Twelve sweet potato specialists and two chestnut shops take over the Central Plaza for three days, with a fire and live music after dark.
Azabudai Hills is holding Yakiimo Hiroba (やきいも広場) again this autumn, a food fair built around roasted sweet potatoes (yaki-imo) and chestnuts. This year 14 shops take part, and four of the sweet potato shops are joining for the first time. From mid-afternoon a bonfire is lit in the middle of the plaza, and you can eat by the fire while a band plays.
Entry is free. You only pay for what you buy at each stall, and most items cost just a few hundred yen.
| Dates | Friday 23 October to Sunday 25 October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Hours | 12:00–20:00 (sweet potato and chestnut sales 12:00–19:30) |
| Bonfire | 15:00–20:00 (not lit in rain or stormy weather) |
| Venue | Central Plaza, Azabudai Hills |
| Entry | Free |
| Shops | 12 sweet potato, 2 chestnut (4 first-time sweet potato shops) |
| Sponsor | Maker’s Mark |
Dates, hours and the best time to go
The fair runs for three days, from Friday 23 to Sunday 25 October 2026, 12:00 to 20:00 each day. Two details change how you plan the day, though: the stalls stop selling at 19:30, and the bonfire only starts at 15:00.
So if you want food and fire together, aim for the window between 15:00 and 19:30. Coming earlier is quieter for the food, but the plaza only takes on its evening mood once the fire is lit.
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 12:00 | Event opens, stalls start selling |
| 14:00 | First live music set |
| 15:00 | Bonfire is lit |
| 18:30 | Second live music set |
| 19:30 | Sweet potato and chestnut sales end |
| 20:00 | Bonfire and event end |
All 14 shops and their listed prices
Twelve sweet potato shops and two chestnut shops are taking part. The prices below are the ones listed in the organizer’s announcement of 29 September 2026. Most shops sell other items as well, and prices may change on the day, so treat them as a guide.
New this year: four sweet potato shops
| Shop | What they bring | Listed item and price |
|---|---|---|
| Owari Imoya Imokichi (尾張芋屋 芋吉) | From Ichinomiya, Aichi. Champion of the Yakiimo Grand Prix 2026, with awards in three categories. Also sells sweets made with roasted sweet potato. | Roasted sweet potato ¥800 and more |
| Imoyasu (焼き芋専門店 芋やす) | Founded in 2005. Selects sweet potatoes mainly from Ibaraki; roasted, dried and in sweets. | One-year aged Beni Haruka / new-crop Kuri Kaguya ¥500 and more |
| Oimoya Noka no Daidokoro (おいもや 農家の台所) | Stone-roasted on Sakurajima lava stones, eaten whole with the skin. | Salted roast sweet potato ¥500–¥800 and more |
| yakiimo.life | A select shop run by sweet potato ambassador Sodai Amaya, offering sweet potato gifts to take home. | Not listed |
The other eight sweet potato shops
| Shop | What they bring | Listed item and price |
|---|---|---|
| Yanagiya (石焼き芋専門店やなぎ屋) | Hand-tended, stone-roasted sweet potatoes. Offers Izumi, a variety grown in only tiny quantities in Japan. | Stone-roasted sweet potato (Izumi / Tsurunashi Genji) ¥700–¥1,000 and more |
| TSUBOIMO WASABURO | Pot-roasted one by one and made for gifting. | Pot-roasted sweet potato from ¥600 |
| Oimoyasan moimoi (おいもやさんmoimoi) | Stone-roasted; varieties ordered from farms, including rare ones. No additives. | Seasonal limited sweet potatoes ¥700–¥1,000 and more |
| Mitsuimo Kenkyujo (蜜芋研究所) | From Yanaka, Tokyo. Award-winning farmers’ sweet potatoes roasted with French techniques. | Daigaku-imo chips ¥800 and more |
| Ginroku Imo (銀六いも) | From Nishi-Koyama, Shinagawa. Sweet potatoes hung inside handmade clay pots and slow-roasted over charcoal. | Pot-roasted sweet potato ¥550–¥1,300 and more |
| Ono-ya (石焼き芋 大野屋) | Returning with its small truck stall, run by a certified vegetable sommelier. | Halloween Sweet ¥500 and more |
| OIMO cafe | Run by a Kawagoe sweet potato farming family with a 330-year history. | Browned butter sweet potato ¥650 and more |
| Azabudai Torishiki (麻布台鳥しき) | Sweet potatoes from Tano, Miyazaki, aged for over three months, dipped in the shop’s yakitori sauce and charcoal-grilled. | Charcoal-roasted sweet potato ¥850 |
Two chestnut shops from Kasama, Ibaraki
| Shop | What they bring | Listed item and price |
|---|---|---|
| Kasama no Kuri Yakiguri (笠間の栗 焼き栗) | Aged Kasama chestnuts, roasted in front of you. | Roasted chestnuts, 1 bag (240g) ¥1,000 |
| Kuri no Ito kasama (栗ノ絲kasama) | Back from last year. Kasama chestnut cream piped to 0.5mm strands for each order. | Kasama chestnut 0.5mm Montblanc ¥950 and more |
Where to start: stalls worth queuing for
Fourteen stalls is more than most people can eat through in one visit. If you only have room for two or three, these are the ones with a clear story behind them.
The champion: Owari Imoya Imokichi
This shop from Ichinomiya in Aichi won the Yakiimo Grand Prix 2026 and took awards in three categories. It is new to the fair this year, so expect a line. Its roasted sweet potato is listed from ¥800.
A rare variety: Izumi at Yanagiya
Yanagiya is bringing Izumi, a sweet potato grown in such small amounts that it is often called an elusive variety. It sits next to Tsurunashi Genji on the menu, listed at ¥700–¥1,000. A good pick if you want something you will not find at the supermarket.
Sweet potato meets yakitori: Azabudai Torishiki
The most unusual idea at the fair. Torishiki ages sweet potatoes from Miyazaki for more than three months, dips them in its own yakitori sauce, then grills them over charcoal. One item, one price: ¥850.
Pot-roasted the slow way: Ginroku Imo
Ginroku hangs its sweet potatoes inside pots made by a traditional craftsman and roasts them slowly over charcoal. Prices run from ¥550 to ¥1,300 depending on the potato.
For chestnut fans: the 0.5mm Montblanc
Kuri no Ito kasama pipes Kasama chestnut cream into strands just 0.5mm thick, right in front of you when you order. Listed from ¥950. If you would rather have plain chestnuts, the roasted chestnut stall next door sells 240g bags for ¥1,000.
Something to snack on, and something to take home
Mitsuimo Kenkyujo’s daigaku-imo chips (¥800) are easy to eat while you walk around. For a gift, yakiimo.life sells sweet potato treats picked by a sweet potato ambassador from shops around Japan.
Bonfire, live music and the pumpkin patch
From 15:00 to 20:00 each day, a bonfire burns in the Central Plaza. It is the reason to stay into the evening: you can sit around the fire with a hot sweet potato while acoustic sets play on the lawn area of the plaza.
The music changes every day, with two sets at 14:00 and 18:30. Rain cancels the shows.
| Date | Performer |
|---|---|
| Fri 23 Oct | Bakurocho Band (馬喰町バンド) |
| Sat 24 Oct | tico moon |
| Sun 25 Oct | Eto Yuki Trio (江藤有希トリオ) |
The plaza is also decorated with pumpkins sent by Yatsugatake Agricultural College (八ヶ岳農業大学校), including Atlantic Giant, Halloween pumpkins and Puccini. The organizers call it a pumpkin patch, after the autumn tradition in Europe and North America, and it doubles as a photo spot.
Tunnel: the tiny pop-up shop on the same weekend
If you go on Saturday or Sunday, you will also catch Tunnel (トンネル), a very small pop-up shop at the KIOSK STAND inside the Central Plaza. Each weekend three guests stock items around a different theme. They are gallery owner and curator Kasuga Ise, creative director Tsubasa Oyagi and fashion director Keiji Kaneko, with planning support from Taiyo Nagashima.
| Round | Dates | Theme |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sat 10 to Mon 12 Oct (public holiday) | Pretty is not enough to be cool |
| 2 | Sat 17 to Sun 18 Oct | Everyone’s sensitive years |
| 3 | Sat 24 to Sun 25 Oct | Everyone’s private grin |
The third round lines up with Yakiimo Hiroba and looks at the quiet, private feelings behind a grin. Opening hours are planned as 10:00–19:00. Details are on the official Tunnel page.
Tips for your visit
- Time it between 15:00 and 19:30. That is when the bonfire is lit and the stalls are still selling.
- Want music? Arrive for the 14:00 set, or stay for 18:30 by the fire.
- Check the weather. Rain means no bonfire and no live music. Look at the official page before you set out.
- Payment methods are not listed. The announcement does not say whether stalls take cards or QR payments, so it is worth carrying some cash. If you are still working out which card to use day to day, our guide to credit cards in Japan for foreigners walks through where to start.
- Weekend bonus. Going on 24 or 25 October lets you drop by Tunnel as well.
- Warm up afterwards. An evening outside in late October can get chilly. A public bath is a cheap fix; see our guide to the Tokyo sento half-price coupon and check whether it is still valid.
- Make a weekend of it. For another autumn outing, see our Musashino Art University Festival guide.
FAQ
- Q. Is Yakiimo Hiroba free to enter?
- Yes. Entry to the Central Plaza at Azabudai Hills is free. You only pay for the food you buy at each stall.
- Q. What time is the bonfire lit?
- The bonfire runs from 15:00 to 20:00 each day. It is not lit in rain or stormy weather.
- Q. When do the food stalls stop selling?
- Sweet potato and chestnut sales run from 12:00 to 19:30, even though the event itself continues until 20:00.
- Q. Who is playing the live music?
- Bakurocho Band on 23 October, tico moon on 24 October and Eto Yuki Trio on 25 October, with sets at 14:00 and 18:30. The shows are cancelled in the rain.
- Q. Can I pay by card at the stalls?
- The announcement does not list payment methods. Check the official Azabudai Hills event page or ask at each stall, and bring some cash to be safe.
- Q. Is anything else happening at the same time?
- Tunnel, a small pop-up shop at the KIOSK STAND in the Central Plaza, opens on 24 and 25 October from 10:00 to 19:00 (planned).
- Azabudai Hills: Yakiimo Hiroba event page
- Azabudai Hills: Tunnel event page
- Mori Building press release (Japanese)