Tokyo's Costume Play Kids and Shibuya Crosswalk

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By: leelefever on May 29, 2006 - 1:42am

Being that we're leaving from Tokyo, we decided to come back to experience three specific things that we didn't get to do on our first visit to the city. 

First, is what are called the cos-play-zoku, or costume play gang, that gather in Harajuku's Jingu-bashi in outlandish costumes.  They like having the attention for the most part, but you get the feeling that they aren't doing it to impress the tourists that photograph them.  They stick together and take lots of photos of one another too.  A weird and fun experience that we recommend highly.


 I didn't smell anything bad.


 You rarely see any young Japanese person without a mobile phone, even if they are wearing a little bo peep outfit.

 This is just plain scary and reminds me of Bangkok.


Next on the list was seeing the Shibuya crosswalk on a busy day. It is the busiest crosswalk in the world.  Amazing.

 This is before:

 and after:

Lastly, it would appear that I have some bizzare fascination with rush hour trains.  I would say that it is an interest in the daily lives of people in other countries.  Like in Mumbai, India, I made a special point to got to the Tokyo train station at rush hour.  Actually, I got up early to ride a packed train this morning just to see what it was like.

Once I got on, I was amazed at the absolute silence and how the volume of people meant that no one had to hold on. I was against the door and the girl next to me had her should in my back for the whole ride.  I only rode for two stops and felt good that I didn't have to be in the middle of all the people.  Here's a shot from inside that doesn't do it justice:

 These guys man some of the busiest stops on the line and they physically push people into the cars before the doors close. I didn't get to see it myself, unfortunately.

 And so, we're coming to a close of the Japan-based blogging, which is greatly enhanced by high speed internet connections in Japanese hotel rooms.  We're off to Bangkok in the morning and I imagine we'll write a little more about Japan before it's all over.


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