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The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” – G.K. Chesterton

Saturday 8 December 2007

Colourful Harajuku

On Sunday we hung out with Kimchee and her friend in Harajuku and Shibuya. We went to Harajuku mainly to look at the weird, wonderful and colourful characters who come out every weekend to cosplay. It was quite late in the afternoon by the time Rob and I arrived, and Kim said that we'd missed some interesting characters. Nevertheless, there were still plenty of exhibisionists remaining for our viewing amusement.

The first character of interest was this guy dressed in a pink bunny suit. Of interest because he is a middle-aged, and also because he is a man. Most of the others are young schoolgirls. The second shot is of a cross-dresser who was very well made-up and dressed, but his mannerisms seemed somewhat awkward - I've seen guys who act far more feminine than he did.



Then we saw a girl with a very cool costume (albeit somewhat scanty for the weather). Her hair and attire reminded me very much of one of the characters from a video game like Final Fantasy. Her costume also had tiny feather wings at the back. She was definitely the most photographed cosplayer at that time. There were many more cute costumes, and at my request, Rob grudgingly posed with two girls.



Before we left the area, we encountered 'Maria', who had beautifully rainbow-coloured hair. Gorgeous figure too, for a guy. Yes, while Maria was singing, he could pass off as a female. His talking voice, however, was deep and masculine. His song involved him moshing his head which was a pretty amusing sight. Loved the hair.



It was fun checking out the people who find an outlet for their creativity/rebellion in such a monotonous society on weekends at Harajuku. Afterwards, we headed to the main shopping area in Harajuku, and the street was absolutely filled to the brim with young fashionable things.



Stay tuned for photos on bright n busy Shibuya!

4 comments:

  1. What's wrong with you Rob?! Harajuku girls!!! :P
    That old guy with the free hugs sign was a bit dodgy... I mean... Harajuku average age = 15/16... so dodgy...
    I really enjoyed walking through Harajuku, although I have to admit that even I felt old there... and I was only 22 at the time. Was very cool though, I had this photo from when I went to that very same bridge:

    Did you go to the shrine? I took some amazing photos there, although I have to admit the rowdy tourists that were drinking BYO beer at the shrine (at 10am in the morning?) did cheapen the experience a little.

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  2. Heya, thanks for your photo.. interesting outfits, ne? We haven't been to the shrine, and this is our second visit to Harajuku. (First was when I was supposed to attend seminars at the JET Orientation in Aug 2006).
    Hehe, yeah, that pink bunny suit guy was a bit hentai.

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  3. Do yourself a favour, see the shrine. I loved it there, it was one of the most beautiful places we went the entire time we were there.

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  4. Wow, you went at a beautiful time of the year, with all the coloured leaves. It's colder this year compared to last year, so much of the leaves have already fallen off. Might check out the shrine next time we head into Harajuku..

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