The first couple of days after Katie's arrival in Japan was spent relaxing at the Ninomiya House. After several short bike trips around Tsukuba during the week days, we decided to take the Tokyo plunge and attend Oktoberfest on Saturday. Specifically, we went to a park in Hibiya where one of two Oktoberfest celebrations were taking place.
For documentation's sake
Main stage in Hibiya Park
I know what you are thinking, "Shouldn't Oktoberfest happen sometime around October?" Well, yes and no. German beer has been very influential in Japan's alcohol history. In fact, they like Oktoberfest so much that it is celebrated in May and September!
Navigating through the craziness next to the beer and food booths.
"bigger picture" perspective
Ok, are you ready for the bombshell...? We actually ended up spending most of our time at a children's park close by! We walked around Oktoberfest for a little bit, purchased some adult beverages, and made our way to the park for Reagan to play. The awesome thing about Japan is that people aren't 'sue crazy' so their parks still have cool stuff like zip lines. Matt and Reagan held on tightly and zipped across the park (below).
As you can see by the kids patiently waiting, this was always busy.
Once Reagan had played for a long while and our beer glasses were dry, we headed back to Oktoberfest to get one more brew. We ended up finishing our second drinks while we basked in the festival's atmosphere. Before going back to the station we decided to have one of the security personnel snap a quick photo of the group.
-Seth and Kate
June 10, 2010 at 7:59 AM
Awesome good time!