Saturday in the Park

Last Saturday was beautiful here in Tokyo, so Cindy and I decided to visit Yoyogi Park. It is located on the southern end of the large plot of land that surrounds the Meiji-Jingu shrine (see last week's "Edifice of the Week"), west of the shops at Harajuku, and north of Shibuya's hustle and bustle (see previous post "Meet Me at Hachiko"). We had heard about this park, but had not yet been.

We arrived via Harajuku station, right near the park's entrance. The "cos-play" folk were out. A "cos-player" is someone whose hobby is dressing up as one of the characters from one of the (many) cartoon ("anime") or video games so popular here. The costumes can be quite elaborate. I hear that sometimes a set of cos-players from a given show will get together to do re-enactments of favorite scenes, but the ones we met Saturday seemed content just to be seen together, and to have their pictures taken.

As it turned out, the cos-players were a perfect introduction to our afternoon. A sense of whimsical fun prevailed throughout the park. Jugglers, dancers, and musicians practiced their skills, and it seemed they enjoyed being watched and listened to--and posing for the camera.






Pets were out in force. One fellow had brought a pack of long-haired dachsunds wearing sunglasses. A fashionable young man had his white rabbit on a leash. My favorite was a black Boston Terrier that came with a young family. Racing around in the sunshine, he was having the time of its life.



The Boston Terrier's people were not the only young family at the park. Many couples with small children dotted the open spaces--flying kites (or trying to--there wasn't much wind), playing ball, and just being together.




Not all the couples there had children with them (Cindy and I fell into that category). They seemed content to sit and talk, enjoying the weather and watching all the goings on. Some folks were there by themselves, exercising, reading, or just soaking in the sun.




One group of young adults was having some sort of get-together. They had a number of ad-hoc activity centers set up at different parts of one of the fields, and participants were moving from one to another. The staff at the station below were dressed in homemade costumes, and had participants join in a dance and song. I have no idea who there were or what they were doing, but like everyone else there, they seemed to be enjoying themselves.




When we finally drifted out of the park, heading for our favorite sushi-go-round restaurant in Harajuku, we passed some "J-Pop" hopefuls performing on the sidewalk. In addition to having a cool American name, they were pretty good, and I wish them the best. Maybe this picture will be worth something someday!