yoyogi koen

yoyogi park has some of the most entertaining human-sightseeing i've witnessed. as soon as you leave the station you see crowds of costume clad teenagers posing for pictures. i think they go there just so people can take pictures of them. its kind of a micro-celebrity moment they get to have each sunday. walking onward i see the famed elvis impersonators (rockabilly dancers), each gathered with their own groups, dancing their hearts out to their blasting stereos, dressed from head to toe in black leather. their hair must've taken some time to do. and man they dance, only pausing for a few seconds in between each song for a cigarette, motorcyles parked conveniently in the distance.

there are sock hops. there are japanese hippies and drum circles, groups reinacting sword battles with impressive martial arts and hollywood acting skills, hulahoops, homelessness and earth day festivals, food stands, greener grass and taller trees, ska bands and beatles covers. i wish i could be there everyday.

lollipops

there's this side street in my city that has a bunch of candy shops. i haven't seen many gruesome pig heads or skinned rabbits in Japan but there are these two guys that make custom lollipops on the spot. three bucks a pop.

no training wheels here

I've seen the smallest kids rocking hard on some small ass bikes. But not only do Japanese youngsters not use training wheels here- they DOMINATE on the unicycle. It's everywhere.

Some of the best cherry blossom trees I saw were while I wondered around aimlessly. This is Ki Tain Temple in Kawagoe. It's hard for me to capture the true beauty. I can describe it, as cliche as it may sound, as cotton candy covered trees. When you see a large group of sakura it looks like they're covered with snow, and when the blossoms fall at the end of spring you'd think it was snowing.

hanami

Hanami means "cherry blossom viewing party" in English. But it can best be described as a picnic somewhere scenic with lots of food and booze under the blooming trees. I went to Shin Rin Koen with some of my advanced students nearly a week after I started here. The sakura (cherry blossoms) just started to bloom- they become much more impressive later in the spring. One thing can be said about the Japanese- drinking in public is OK. On multiple occaissions I've gone to picnics in the mornings and they'll all pop out beers. I've seen old men drinking while riding bikes. Parks with groups of more than 30 making a toast. It's a beautiful thing to see.

I also met this awesome dog from Portland. He's 15 years old and still speaks a little English.