Yoyogi Park
Harajuku's Large Park
Yoyogi Park is a large public garden located near Meiji shrine in Harajuku district, in Shibuya ward in Tokyo. On Sunday, it becomes a place to gather and to take a walk, and it is especially liked by young Tokyoites and expatriates communities for a picnic, a bicycle ride or to listen to music under the trees.
Yoyogi is one of the well-known places to visit in Tokyo, for several reasons:
- It's located in a very interesting area of the capital: in Harajuku, between Shibuya and Shinjuku;
- The JR Harajuku Station is easily accessible by train on the circular Yamanote Line;
- The famous and majestic Meiji Jingu shinto shrine is nestled within Yoyogi Park.
In short, Yoyogi-Koen is one of these unmissable places while traveling in the Japanese capital. It is particularly recommended to stop by on a Saturday or Sunday. The Japanese (and many gaijin expats) stay in Yoyogi park for hours to relax, enjoy a picnic, spend some time with a partner or friends, or simply walk or bicycle. The ponds provide a little more refreshed air, especially in the summer when it's very hot in Japan.
To be quite exhaustive, there are also quite a lot of homeless people who have built genuine shelters, a little away from the passage.
Rockabilly dancers
Yoyogi is a well-known gathering place for cosplay amateurs, who occasionally parade on Sundays. Likewise, the entrance of the park is the rendezvous for surprising Rockabilly dancers.
You may witness some surreal scenes, such as the ones in the clip below: