Oktoberfest '09..

Yep: Oktoberfest in Tokyo, in May..

Headed over to Hibiya park on Saturday for my first ever Oktoberfest experience and right from the first tall Munchner Weisse I knew I'd made the right choice. Beer and sausage enthusiasts have been swarming down here all month, and while it was certainly packed, and difficult to find a table, the lines for the beer and food weren't too bad at all. We sat for a while while sampling the said brew, and then headed over to the stage area for what turned out to be truly one of the most entertaining and interactive performances I've seen. The lederhosen-clad, croth-grabbing German natives plowed through their set, partaking in the amber where they could and generally sending the crowd into an ever escalating state of feverish excitement. In short, Oktoberfest was awesome..

Shibuya de Ohara..

I have to admit, sometimes I walk around this place and run into something that I have no idea about, (actually make that often) and Sunday was one of those days. My first thought as walking down a closed off Dogenzaka was that this was some kind of an Awa Odori, which it very well may have been. But anyway I was walking down to get some lunch and didn't really bother finding out, I mean it's just walking down the street on a Sunday, you don't have to know everything! What I did know was that these dancers, that seemed to come from far and wide, were having a great time spinning and singing their way up and down Bunkamura and Dogenzaka, that and.. I was hungry!

Postscript: Thanks to Elmimmo for filling me in, this was actually the Shibuya de Ohara Festival, inspired by the Ohara Matsuri in Kagoshima. As I said, sometimes I have no idea, fml.. >_<

Thai Festival '09..

The Thai Festival was as great as ever, and crowded, really crowded. The lines for food were ridiculously long, but the food of course is fantastic and that's I guess why people are prepared to wait. The atmosphere of the Thai Festival is different to that of say the Jamaican or the Brazilian Festivals, in that it's perhaps more culture than party orientated, but it's fun nonetheless. I didn't go too crazy with the camera this time, but I did manage to shoot a bit..

Boys (and Girls) and their bikes: Mongoose edition..

I spent some time on BMX bikes back in the day, I even recently bought and tricked out a Durcus One in an effort to reconnect with those days, but after meeting these guys I realized I wasn't even close. Dude-san's bike is an early 80's mongoose, completely decked out with vintage parts (sans the headstem), and he rides it as proudly as a 12 year old in the semi-finals at the Aussie titles. The girl was riding a much more contemporary model, which had been given to her by the bloke. Awesome..

Yoyogi Hanami 2009: Redux..

I have to admit to being just about over hanami this year, but what turned out to be a long wait for the fluffy little flowers, certainly exploded into fruition last weekend around Tokyo. There are always loads of people enjoying sunny days at Yoyogi, but this little celebration was something else..

The trees were finally in full bloom and practically every area within a frisbee throw of the white petals was both groundsheet covered and occupied..









It's well known that hardcore hanami enthusiasts arrive very early in the day (or even the night before) to secure their prime position, all this preparation can make one pretty tired as the day rolls on..





Nothing like a suit and tie (and theramin) to top off the hanami experience..







Milk Suzuki from the Tokyo Milk Babies was ready to rock..





And good old Spiderman was on hand to save the day..





Until next year..

Hanami 2009: Yoyogi Park..

Yoyogi is always one of my favorite places to hit for hanami, and this year's (first) Saturday session was just as fun as ever. While many were killing time waiting for the Parklife party to get going, the bulk of the people that filled the more flowery parts of the park enjoyed their afternoon drinking to excess and letting it all hang out..