Hibiya Oktoberfest 2012

Never mind that it's a few months early: this Hibiya Park reincarnation of Munich's notorious beer festival is one of the highlights of the spring in Tokyo. Last year's bacchanal lured throngs of office workers, fräuleins and men with impressive beards with the promise of sausages, oom-pah music and quality German beer served from hefty glass tankards (note that you'll have to pay a refundable ¥1,000 deposit each time you order one). Breweries including Erdinger, Hacker-Pschorr and König Ludwig will be selling their suds at the 2012 edition, while there'll also be a couple of varieties on offer that you can't get at other Oktoberfests in Tokyo, namely Einbecker's spring seasonal and an Oktoberfest Märzen made by Fujizakura Heights Beer.