Oktoberfest

Here are photos of the Yokohama Oktoberfest 2009. Giant mugs of beer, sausage and pretzels, and polka bands. I'm half sorry I didn't get a photo of the guy emptying the entirety of his digested Oktoberfest meal on the ground next to our table. By far the highlight was the Japanese crowd getting all riled up and dancing to the polka music after getting some liquid courage in them.

GMT +9

It's been a while since I've made a post on life in Japan.

The weather has been incredibly strange lately. It was nice and pleasantly cool all the way up through the end of September. Long-sleeved shirt weather, but nothing heavier. Then we've had a week and a half of rain and wind with a huge typhoon coming in, and the temperature has plummeted. I was walking to work in just my suit one day and the next I had to take a sweater and jacket. Today the typhoon winds are so strong they've closed down most of the train lines.

This week and a half I've also been working non-stop. I decided to work overtime this weekend and so I've been going, going, going since last Sunday. It made me a little sick at the end of last week but with some good medication I've pulled through.

This coming weekend is the Yokohama Oktoberfest and I'm planning to go again this year. They really spare no expense in making it authentic, even hiring a real German polka band to play music under the big dining hall tent. There are all kinds of great German beer, good stouts and weizens, and all the sausages you could possibly eat. It's usually packed which is fun because the festival atmosphere spreads throughout the crowd.