Some pictures

So I don't know how many I can post. I guess we'll find out. I have others (like of the Meiji Shrine), but for some reason I can't rotate them, and as I don't want everyone to have a crick in his neck...


So this first... we were wandering around Harajuku, trying quite unsuccessfully to find the interestingly dressed people, but we did find this! A Nathan's hot dog stand. I hope Brett gets a kick out of this. Philip just happened to end up in the picture, but really, the point of it was the hot dog stand.

There's Lolita...
and then there's Gothic Lolita.

And then there are those we'd rather not see at all, whom Phil and Stu dubbed "CrotchMan and AssGirl." I know it needs to be rotated, but I really thought this deserved immediate posting. You can't really tell from the photo, but the man is wearing shiny tights (and bearing his midriff and treasure trail), and the back of the woman's dress is almost nonexistent. They started out taking pictures of other people, then attracted quite a crowd themselves. In fact, I think that was their tactic.

For the most part, the clothes weren't *that* outlandish. Stu's sister apparently dresses like this on a regular basis, whereas these kids bring their costumes in rolling suitcases, change, and then stand on the sidewalk outside the Meiji Shrine every Sunday for the express purpose of being photographed. And we indulge them! That was the most curious part (which is why most of my photos are of other people taking photos or unposed). As far as I can tell, it isn't much of a "culture" or lifestyle. Not the way we expect goth or punk or whatnot to be elsewhere. But it is an incredible social phenomenon to witness. I was astounded by the way two girls with very little presence who were doing nothing more than standing in the middle of the sidewalk could gather a swarm of people... and I suspect the fact that they're not striking or traditionally attractive in the first place has something to do with this blatant fishing for attention.

What's interesting to me is that, despite all the "nail that sticks up gets hammered down" ideas about Japan, they still seem to love their sticking-up-nails and in a way few other places do... how else could kids pull this off elsewhere? They'd be considered posers or sell-outs where I come from. Because at the same time, they don't quite stick up, do they? Because here in Harajuku it's expected and accepted and everybody does it. They have their own little niche in society, and society displays its acceptance by indulging their intrinsically self-conscious egoism, manifested in ritual Sunday attire.
And in a way I don't think the Japanese are completely oblivious to what they're doing either.
Stu, Phil, and I were just sitting on the sidewalk, like everyone else, and a man actually approached me to take my picture. Obviously I wasn't dressed "oddly" (except that I'm perhaps not nearly as feminine or fashionable as your average Japanese girl walking the street) I'm just different. 100% naturally different. Who knew that still counted for something?

Still, I am terribly tempted to try it one day. After people-watching for a while, we wandered around a bit more (including into a Tintin store) and found Takeshita Dori (where someone called Stu "Slim Shady" in an effort to lure him into a store), where many of the "trendier"-seeming shops were, including Gothic Lolita supplies (we were not allowed to take pictures in the stores). It's quite expensive stuff, but I fully intend to acquire a complete Gothic (maybe or maybe not Lolita) costume while I'm here and have a go at crowd-fishing in Harajuku.
(I guess I am living out a fantasy, buying clothes I've always wanted, but never felt legitimate enough to wear... but, like I said, you can get away with that here.)