Oktober Fest, 2019

This is going to turn into a kind of Small Adventure. Last Saturday, I was in a bit of a rush when I got out of the apartment to go to the English school for the day. When I got down to the street, I realized I'd forgotten my pocket camera. I didn't really have time to go back and get it, so I just kept walking to the school and hoping that there wouldn't be anything I'd need it for. Up to the school itself, no problem. At the school, while talking to the other teacher, I found out there was going to be an Oktober Fest beer party at Ten Park on the other side of Tenmonkan, from mid-afternoon to 8 PM both Saturday and Sunday.

After my last lesson ended at 7 PM, I walked over to Ten Park, where a large banner was set up at the entrance, and covered tables filled the park (this is the same location the Kagoshima Jazz Fest will be this coming weekend). Food and beer booths lined the perimeter, and several hundred customers, mostly families with kids, occupied the tables and stood in lines to put in their orders. Food and drinks for the children were supplied with Sanrio character dishes and cups (Hello Kitty products). Many of the adults carried tall, narrow beer glasses, and most of the beers were German imports. I wanted at least one beer, and I expected there was a ticket booth or something somewhere. As I walked around, I really couldn't figure out how the payment system worked, and a lot of the tables didn't have prices where I could easily see them. So, I returned to the entrance and picked up a flier. That showed all the beer brands and meat dishes, plus prices. Just about everything started at 1,500 yen ($13 USD). If I wanted a full meal and two tall beers, that could easily clear $50 just for one person.

I consider import beers to be overpriced at $7 a glass (normal price in Japan), and $13 for the taller glass just isn't worth it. I had dinner waiting for me at home anyway, so I returned to the apartment for the night (where I had my own whiskey (700 ml) and shochu (1800 ml) in the bottle, $11 each. A much better deal.)

Saturday started out a little rainy, but cleared up in the afternoon. Sunday was partly-cloudy and humid, but no rain. However, we decided to take the City View bus on a tour of the area (1 hour round-trip, 170 yen), from Amu Plaza up to the top of Shiroyama and then down to Dolphin Port. We got out at Dolphin Port and ate sushi, sashimi and fried pork for 1,100 yen per person, and another 700 yen for a large mug of beer. While I did have the camera with me this time, I didn't have an opportunity to swing back to Ten Park, so I couldn't get any photos of the Oktober Fest for the blog. No real loss, but it's always nicer having pictures to break up the wall of text. At home, I spent the rest of the night working on the computer.

I'll be working all day this Saturday, but I'm hoping to catch some of the Jazz Fest on Sunday. Unfortunately, there are reports of a typhoon coming up our way again, with predictions that it may reach us either Saturday or Sunday. Even if it ultimately misses us, Kagoshima has a tendency to cancel events a day early to err on the safe side. We'll see what happens on the day, but I'm not getting my hopes up.