YouTuber Sayoto’s Tottori food festival draws hundreds, not 50,000

A food festival in Tottori, Japan, co-led by the YouTuber known as Sayoto has drawn backlash after an event promoted with an expected 50,000 visitors reportedly attracted only hundreds, according to a report from the outlet covering the story.

A festival that fell far short

The Local Food Fight in Tottori was held on November 7 and 8 in Kurayoshi. Food vendors were divided into eastern and western teams that competed on sales. Promotional material reportedly listed an expected attendance of 50,000 and an economic impact of 1 billion yen.

Sayoto served as one of the executive committee chairs alongside TOSU representative Yasumi Matsubayashi. Roughly 40 to 50 vendors reportedly traveled from around Japan, paying 50,000 yen for standard booths or 100,000 yen for VIP packages.

Japanese media put attendance between about 500 and fewer than 2,000 over the two days. TV Asahi reported a visitor describing almost no customers near the stalls, and FNN said the site looked largely empty.

Vendors report heavy losses

A fried chicken restaurant from Matsue reportedly prepared around 200 kilograms of chicken, enough for more than 1,600 servings. Its owner had expected first-day sales of 700,000 to 800,000 yen but took in about 10,000 yen. The business reportedly lost more than 330,000 yen and canceled its second day.

Matsui Sake reportedly told Yomiuri Shimbun it lost around 700,000 yen over the weekend. Vendors also complained that promised tents were not ready, that electricity and washing facilities were unavailable, and that the 10 a.m. start slipped to around noon for some.

Pokemon theme singer and voice actor Rika Matsumoto performed at the festival. She later said her microphone cut out and the music did not play properly, though she tried to joke about it with the audience.

Organizers apologize

After the event, TOSU’s website and social media accounts reportedly became unavailable, and some vendors said they had trouble reaching organizers. Matsubayashi later said the 50,000 figure was a goal and never a promise.

Sayoto has also privated event-related Shorts on his YouTube channel. They had promoted the festival as a 50,000-person event and urged viewers to attend. He has not said publicly why they were removed. He apologized on X and Threads, promising to explain the attendance, preparation problems and operational failures by the end of November, and said he was not trying to avoid questions.

Matsubayashi apologized on November 11, saying the committee believed attendance had exceeded 500. She blamed preparation problems, contractor shortages, criticism of the festival and a sudden cold snap. She added that the committee was working with lawyers on vendor payments and planned to contact businesses whose banking details had been confirmed. Organizers have not released a final attendance figure or a full compensation plan.

Source: dexerto.com

Image: dexerto.com