I popped into the LeTao Ekimo next door for some ice cream. I had a coupon I needed to use, and plus, the day was definitely going to be hot, and ice cream is the perfect treat. I went with the Jersey Milk one, because the other option was cheese and I am not a cheese girlie. Seems like Ekimo’s seasonal item is this strawberry milk (but in French, in Japanese), but a milky drink seemed a bit heavy at the moment.
The ice cream was really good! A slightly milky flavor, not too creamy, and light and refreshing.
I checked in at reception, and got the same free goodies as last year: a rainbow mask, a small flag, an Otaru Pride pin with choice of color, and a small candy. I met up with my friend and some Hokkaido University exchange students she had just met. It seemed to me about the same amouunt of people as last year, but I feel like a good half of the group were non-Japanese people.
Around 12, they started the opening ceremony, with 3 speeches: one by the city mayor, and 2 from executive members of the organization committee. We then set out on the pre-designated path, following the line, and every waving their flags. The path actually was different than last year, with a sharp turn at the canal instead of going further along. We stopped at the former Otaru Tourist Center for a 10-minute break and to take the group photo, and various other queer organizations advertised their groups and upcoming events in the meantime. The organizers also reminded everyone about the after party, and the food that would be there.
Last year, the parade ended at the same place we started, and we took the photo there. This year, the parade ended at the place where the after party would be, Ura Otaru Monparunasu, an event space. There was a pop-up cafe with drinks and a parfait, a vintage clothing shop selling small bowls of curry, a takoyaki food truck, and a pizza food truck that arrived late. I was waiting for the pizza truck, and in the meantime, everyone and I grabbed a Bubbly Rainbow Jelly Drink because gay soda.
It’s essentially rainbow jelly layered on top of each other in rainbow order topped with Mitsuya Cider, a Sprite-like sweet carbonated drink. The jellies were soft and tasted like jelly, and the soda was a soda. Overall, a solid gay drink.
The pizza truck finally arrived about and hour or so after the after party started, and it took him a good while to get set up, from putting up his shaved ice machine, his beer dispenser, and firing up his pizza oven (yes a pizza oven and a shaved ice machine in the same car). It was a legit pizza oven though, and all of his pizzas were baked fresh to order. He has a variety on his menu, including a banana chocolate pizza, but I decided to go for the teriyaki chicken and mushroom, for some savory protein.
Pizza was yum, not too big, and not too small. It had a nice, slightly burnt and chewy crust, just enough tomato sauce, a ton of mushrooms, and some small chunks of sweet savory chicken.
After that, I split up with my friends, met up with another friend, and eventually, all went back home together.
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