FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS: IT'S YOYOGI PARK ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON

Between Harajuku and Yoyogi Park, on a Sunday afternoon, the crowd goes… different. It’s actually a strange fashion but in the end of the day, who is strange here? They are called the cosu-zoku, something like “costumes tribe” and the garments may go from an Elvis Presley’s style, to a porn hero; from a manga/ anime character to a local rock star; from a rocky horror picture show tribute to a god-knows-what thing. They make Yoyogi more than an ordinary park where Tokyoites go for a relaxing sunny afternoon. Yoyogi became a touristic spot but also a field of respect and indulgence. These characters are bright, with their big and round expressive eyes. Their smile is, on the contrary, a bit sad, even if they don’t oppose, in any circumstance, to be photographed as if they were part of an open-air museum. The weird thing here (but why weird if we think well?) is that they also show a deep sense of dignity and they are never close to be ridiculous.

I’m not a sociologist, so I’m not going to offer any explanation for this (even though some common places come to my head). But, as I walked among them, in Yoyogi, yesterday, I was sure that, at least once a week, these guys are enjoying freedom at its full extent. Lucky them.