The third city on our trip through Japan was a little craft beer and a little genuinely bizarre surprises…

The one place that seemed to be recommended (Hiroshima is a relatively small city) was Rakubeer. Upmarket looking, very clean lines inside and very nice beers (that American Wheat IPA from Johana Beer was a doozy). Again, worth spending a few hours in.

Then that lead to the most surreal of all beer experiences on the trip…

I saw this poster in the toilet:

Yah hah. An Oktoberfest in the blazing sunshine in the middle of Hiroshima just opposite the A-Bomb Dome…

Imagine hundreds and hundreds of smiling Japanese men and women drinking (mostly) German beers, eating wurst and pretzels, tons of kids around and all dancing the dance to The Birdie Song (not kidding on this one) to a fake German folk band (I’m fairly sure at least one of them was Irish).

Everyone having a *ball* and not a single openly drunk person in sight either…

 

I, of course, found the token Japanese Craft Beer stall. Fine stuff it was too…

 

(Check out other posts from the same trip from Tokyo and Kyoto and Seoul)