This Sunday, April 30, tens of thousands of people will gather to enjoy Japanese food, music, and activities on the Boston Common from 11am - 6pm. The weather forecast is lovely: partly cloudy, low 60s

Everyone approaches the booths and activities differently. With just seven hours at the Japan Festival and more than 50,000 people expected to attend, however, we recommend that you plan your top choice foods, booth activities, or stage shows. Spending even five minutes at the Japan Festival website will help you to be sure you don't miss out. But beware over-planning. Be sure you leave time to just wander. And print this Festival Guide and Map. 

The Festival has 36 food booths this year, from curry to crepe cakes, to ramen, to coffee from Kyoto! That should help with the length of the lines. Make sure you bring cash because booths are cash only. 

As anyone who has been to the Festival can tell you, food lines can be long. While the virtue of patient line-waiting is admirable, don't overlook the Fast Pass that you can buy if you make a donation in advance. Donate $30 (minimum) to the Festival and get three passes, each of which lets one person skip to the front of up to three food lines. You still pay full price for the food but you get good feelings for donating and save time on the line-waiting.