Here is a short funny little story, that is
somewhat embarrassing for me, but one that you may enjoy.
The first time I went to Japan, I had never
been there before, so I was very excited. But given that it was my first time
going there, I was quite keen to get some travel tips from other people as to
what to see and do.
A few common suggestions were to ride a
Shinkansen, eat some sushi, go to Asakusa, see Mount Fuji and sing some
karaoke. Some less common ones were wrestle a sumo, fry some whale, and dress
up in Anime.
I was actually quite interested in most, if
not all of them, and I specifically asked a few friends for some
recommendations of things to see in Tokyo that would be fun and unusual, but
typically Japanese. A few scratched their heads, but on several occasions
people said: “It sounds like you might be interested in visiting Harry Juku”.
I will now relate one conversation with a
female friend on this topic.
Please note that what follows is what I
heard and said, and the conversation was entirely in English, so I can’t blame
the language barrier:
I said “Oh, ok, Harry Juku who’s he?”
She said: “Who’s who? What do you mean?”
I said “Well, why would I want to go and
visit Harry Juku”.
“Well, everyone dresses up in anime, and cosplay costumes,
and it’s really interesting”.
“What, at his place?”
“No, they are all over the place. In the
shops, the restaurants, and just walking along the street”
I said “No, but where are they dressed up
at?”
“At Harry Juku”
At this point I was a bit confused, and my
friend was giving me strange but sympathetic looks as if I had just started
eating with training chopsticks suitable for a three year old. I was however
really interested and had learnt long ago that if you give up every time you are
slightly bewildered by something Japanese you will never learn anything. And so
on I plowed.
“But why are they dressed up?”
“I don’t know why, but people just get
dressed up when they go to Harry Juku”
“Do they have to?”
“No, you don’t have to, but lots of people
do, and it is really quirky and unusual”.
I must have still looked a bit dazed, or
stunned (like the first time I tasted natto), because she then said:
“Look, you don’t have to go to Harry Juku,
but I just thought if you wanted to see something a bit out of the ordinary,
and something typically Japanese, it might be fun”
Trying to recover, I said, “No, no, I am
interested. Just a bit confused.”
I paused, and then asked: “So, do you like
Harry Juku?”
“Yes, I love Harry Juku. Every time I’ve
been to Tokyo, I’ve made a visit. And it’s really easy to get there, as Harry
Juku station is on the Yamonote line”
“What!!? He has his own station?”
At this point, exasperated, she said “What
the heck are you talking about?”
I said “Harry Juku, the same guy you’re
talking about”.
At this point, she looked at me, and just
burst into laughter. Not a snicker, or a giggle. But a full on laugh in my
face. In fact I’m pretty sure that if I’d dressed up as Pikachu and danced the
can-can she would have laughed a bit less.
I won’t go in to any further details except
to say this:
- I have now been to Harajuku. Many times in fact and I like it, if only as a strange Tokyo cultural experience.
- I have never met the mysterious Mr Juku, first name Harry or otherwise.
- My friend still laughs at me whenever this topic comes up.
That is all. The embarrassing story is now
over.
Did you like it? Have you ever been to
Harry Juku?
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