Oktoberfest in Akarenga, yokohama 2007... ...baaaaAABY!!

Once again, this intrepid man/veritable beast of a beer quaffer (that's not a dirty word) ventured far and wide in search of good times with alcohol. He could have stayed at home and had some good times with himself, but he's worried about his long term eyesight and he's running out of interesting positions (even tried shadow puppet combinations - "Oh, look, the puppy dog is fighting with the deadly, enormous anaconda! He's got that big snake round its throat. Go little doggie, Go!".
So, lo, doth he venture far and wide and hence came upon such a savage gathering of drunkards and wenches as had never been seen in that place since the last Oktoberfest, a good 12 months ago.

Was it as good as last years festival?

Read on.


First thing I noticed was that the organisers had erected an enormous gigantic 70cm perimeter fence around the festival area. Swines!
There was also the occasional 'rentacop' patrolling the perimeter fencing. Not quite up to Soviet gulag or Nazi concentration camp standards of security, but none-the-less intended to discourage would be the quick 'escapee-returnees'. By that, I mean the people who realise that they can dissapear and reappear soon after with half price bottles of the exact beer they serve in the festival. The blaggards!


I paid my 200yen, like a good little schnitzel (pausing only to allow the hottest girl in the whole freaking tent to pass by - Japanese lady in a German outfit. Yowza. Very 'revealing'. Of course, I screwed up a chance to say hi. Think she may have noticed me for the briefest of moments {as you would briefly notice the smallest of bugs that was squished on the heel of your shoe, just before wiping it off}) and entered the grounds.

Personally, I find the introduction of this new measure to restrict movement quite insulting.

• Firstly, it assumes that everyone is a cheap b*st*rd who will try to sneak out at every opportunity, buy identical booze at half price and bring it in, thus simultaneously saving money themselves and depriving the organisers of money.
• Secondly, it means I cannot sneak out at every opportunity, buy identical booze at half price and bring it in, thus simultaneoulsy saving money myself and depriving the organisers of money.

Swines.

Okay, now I'm in, how was the beer? How was the atmosphere?
Well, although not electric, it was still more or less at a 'partyable' standard.
The usual beers were there.
German beers were represented by the ever available Erdinger/Bitburger combo as well as the much better Franziskaner/Spaaten from Munich.
Japanese microbrews were represented by the excellent Fujisakura Kogen (Kawaguchiko - they make a good, fruity weissen and a nice smoked beer, too). SangtGallen Brewery (sometimes ok) and Yokohama beer (best value all-you-can-drink in town!).
Japanese beer monopolies Kirin And Sapporro were also present, featuring Kirin's new Stout (is this really a stout? Tastes more like a dunkel) and an Oktoberfest beer.



Kirin had produced a special 'Kirin Octoberfest' beer for this festival. I treid it and at 600yen for a 500ml stein, it represented probably the best value for a lager in the festival.

How did it taste?
I was expecting bland tasteless crap that warranted the low price but I was rewarded by a dry, hoppy number. It suprised me.
If you like the very drinkable Kirin Heartland (also available on tap for 500ml for 600yen!), then I think you will appreciate this brew. Quite nice, though not sure if it's the kind of beer to go with this festival. More a Czech bohemian number, perhaps?

One of my favourite beers in the whole world is Spaten Munich Helles. Smooth, malty, flavoursome. At 1000yen a glass, it is, believe it or not, the cheapest beer on offer from the Franziskaner chain (brought to the festival by the boys at Zato Trading - that German Farm Grill in Shibuya used to be a great place to sit back and really drink some great German beer. Now, it's a pricey wannabe restaurant that charges 500yen or more just to sit down. If all you're after is a beer or two, it just isn't worth it any more. Shame.). I seem to remember that last year, all the beers were about 1000yen. This year, the Spaaten is 1000yen but the Franziskaner is 1500, whilst the Optimator is 1300 and the Sapten Oktoberfest a hefty 1500 also. I had a spaten (don't forget the 1000yen deposit for glasses!).
It was a lovely (served with the fake 'paid for' enthusiasm of the overworked hired German barstaff - felt like a kind of 'beer Disneyland'. The idea of real German beer served by real Germans seemed to reinforce my idea that most things over here rely heavily on porduct image, rather than product quality or functionality.) beer but served wiht a little too much head for my liking (but hey, this is Japan - they just love giving head) the glass was warm, so the beer warmed faster than I would have liked. This is a little embarrassing to admit, as this means that I couldn't drink the beer fast enough. I could have drunk it that fast, but at 1000yen a glass, I was trying to get some value time in my drinking. Spaten Helles is a lovely beer. Nice thirst quencher.

I had a Franziskaner Hefeweissen later one. Also very good but 1500 yen. Pricy, crazy price for a beer. You can get the bottles for just over 500yen in the shops.

Here is a Fujisakura Kogen Weissen.Very nice beer. Lighter than the Franziskaner and the Erdingers but fruity and slightly sweet. This baby has a wonderful aroma. Possibly my favourite Japanese made weissen. At around 800yen or so for a glass, it's much better value than the German draft beers. Also, I think the deposit is less than 1000yen. Nice glasses (they use the Erdinger Weiss glasses. Beautfiul but so easy to break, so be careful!).

I had a Spaten optimator. 1300yen. At 7.2% alcohol, it's the strongest beer there. Lovely brew.Malty, smooth, silky. You can taste the alcohol but it goes down nice and slowly. It makes you want to sit down, relax, and watch the world go by as you sip away in a blissful dream state of your own slow, steady decomposition.

Click here for a lovely list of beer available at Oktoberfest (so if you wanna be a cheap b*st*rd, bring these bottles in you bag - I'm not recommending this and will not say wether I WILL or will not be doing this myself - teehee!)

I didn't bother drinking an Erdinger or Bitburger or Kostrizer. not my favourite beers and also too expensive at this overpriced beerfest. Seems the main idea of this festival is not the consumption and enjoyment of beer but rather the making of maximum profit. Shame.
Still, one can still enjoy oneself (sans shadow hand puppet displays).

So, how about the atmosphere?

Not bad. The Japanese are always friendly and at International festivals, they are very welcoming to foreigners.
Somehow they assume Germans and any other foreigner are more or less one and the same so they come up to you and shout "prost!". It's not annoying in the least. It means you can milk the 'German at a German beer festival' effect and get talking to that really hot Japanese woman in the german 'itght' outift, perhaps. You can very easily make 50 or so friends for the evening. I was only hoping to make TWO friends. Unfortunately, the lady they belonged to was probably not interested.

Here are some videos I made.
Not very good and apologies for the commentary.
a quick guide to the beer booths:


Miss Oktoberfest, parading her boyfriends for all to see:


They're not Thomas&Tony, but they have style (in a purely 'German' way):


(Luckily, they did turn out to be the horniest men I met that night. Phew!)

p.s. You know you want to see them again - Here they are, the one/two, the original (playing coversongs), it's...


...THOMAS&TONY!!!!

Awesome.

Toilet-wise, it seems they are trying to save money again.
A mere 4 or so toilets for men and the same for women.
Not enough, when things get into 'full flow', as it were.
I have a feeling that come the final weekend, these places will see the most 'business'.
Do not do what I did and go to the toilet only when the moment came when you could fight the feeling no longer. Go to the toilet as soon as you have the inkling you are going to need it. Bring your beer. You may be waiting for some time. I tended to bide the time playing my latest new gameshow. 'Guess the door?'

p.s. the manual flush pedal is down near your feet. I didn't see any signs and it's not obvious, especially when you're plastered. I missed it for the first 2 times I used the toilets and from the smells, I'm pretty sure everyone else did, too.
Phew!!!!

"See you at the Oktoberfest!"