I didn't think it would be like getting zapped into a live anime show with more over-dressed characters than the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Right outside Meiji Shrine, the more-recently-built area dedicated to the emperor who helped modernize Japan, Tokyo's most character-obsessed cartoon nerds gather every weekend to take semi-professional photo shoots, eat cake and flirt with each other. There are girls dressed like crosses between Alice in Wonderland and Pikachu. There are boys wearing tear-off leather tights and dark makeup all over their faces. There are some who I can only describe as asexual, or nonsexual, or pansexual, or -- just look at some photos.
It was crowded, seeing as about 200 fanatics were crammed onto a small bridge that just crosses over some train tracks, but that didn't stop me from getting a free hug from one of the characters holding a sign that read, "FREE HUG." At first I was worried that she was offering something else that got lost in translation, but my fears were dashed when I did indeed receive a genuine, authentic, anime-freak hug. My first one.
Meiji Shrine is just around the corner. Leading up to the wooded temple is an area shrouded in giant foliage, bubbling creeks and open spaces. Teen-and-shop-filled Harajuku is right outside the walls of trees, but all the sounds vanished once I walked under the Shinto gate marking the entrance to the shrine.
Just like when I visited the Imperial Palace, the sun was at a perfect place to strike the shrine in golden rays as it crept slowly beyond the tall trees. Turns out I was even luckier -- a traditional wedding ceremony was making its way through the main part of the shrine just as I arrived. Japanese and foreign tourists visit the shrine every day, especially on Sundays, so I didn't feel out of place in the line of people that formed down the middle as the bride made her way across the wide-open grounds. An escort held an umbrella over her as she walked with her mother and the groom.
When they reached the entrance of the shrine, they paused and bowed, then did some other Japanesey things, and then everyone crowded around to take pictures. She looked gorgeous, dressed in all white and wearing a very large traditional head garment. I got lots of great photos, but I like this one best.
This is where people throw yen into a cage and then pray:
In short, the Meiji trip was splendid, and was a really nice break from all the commotion that swarms me every day, from my daily commute downtown on a crowded train to walking back at night amid a storm of salarymen.
About a three-minute walk from Meiji Shrine is Yoyogi Park, a gorgeous green space roughly the size of the Boston Common where all sorts of people gather on weekends. For example, your average Japanese Elvis-impersonating rockabillies that fight turf wars over the space in which they can sing and dance ...
... to the run-of-the-mill, amateur Japanese street group performing a shot-for-shot remake of the Broadway musical "Stomp" ...
... and, of course, the possibly-homeless rogue feeding bread to hundreds of crows, which are about twice the size of their American counterparts ...
There's usually a giant flea market on Sundays at Yoyogi Park, but I arrived too late to see it -- although I'm told it has some breath-taking views, including gay streakers. So I'll be sure to return in a couple of weeks and post those photos up, too.
And, as usual, I'll save the truly bizarre photos for last. Before I headed into Meiji, I walked around the shops along the main street next to it. There were the somewhat-weird mini-doughnut shops (delicious smell) and unique clothing boutiques. But then I saw a tiny store that looked like it specialized in selling exclusively Tamagotchis -- and when I walked in, I was dead right.
Remember those things? You feed the digital pet some food, and it gets happy, and sometimes it sleeps, and then later it pees and you have to clean it up, or else it dies. Apparently they never went out of fashion here.
(WARNING: Pregnant women and children should not read the end of this blog post.)
I thought I was done window shopping when I saw an almost hidden sign for an underwear shop. Again, I thought it was a lost-in-translation advertisement for a clothing store. Again, I was wrong. In case anyone wants some ridiculous underwear, please let me know -- because I can get you loins from your wildest dreams. The lady behind the cash register let me take lots of pictures, so I did, although I'll only post one up here, because if ever the word epitome were properly defined, it would be in this.
I'm not saying whether I bought anything.
You so totally bought some glittery thongs. My friend wants me to get him a pillow for his special pillow case (wink wink).
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