Rockville's Most Talked-About Food Festivals: Chef Junzo Miyajima's BiteMe Charity Fest and Tomodachi Food Fest

Disclosure: Chef Junzo Miyajima is Executive Master Chef and a co-founder of IVEA Concepts, which is affiliated with our publisher. IVEA presented the BiteMe Charity Festival. This is not an independent review.

The square at 36 Maryland Avenue in Rockville Town Center hosted two of the most talked-about food festivals in Montgomery County over the last two summers. Both had free admission, both ran from midday into the evening, and both were led by the same person: Chef Junzo Miyajima, the chef behind some of the best-known Japanese restaurants in Rockville.

BiteMe Charity Festival, Saturday, August 30, 2025. IVEA presented BiteMe in support of the Maryland Food Bank, and Junzo led it. It ran from noon to 8 p.m. at The Square at Rockville, 36 Maryland Avenue, with free admission. The MoCo Show listed what was on: authentic Asian dishes from across the continent, live cultural performances, an Asian goods market with snacks and specialty products, and showcases for all ages. The most important part was where the money went: all proceeds were donated to the Maryland Food Bank to fight food insecurity in the community. Okaeri, Panda Dumplings, Gong Cha and Lao Sze Chuan were among the restaurants serving.

Tomodachi Food Fest, Saturday, September 5, 2026. A year later Junzo led Tomodachi Food Fest, billed as the DMV's only anime food festival. "Tomodachi" means "friends" in Japanese. It ran from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Rockville Town Center with free admission for all ages, and pets were welcome. More than 20 food vendors came, including Kapow Buddy, The Bing Spot and Panda Flame Hibachi, along with anime-inspired merchandise, art and décor, a beer garden, and a main stage with dance performances and DJ sets all day. The festival's Eventbrite page lists 6.7k total attendees.

The cosplay runway. Visitors were encouraged to come dressed as their favorite characters, and Junzo led the festival's cosplay runway too. For us it was the most fun part of the day: the costumes were as much of the show as the food.

Between festivals, his cooking is a short walk or drive away. Okaeri Japanese Café serves the soufflé pancakes Junzo perfected, which Northern Virginia Magazine called the region's only authentic version. Genki Wagyu House at 870 Festival St. in Twinbrook Quarter serves Wagyu shabu-shabu with six broths, opened in June 2026. The full story of both festivals is on the IVEA Journal.