Every Sunday the streets of Harajuku and the surrounding districts become literally filled with cosplayers (people dressing up as their favourite characters from film/tv/games etc) and general Harajuku fashion. A normal Sunday afternoon walk through these areas is therefore rammed with some of the strangest (and in honesty, disturbing) sights you can see here, and since this last Sunday was also Hallowe'en I decided there was only one place to kick off my day...
Alongside the usual collection of gothic lolita, cyberpunk and just general full on weirdness (google image search for a vague idea of what im on about lol) there was one person in particular who I thought had pulled out something a bit special.
Just over a large bridge from Harajuku, Yoyogi is best known for it's massive park and the Shinto shrine enclosed within it.
Each and every Sunday masses of Japanese people in their teens, 20s and 30s descend on Yoyogi to dance the day away or play live to the thousands of visitors walking around. Some of its awful, some of its actually really good, all of it is hilarious and EASILY makes it into my top 5 things to see in Tokyo.
Alongside the usual collection of gothic lolita, cyberpunk and just general full on weirdness (google image search for a vague idea of what im on about lol) there was one person in particular who I thought had pulled out something a bit special.
How awesome is that?!
Now I'm assuming this is out of some Japanese anime show that I'm unaware of, the guy was sat fully enclosed in this and it moved around at a fair old pace making the same kind of whirring that those shop mobility scooters make. Those legs seemed to have independent suspension too so he had no problem ripping it up and down curbs etc.
The more time I spend in Tokyo, the more that the strangest thing here becomes the fact that stuff like this stops seeming strange. For instance I was walking through Akihabara the other night when suddenly a group of 20 or so cross dressing anime cosplayers come around the corner jogging through the crowds, and no-one batted an eyelid. Even this pretty impressive piece of engineering went largely unnoticed through the assembled masses at Harajuku. The easiest way to spot someone new to Japan? They're the one actually paying attention to this stuff.
Sufficiently weirded out, I decided to take a wander through the surrounding areas. Having already been up an down Ometosando - where the adage "If you have to ask the price you can't afford it" has never been more true - I opted for Yoyogi.
Just over a large bridge from Harajuku, Yoyogi is best known for it's massive park and the Shinto shrine enclosed within it.
- The entrance to Yoyogi Park
- and when I say massive, I mean MASSIVE.
Meji Jingu is Tokyo's most important Shinto shrine and is dedicated (unsuprisingly) to Emperor Meji; the Emperor who pushed through Japan's rapid change from an isolated, pre-industrial, feudal society, to a modern world power connected for the first time to the western world. A far more understated monument than the 'in your face' style of the Buddhist Sensoji, Meiji Jingu is nontheless well worth a visit and impressive in its own way. There is a wealth of history to be soaked up there, and if you're lucky (like i was) you'll get to catch one of the many festivals, ancient war-like 100 man drummer band and all.
- Me in Meiji.
- Thought this was quite a good sum up shot, in the foreground is a treasure from old Japan, middle distance is the resting place of Emperor Meiji and his wife, while behind is a symbol of the modern global Japan he forged.
- These were paraded across the grounds at one stage, along with some dancers to the beat of a good hundred or so massive drums, the sound of which reverberated around the courtyard and caused my insides to vibrate with the sheer volume and depth of bass. Very cool.
At this stage though you're probably rechecking the post's title, abit confused. Well, there is another thing that Yoyogi is well known for.
You may have thought 50s America ended on the opposite side of the pacific sometime around midnight on December 31st 1959, but no, you'd be wrong. Ohhhh so wrong...
Each and every Sunday masses of Japanese people in their teens, 20s and 30s descend on Yoyogi to dance the day away or play live to the thousands of visitors walking around. Some of its awful, some of its actually really good, all of it is hilarious and EASILY makes it into my top 5 things to see in Tokyo.
So yeah, that was my Sunday afternoon... : )
12:07 |
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