Every week, my friends invade one of the islands in the middle of Yoyogi park. I had made plans to hang out with a girl in Harajuku, so we stopped by to say hi.
Every week, near the entrance to the park, there are a couple groups of awesome, thirties-to-forties Japanese people dancing to 50's music. I have no idea where the trend started, but they draw a pretty big crowd. Today, though, this adorable blond toddler stole the show- I didn't get pictures of her in action, but she was dancing along with them, clapping her hands, smiling, and generally making all our hearts melt.
This drum circle (complete with didgeridoo) made me nostalgic for the states. With the air full of music and the paths full of westerners, I seriously felt removed from the Japan I know.
I wasn't there for the whole process, but these guys turned this cheap folding bike into an absolute work of art. Particularly nice touches: "Thug" on the chainstay, "よろしく" above the bottom bracket, a cool skull on the front, and a cute bumblebee on the left brake lever.
Saori goes to Japan Women's University. We met at a party last weekend, and made plans to meet up today. The problem with going out with people you meet at parties is that the parties are all held sitting down, so it's tough to estimate height, and everybody drinks, so the memory's not so hot. When I met her at the station, I found her in heels, standing a good six or eight inches taller than me. Awkward! We had a pretty good time, though, and sans heels, it might yet work out.
Japanese people stared in wonderment at the odd foreigners repeatedly hitting a plastic baseball into the lake, then wading in to get it and looking like they peed themselves. I should have explained that it's a standardized ritual in the west, and must be done weekly to avoid angering our gods.
We spent a while tooling around for an eatery, and eventually headed to Design Festa Gallery, the best and funkiest Okonomiyaki place in the city (and the cheapest drinks, too). I took the opportunity to compose a totally artsy photo with my friend John: "暖房と白人" (air conditioner and white person).
No school tomorrow, so I can catch up on my part-time translation job, and maybe go to the Aikido dojo in the afternoon. Life is good in Tokyo, but busy, and it just seems to get busier. Good night Tokyo, good morning America.
Also also: off-topic, but have you seen this video? It's of a pretty droopy-looking late-forties british woman named Susan Boyle absolutely KILLING it on "Britain's Got Talent." Embedding's disabled, so you'll need to go here to watch it. The audience and judges both go into it chuckling at this poor, dopey lady, then she blows them out of the water.
