00:04 John Daub: Hello everybody, it is Oktoberfest. Let me get the microphone on. It is Oktoberfest here, yeah, October 1st. They have this festival that goes on every year here in Toyosu (とよす, Toyosu) and I thought I would share with you a couple of beers. Check it out.

00:04 John Daub: So we have a nomi kuraberu (飲み比べる, tasting) set, which is you get four beers and you get to try them out and it was 2,000 yen and it was pretty cheap. They come with potato chips and french fries and well, it's October so why not. It's actually the best deal here.

00:04 John Daub: So for the next, I don't know, until they bust me and tell me to get out of here, I'm going to be drinking this. Happy October everybody. This is the pilsner here. Kanpai. So this one is called Kronenbacher (Kronenbourg [?]). Kronenbourg is the name of the German beer here. Kanpai everybody. Kronenbourg. The pilsner is really easy to drink, really light.

00:04 John Daub: Let's go with the, I think it's the Weizen (wheat beer). Oh, it's got that fruity, that fruity tinge to the back. Wheat beers are always pretty good. They've got a lot of character to it. A lot more body than the pilsner.

00:04 John Daub: This is the dark. I don't know. Can somebody come here and help me drink this? The dark. Ah, more bitterness to it. Kind of a coffee taste. It's refreshing and it's still cold.

00:04 John Daub: And then there's one which is the blonde, I guess. I'm not sure. The brun (brown). None of this are hoppy. It's more malt, malty tasting, I guess. I don't know. This one is, it's got more character than the pilsner, but you can see the color is completely different. And no, I'm not holding up cups of urine. I know somebody's thinking that. At least I was.

00:04 John Daub: So this is in Toyosu. Hey, Brian Downey is here. This is Oktoberfest and it's going to be going on for, I think, another week here. And I don't know. I'll take you around this area. There was no signal for cell phones. So I'm stealing or borrowing the Wi-Fi from the shopping mall, which is called LaLaport (ららぽーと, shopping mall). Kind of neat to be here.

00:04 John Daub: Kanae and Leo are away for the day and we're going to have some fun. Wow. In a minute, I'm going to... Peter's working today. I'd love to have him here as well. I'll see him on the third. And we have a lot of stuff to talk about.

00:04 John Daub: But it's Oktoberfest and it doesn't matter if you're alone because you're never really alone. There must be about 150, 200 people here. No, it's more than that. And it's still early. So throughout the day, I bet you they're going to get several thousand people stop by because the weather is just so nice.

00:04 John Daub: The thumbnail is exactly how it is. Check it out. Perfect blue skies with no clouds. Again, this is Toyosu. It's T-O-Y-O-S-U. Not that far away from the fish market. It's nice to have blue skies. It's nice to have warm weather. It's nice to have 800 milliliters of beer.

00:04 John Daub: Now this nomi kuraberu set is 2000 yen and there's like $16 and it's only available to the first hundred people who come. So I was pretty early. Just snuck in there. Looking around, most people go for the one liter. I'll take you around here in a second.

00:04 John Daub: They do have sausages, Ronald. They got a bunch of different foods, but I don't know. I'm not that hungry. They if you do get a glass at any of these festivals, you do have to pay a 1000 yen deposit. You get that money back, of course, but the initial cost can be quite shocking for one liter beer that gets 3000 yen or like 25 bucks. Plus the 1000 yen deposit for the mug.

00:04 John Daub: So it seems quite intimidating. Some people will just get a glass and drink all day and go home tipsy and often forget to get that 1000 yen back. I've done that before. Oh, man. I don't think I can ride my bicycle back. I'm already starting to feel it. I'll pan around a little bit.

00:04 John Daub: So this is the booth that I got the... I've got the beer at. Kronenbacher, I think it is. And the price is... I'll take you over there as soon as I finish the beer, which will be momentarily. But a lot of people are having a lot of fun. And that's really good because it's been so long since we've been able to enjoy ourselves here.

00:04 John Daub: Yeah. All right. Let me finish up this Pilsner. Frost, I get a lot of editing to do today. Am I going to be able to edit? See, I'm always thinking about the future, the immediate future.

00:04 John Daub: Toyosu is reclaimed land. So it's one of the islands out near the bay. It's a really nice place to live. It's sort of away from the center of Tokyo, but it's not because by taxi it's like 15 minutes to Tokyo Station. This is sort of my backyard, but it's a different ku (区, ward). I live in Chuo-ku (中央区). This is Koto-ku (江東区), I believe. I think so. Oh, man. It's hot.

00:04 John Daub: Brandani, I wish you guys were here. Everybody who's here. Is Michael Sasano in the house? I think I saw Michael. Andy's taxes. Thank you, Andy's taxes. This is all went into every single sip I took here.

00:04 John Daub: Peter and I will probably have a drink to celebrate. We haven't really celebrated the trip yet. But I think now we're at the point where we have to do the documentary. We have to do the documentary. And when that's done, there will be a big celebration.

00:04 John Daub: So there's a lot of editing still to come. So Kushitani, which was one of our, I guess, I don't know if we can call them a sponsor, but one of the companies that worked with us on this gave us some clothing to wear. They had a cameraman follow us. We were able to, I think you hire them? We'll have to ask Peter the deal that he got.

00:04 John Daub: But the cameraman took a lot of really amazing footage of us. And I haven't gotten that footage yet. So we haven't been able to in earnest start the editing. So that'll take place before I leave for Kagoshima. We'll start it up. And then I'll just be editing little by little.

00:04 John Daub: And we'll get the documentary out by the end of October. And I'll have a short cut for everybody around Christmas time for the main channel. To share the experience as a Christmas present. I thought that'd be nice, huh? Oh my God. I wouldn't say I'm tipsy. I am.

00:04 John Daub: So the thing with Japan is nobody is like on a table jumping up and down. I've been to Oktoberfest in Munich twice. 1997 and 2001. With a friend of mine from Austria whose cousins lived in Munich so we could crash at her house. He's not there anymore. So it makes it quite hard. But I'd love to go back to Munich again and do the Oktoberfest. And I heard this year they're going to be doing it again.

00:04 John Daub: All I have left is a dark. Prost. I'm prosting, I'm prosting. You hear that one? Well, 800ml of beer drank in like 10 minutes would probably have an impact on an empty stomach of someone who's not a regular alcohol drinker. Like, not every day.

00:04 John Daub: If the French fries come in a cup, can you drink them? Andrew writes in here, Booked my trip for December. Awesome! I'll be able to enjoy the streams while knowing my visit is upcoming. That's really great.

00:04 John Daub: I've been seeing more and more people, international visitors, over the last week than I have in like the entire two and a half years. So whatever questions you have of if Japan is open, it is answered just by looking around. Maybe not here because this is a residential area. But it's really great to see. I'm so happy. I'm so happy. Seeing international tourists coming back here to Japan.

00:04 John Daub: Big smiles. People coming up to say hi to me. That's a good comment. Greetings from Munich, the original Oktoberfest. Yeah! It still continues until Monday. Oh, Patrick, man, if I could just jump on a plane and come over there and join you for a beer, that would be great. Let's save it maybe for next year. That would be pretty awesome. Again, I haven't been since 2001.

00:04 John Daub: In 1997, I was in a hotel. I had four liters of beer. Four big mugs. And I remember dancing on a table with a guy in his 90s. And I fell off the table. I was on the top. Onto the ground. And I was laughing. And we were just peeing right outside the tent on like some pole. It was like a pole in the ground. And I wasn't the only one. There was like 20 other German dudes doing it. So I figured it was good.

00:04 John Daub: Then I went back four years later and I said I must drink more than four liters. And I had 4.1. Throughout the day. Usually at Oktoberfest you plant your butt in one tent and you don't move. Because you can't get to another tent. But we were able to move around. And I got into three tents.

00:04 John Daub: But mixing the beer is like mixing alcohol and liquor before beer. It's never sicker. So I guess mixing the brands didn't really help. But in... I think it was 2001 I might have hurled. No, my friend did. Because we rode the roller coaster. Why did I do that? Why did they put roller coasters at a beer event? I'm not sure. But he had his head in the trash can. Oh man.

00:04 John Daub: Alright. The beers have been downed for science. Oktoberfest is officially underway. Yours truly is slightly... Inebriated. Alright. It's still a crowded event. And whatever you guys think of masks. It's actually part of the rules.

00:04 John Daub: Alright, let's get out of here. Recyclables. Plastic. Plastic. Plastic. Paper. Paper. Alright. Here's the menu. Check it out. I was going to get one of these brews which are really good. And they have this... Cream cheese pretzel. Maybe I'll come back here with Kanae and do it. And they have some mussels there.

00:04 John Daub: And then you can see the drink steins here. It's about 1500 yen for one. But again there's a 1000 yen deposit on the card. And if you get a 1 liter I think it's 2800 yen. Plus 1000 yen on top of that for the mug. So it's not free. It's a little pricey.

00:04 John Daub: Alright. Let me show you around the area. I'm just going to walk around. That's where I was right there at that bench. Hope the signal is ok. It's kind of funny to see people walking around with mugs of beer. But it's a good feeling because we haven't... Over the last two and a half years we really haven't had...

00:04 John Daub: And here's the event right here. The Toyosu Oktoberfest. And then we have... This local... Some Germans enjoying it. I don't see any Japanese there. So there you go. It's a very festive event.

00:04 Passerby: Hey young man! Have one of me John. Thank you.

00:04 John Daub: I'm going to be back here most likely because this event is going to be going on for quite a while. So I'll put that towards the next liter. Oh this is a different booth. I guess you really have to try all different kinds of beer here. This is Hacker-Pschorr. I never heard of this one here. Does anybody know this one? This one's from Munich. Look at that snake looking sausage too.

00:04 John Daub: I don't see any fusion Japanese food though. That would have been pretty cool to see. But I decided to just stay up with the crowds. The music I don't think is copyright music. At least I don't know. We'll find out.

00:04 John Daub: But Toyosu, this LaLaport shopping mall is one of the coolest places to come. I think I'm away from the crowds here. It's one of the coolest places to come and shop and hang out. They do have a bar. They have a bar. They have a Bubba Gump Shrimp. So I don't know. The wifi might not be so strong on this side of it.

00:04 John Daub: So let's walk back into the event. Across the river there, there's this La Cité (ラ・シタデラ [?]). I think it's called. That's where the Belgian Beer Weekend was a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately because of the typhoon, Peter and I had planned to go but just couldn't do it.

00:04 John Daub: But as you can see, it's a pretty relaxing atmosphere and it's nice to see people just out and about and enjoying it. I'm just enjoying myself with beer. 100 people. It's only for the first 100 people or so. So I was one of those. Which is cool.

00:04 John Daub: One of the cool things about this shopping area as well is over there, I'm not that far away from Toyosu Pit actually. I could probably get on my bike and go there in about 10 minutes. See that area where I'm showing you right in the center of your screen is a dog park. So if you do have a pet dog, you can walk them and play with them in this fenced in area.

00:04 John Daub: I come here with Leo sometimes. We have a bicycle where he can sit in the front like a little child seat in the front and he likes that. He won't go in there but he just loves to sit there and watch the dogs fight each other. I'm going to guess that he's going to be a WWE or F watcher when he grows up. I don't know. But he seems to really like battle royales. Especially involving pigeons. Or is that me? I don't remember.

00:04 John Daub: So there you have it. This is Oktoberfest. It's October 1st. It's really cool to share this experience with you. And if you're in Tokyo, I think there's a couple of them. It's not just located in one area. Somebody got that sausage. They do have this Oktoberfest going on until the middle of October. I'm not sure. I'll put a link in the description here if you're interested. There's also a map to get to Toyosu.

00:04 John Daub: It's a really chill area and it's kind of a family area. A lot of the people that are here are residents of this area. I see some familiar faces actually. I guess Leo and his kid friends just start to meet some of the other parents.

00:04 John Daub: Let's look at some of the other beer booths here. This one is Schneider Weisse. God, I wish I could learn German more. I gotta come back here and try more beers. Kamembert (Camembert) Fry. That's like fried cheese. Oh my gosh. What's the last? Oh, I know this one! I think they have a booth at the original Oktoberfest. I think they got a booth there. Is that the one with the shovel? How cool is that?

00:04 John Daub: I bet you the shopping mall is pretty quiet too. Everyone is out and about drinking. Including that dog. He's got his paws on a mug. The beer prices are pretty comparable. This one, what is it? 100 yen cheaper for the Hefeweizen beer. That's interesting. They got a mango beer cocktail. They know the Japanese market well.

00:04 John Daub: Alright! So if you have any questions about it... Oh, that guy had a no beer, no life t-shirt. How cool is that? So if you have any questions, definitely leave it in the comments below. If you want to ask about Oktoberfest, you can. I've been to several of them here in Tokyo.

00:04 John Daub: It's not the same. Okay, we're actually out of the event now. It's not the same as Oktoberfest in Munich. Or in any of the German cities. Munich, by the way, is not the only city that does an Oktoberfest. Some of them might even be better in some of the other local cities. They're more local feeling because the Oktoberfest...

00:04 John Daub: I met quite a bit of Americans there. Maybe more than I met Germans. But if you don't get a chance to go to the Oktoberfest in your lifetime, shame on you. You can come to the one in Toyosu and it sort of feels like that. Maybe. Except people don't get on tables and dance and fall down and do crazy stuff and doesn't go out into the hours of the night. And there's no amusement park rides.

00:04 John Daub: But! But! There are copious amounts of kegs of beers. And that is fairly important. So there's the proof. No one believes me. I'm going to the one in Yokohama. Yeah! I've been here hard life. They're all over Japan. I can't even explain it.

00:04 John Daub: I think there's just... In Japan, I guess there's just this close symmetry with Germany going back to the war. I can't explain it. I know that there's a relationship with Japan and India going back to the war because India, I don't know, historically had the enemy of my enemy is my friend type of thing. And they were enemies of Britain. England. And they were eating them. So they became friends based on this. It's weird.

00:04 John Daub: I've talked with the... Who is it? Khan-san. Mr. Khan who has an amazing Indian restaurant that's been around since the 1930s in Higashi-Ginza (東銀座). It's... If you're into Indian food, you really got to go to that place. He makes some of the best chicken... Indian chicken curry in Tokyo. Maybe even in Japan. His father started that place. He was an exile because of the war with England. He left India and started a life in Japan. I think he even got the Emperor's Medal before the war. He's got it on display.

00:04 John Daub: So it's kind of a controversial restaurant in that sense historically. But they still make pretty damn good curry. And that store, it's like this little house that's surrounded by these modern buildings. I hope he never sells out that restaurant. I think he was not doing too well health-wise. So I wonder... I think I should probably stop in and say hi.

00:04 John Daub: But there's a... like these weird connections that go back historically. Germany's one with Japan. And I guess it goes back to World War II. I don't know. But Oktoberfest is here and people seem to like it. Maybe it just has to do with beer. Who knows.

00:04 John Daub: Hey, Chad is here! As someone who has gone to Oktoberfest in Munich four or five times... Whoa! The first few weeks are mostly locals. Last few weeks, mostly foreigners. I get that. But let me know. Because I might just fly out there and go next year. We could have a meet-up. Ride the roller coaster and then hurl in one of the trash cans. It wouldn't be the first time.

00:04 John Daub: I think I remember where the location of the last one... I can't remember if it was me or my friend, but I'm pretty sure it was him. I wouldn't... I think I naturally released the stuff I drank because we did it over a ridiculous amount of time. If you drink, you drink slowly. You don't drink over... Don't try to drink as fast as I can. I did what I did with what I had. Just slowly sip it and sing the songs. It'll work up the energy.

00:04 John Daub: I do wish they had a band here. That might make it complete. They don't have that. There is a Hofbräuhaus in Tokyo, by the way. They have it in Yurakucho (有楽町). It sort of has the feel... I know that when you get the bill, you can feel it. It's pretty expensive. I took Kanae there once. We left there and I remember paying the bill. I was like, what? It's ¥10,000 for that? It was a fun time. We got to eat some... It was a good time.

00:04 John Daub: There you go. There's my stream of the day. I promised you I'd be back today. I'm glad I did this today. My bicycle is over there on the other side. They do have some food trucks. I don't know how strong this Wi-Fi is since I'm piggybacking the shopping mall's place.

00:04 John Daub: The sky has never been more beautiful. I'm going to leave you now. 26 minutes into this and as tipsy as I am, I'm going to get back and edit the video before I leave for Kagoshima. I'll be in Kyushu from October 5th to October 11th.

00:04 John Daub: You want to subscribe to this channel when I'm not as tipsy as I am maybe right now and hot. You're going to see a totally different area of Japan once really volcanic, exciting, and delicious. That's a preview of what's coming. I've rented a car for an entire week and I'll be driving around there scoping out places. I have three episodes to film for the main channel, so I'll be doing that.

00:04 John Daub: That's Rainbow Bridge in the distance. Do you see that above? We're back here. How are you doing? That's Rainbow Bridge in the distance. I'll be in Kyushu for the next five days. Starting from October 5th to October 11th. I'll be taking you with me.

00:04 John Daub: I'm just going live, so you want to subscribe to the channel, maybe join the Discord server, which is free, and join Patreon, which I put the videos up there at Oktoberfest. Happy October to all of you. Crack open a beer or non-alcoholic drink, and celebrate because those hot summer days are over. Autumn can be a lot of fun. Just enjoy it because we know how hard winter is. It's cold.

00:04 John Daub: I know I'm going to enjoy it. I'll be back here again as well. I don't know if I'll livestream it, but it was nice to share this experience with you on the first day of October. See you, everybody.