Oktoberfest comes early to Japan in 2012. If slurping German beer in the spring sun by the sea in Tokyo – or Yokohama – sounds like a perfect way to start your Golden Week, then you are in luck.
The huge beer tents outside the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse hosted 180,000 beer-drinkers last October, but now the event is in spring (for the first time) the organizers are hoping for more. While German spring vegetables have been added to the menu to tempt the hungry guests, we expect the traditional Munich sausages to be the must-have snack, followed by pretzels to soak up all that ale. There will be over 70 kinds of beer – not all of them from Munich – and plenty of chance to sing a few beery songs with the traditional musicians wandering around the site.
You could head over to Odaiba for more, albeit with slightly less fanfare. Check out the Symbol Park, where the outdoor bars that line the promenade will be serving up more German fun for the punters.
When: Friday 27 April, 5 p.m. – 9 p.m., Saturday 28 and Sunday 29, 11 a.m. – 9 30 p.m.
How much? Just ¥200, but beer mug deposits (from ¥1,000) will be charged separately.
Where: Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse.
