Yoyogi Park

I took advantage of the lovely cooler morning to get out and walk today. I went to the bus stop to meet the walking group, but no one was going this morning. I realized that I was going to have to go alone, and was wishing I had my ipod, but told myself -don't be a baby, just go! Actually, it was rather nice to be alone, and by the time I got to the park (it takes about 15 minutes to get there) I was happily lost in thought. Today is a Japanese holiday. I believe it is a day off to celebrate the Autumnal Equinox. It is the first really cool day- not cool like Upstate-NY cool, but it's in the mid 70's and feels heavenly-I'll take it. Since it was a holiday, the streets were much quieter, less busy and there was hardly any traffic on my way to the park. This really made me happy! The park was filled with more than it's usual number of joggers, walkers and bikers, but it is such a large park, it still didn't seem crowded. This morning I heard some lovely sounds, so I was glad I hadn't worn my ipod. I heard a wooden flute through the trees that was so beautiful and mournful it made me teary, a guitar, some kind of traditional Japanese looking guitar and a guy playing the blues harmonica. The blues harmonica put a smile back on my face. Then there is the guy I seen frequently who takes advantage of an area of the park that has a type of wooden platform by tap dancing on it, while he over looks the pond. I was also serenaded by a few of Japan's large crow population. The sounds were many.

The people here are really passionate about some things. Today I had a chance to observe two of their great passions: dogs and baseball. In the park today there were hundreds of dogs, including an amazing variety of breeds. I saw a toy fluffy miniature something in some one's shoulder bag, and 2 Russian Wolfhounds who were easily taller than I, if they were to stand up on their hind legs. Yoyogi Park has a fantastic fenced in area for dogs. It is divided into two sections, presumably one side for larger dogs and one side for toys. I'm guessing here, because I couldn't read the signs...The large dog side this morning was busy- Akita, Whippet, Chihuahua, Doberman, Wolfhound, Beagle, Retrievers, Labs, Burmese Mountain, Mini Schnauzer, Jack Russell, and Toy Terriers of all kinds. There were small dogs in the big dog side, but NO big dogs in the small dog side. I stopped to marvel at the dogs all seeming to get along, when a whippet started to give chase and and upset the balance of harmony. All heck broke loose. There was a swirling snarling mass of doggie mayhem going on, (it looked like a bunch of big dogs were trying to bite a tiny white and brown terrier of some kind. He was running under them, between their legs and they were ganging up on him) while owners were trying bravely to break it up. Meanwhile in a corner right near me, a beautiful BIG Burmese Mountain Dog was happily chewing on something while a squirrely little Jack Russell Terrier was humping away at her like mad! It didn't seem to bother the big dog, but the Japanese woman who owned the Jack Russell had to keep pulling him off the Burmese. The Mountain Dog's owner was a Japanese guy who looked non-plussed. The owners didn't talk or look each other in the eye, as far as I could tell. This went on for some while. There is some comfort in observing the universal behavior of dogs and people.

Beyond the dog area, I could see a large group of boys in their baseball uniforms practicing running and throwing. I could hear whistles blowing as their coach was having them perform relays. On my way out of the park, I passed a small group practicing their throwing and was close enough to read their shirt logo. They are "The NAUGHTY boys." The NAUGHTY boys! It is a huge group- occupying 3 areas of the park with many grown men who coach them. I am sure there are games going on all day today. The NAUGHTY boys. Do you suppose they know what that means?
Made me laugh.

A couple of weeks ago, Robin and I were invited to dinner and karaoke. The dinner was in a place called (I think) Zen Shabu. After removing our shoes, we entered into a private eating area through sliding panel doors and into a sunken seating area. We walked across cushions, and then sat on the floor- but there was a place for our feet to hang, so we didn't have to crouch or sit cross legged. I am getting to old to do that comfortably for a long while. Anyway-there were big pans of boiling water on the table, and we were served very thinly sliced beef and a variety of vegetables to cook ourselves. It was delicious. After dinner we walked across the street to a karaoke place. Everything in Tokyo is built either up or down. Everything is stacked. The building we went to seemed small, and we took an elevator to the 7th floor, where there were about 5 or 6 private rooms. Since we had 11 in our party, we had the largest room on the floor. In it were tables, booth seating as well as chairs, and everything in the room was black. The lights were low and there was a huge screen on one wall that not only displayed the lyrics to the songs but was constantly showing seemingly random videos. My favorite moment was when we were all singing New York, New York at the top of our lungs, and the video background was clearly showing someplace beachy in California, complete with palm trees and bikinis. Lots of beer is consumed while participating in karaoke. Most people need it to get their courage up to sing in front of people. Not so the Tokyo Plosses. Robin did an outstanding Mustang Sally (we all did back up) and Frank's version of The Lady is a Tramp. I went for Little Eva, Huey Lewis, and Earth Wind and Fire. Let's Groove, and September- for those of you who are Earth Wind and Fire fans. I boldly go for the high parts! Oddly enough, most of the guys from Corning sang Country Western or Guns 'n' Roses, so there was not a lot of sing-a-long with Alice, if you know what I mean. The most interesting moment of the evening came when I excused myself to use the bathroom, and had a chance to hear through the closed doors what was going on in other rooms on our hallway. It sounded pretty awful- much like the two cats that were facing off in our backyard last week. They were yowling in unison. Not to be too boastful or anything, but I think Americans in general are pretty good singers. Must be all that quality music education they are receiving.

It was fun, but, as a musician and singer I don't have that closet burning desire to be on American Idol. I don't live for those moments when I finally get the mic. I have plenty of outlets for my voice and music. I imagine that for some people, karaoke is their ONLY opportunity to sing. To live that dream. Think about how singing makes you feel so good. How it releases negative feelings and revives your soul. Choral music is very popular here in Japan. That's a very cool thing, in my opinion. It's one more manifestation of the Japanese Group culture. Matt sings ALL THE TIME while he's home. I've stopped shushing him. I figure if the neighbors don't like it, they'll let us know. Yesterday we were singing OLD MAN RIVER from Showboat together. He loves the low notes. The two of us make a great pair.

Until next time,
Cheers to All,