Parading protesters in Harajuku
Today I woke up and made apple pancakes for breakfast (and for a few more days). Then I met Alex, a friend from KCJS, in Harajuku where we walked around and people watched for a while. I ate a tremendous doner kebab for lunch with DOUBLE MEAT and it blew my mind. Whilst eating we observed a student protest against the government for more education support. The protest oddly resembled a Halloween parade as students were dressed up in Power Ranger outfits, Mickey Mouse suits, and carried various models of government buildings pierced with little flags of protest. It was the first protest I've seen of young people around my age and I was shocked at their political activity because I've never seen anything like that by young people in America. I do suppose the Japanese have a lot to protest about, but it was refreshing to see that kind of (somewhat facetious) activism.
Voyeurism at it best
Harajuku was insanity as always as a slow viscous flow of people trickled along Takeshita Dori. Gaijin tourists and locals alike wandered about (うろうろ）not really buying anything, just watching each other watch themselves. I present here a typical example of a weekend Harajukuite at some sort of Mad Hatter tea party where there is clearly more being distributed than your average cup of Earl Grey.
Mad Deals
Following a brief stroll towards Meiji Shrine and an impromptu text from Sarah (another KCJS-er) detailing a festival at Akasaka Shrine. Alex and I made our way to the end of the Ginza line to Akasaka station and emerged from the subway to find all the streets in the area closed. Despite the boundless pedestrian paradise, there was still a curious lack of strolling space as people streamed down the omiyage (souvenir) gauntlet towards the main gate. The main hall of the temple was unfortunately under renovation, but throughout the temple grounds hoardes of food stands were set up to cater (swindle?) festival observers and participants. I'm not sure exactly what the festival was for, but there were three omikoshi (portable hand-carried shrines), each representing either a company or some part of the neighborhood. Packs of men and women in Hapi Coats tromped around the block and down the main shopping street before arriving (some 45 minutes later) in front of the main hall where there was some shouting about working towards a "splendid Tokyo for all". Mobs of people observing the procession tried to capture the scene on whatever digital device they had on hand. Everyone lifted their cameras and cellphones above the people in front of them trying to capture a shot. Digital eyes craned about searching blindly for their festival targets. The crowd became a sea of cold blue displays and reminded me of our generation's dependency on technology and obsession with recording.
Pixellated vision
