The Christmas lights of Shibuya..

Shibuya is quite beautiful in the holiday season, the lights that adorn the trees on Dogenzaka for example..







Koen dori is not too shabby either..

Tokyo Doken Festa '08

This was a first to me, the Doken Festa is one that celebrates the efforts of the various construction companies around Tokyo, and it was fairly kicking! Well.. it was full of families, kids and Ojisan drinking sake, but it was a great vibe nonetheless.

Amongst other regular Yoyogi festival staples (ie. loads of food and drink stalls), there was the requisite helium balloon girl:



And the upside down-tiger jumping castle:





And the construction team working on their sleeping skills:



And the same team pleasing the crowds with their post-snooze construction excellence:

Anatomy of an attempted nampa..

Step 1: Identify possible target



Step 2: Make wobbly-type footstep-based movements towards said target



Step 3: Attempt to engage said target in "witty banter"



Step 4: Establish "Yay or Nay" status



Step 5: Retreat to sheltered area for reflection and possible reorganization of strategy

Boys and their bikes.. 03

This awesome machine was spotted which taking cover from the rain in an alleyway of Koen Dori on Sunday evening. Seems Dude-san had the same idea as us (getting out of the rain), and was kind enough to let me shoot him while waiting for the storm to abate..

J-babe and friends live cross from Koen Dori..

Wandering past NHK this fine evening I chanced upon a BS TV crew filming a live spot for some concert they were broadcasting. As the live cross drew nearer and the talent rehearsed her lines, passers by were dragged in to join in on the song. By the time the final group of people that joined had hastily put down their Donkihote bags and stood with the group, there was about 10 seconds to go..

Thai Festival 2008

My favorite of the many cultural festivals held at Koen dori/NHK park, the Thai Festival 2008 was once again a great weekend of eating, drinking and battling through crowds (to get said food and drink). Saturday was unfortunately rainy and cold for the second year running, but the skies cleared on Sunday and made way for a fantastic afternoon.

Maybe too good of an afternoon for some..

Park life: So you wanna be a Pop Star?

I love Koen dori for all the talent that comes out on the weekends to develop their craft and hopefully expose themselves to a wider audience, the sad part is that the scene so often looks like this: cute babes singing their hearts out to a bunch of old scary looking otaku guys with huge lenses zooming in on god knows what.

Having said that, rock on girls..

Shibuya Flower Festival 2008

So I'm a week or so behind with this one, and it didn't really move me so much but for this amazing collage (?) of rose petals that greeted patrons at the entranceway to the festival. The idea apparently comes from Italy, where once a year an entire street is decorated with glorious patterns consisting entirely of fresh rose petals.

Beautiful, to say the least..

Free Tibet Protest in Shibuya

Around 100 protesters marched up Koen dori this afternoon protesting China's ongoing political situation with Tibet. It was a typically calm Tokyo demonstration especially considering the more extreme nature of recent world wide protests..

Background info on the Tibetan unrest can be found here.

The Shirts Haircut Live video..

For some reason this video has gotten heaps of hits..

お宅 (Otaku) Photography #2

..next verse, same as the first..

お宅 (Otaku) Photography

Every weekend on koen dori, loads of wanna-be idols line the streets and footpaths to perform. Otaku (nerdy JP guys) take advantage of this opportunity by crowding around them and filling their memory cards with.. memories??

Another Koen Dori weirdo

nuff said..

Koen Dori moments

Attention seeking personified on Koen Dori..