In Tokyo, Halloween is starting to become a bigger commercialized American 'festival' - of sorts. I am one of the few people who attempts to get gay-buds to dress up and go out on Halloween weekend. We're rounding up in Tokyo Ni-chome gay district on the Saturday before Halloween.
Check out the Crush3r link below of maps and to RSVP (not needed, since it's a commercial bar and open to the public, also viewable from the street since it is mainly right on the street).
http://crush3r.com/page/public/qlplnedriv/tokyo_halloween_party_advocates_shinjuku_oct_30_9pm
or you can also read more info about our Oct 30 Halloween Gay Street Party at the end of this blog entry.
However, there used to be a time when hundreds of costumed foreigners would gather at Shinjuku train station for a raucous ride around the green circle train, the Yamanote Line. At a designated time on the Saturday before All Saint's Day or Tous Saints (Nov 1) (or All Hallow's Eve (Oct 31), as many as 500 foreign residents would all board a late evening train headed counter clockwise around the center of Tokyo. At each station, approximately 2-4 minutes intervals, the whole gang would jump off the train car (actually more like a subway although mainly above ground) and then dash into another train car in a mad howling mass - before the doors closed. Of course, it causes chaos and a lot of local commuters were also pushed and shoved. So it used to be a kind of revenge act for all those other 51 weeks when we are involuntarily packed like sardines on our way to and from work every day.
People wore all kinds of simple and elaborate costumes, but I love to see the straight men wearing a yukata (summer kimono) with nothing on underneath, so their freeballing ended up becoming a point of departure for an interesting conversation over beers after the 'wild ride.' Invariably, you would meet a new group of mildly acquainted people and stay out in the bars and streets under the sunrise.
Because there was a lot of 'incidental damage' to the trains (broken light fixtures, trash, and people getting hurt - mainly some drunk participants slipping or getting caught in train doors), the police decided to put a complete stop to the shenanigans a few years back. So hundreds of them arrive around the suspected witching with shields and riot batons, ready to stand firm (and maybe 'erect' too) if a crowd of mainly white people in weird clothes shows up. So far no one has seemed to see that simply choosing another station on the circle or working in tandom with cellphones from various small stations would allow the 'Wild Ride' to go on. The problem is that 500 strangers don't usually meet up and then go in cohoots to plan what might be considered a urban terrorist act.
I'll be at the Gay Halloween Street Party that is starting to become a micro traditional in front of Advocates Cafe (gay bar) in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ni-chome district ( a 10-minute walk from the main Shinjuku Train station).
http://advocates-cafe.com/
If you are in Tokyo on Sat, Oct 30, then drop by Advocates (in costume or without) or you could try your luck for another spontaneous Wild Ride at Shinjuku JR Station at about 10pm that night. But beware the police will be out in droves to prevent it. Still....
Back in Shinjuku, I'll be dressed as a Greek Senator - in a toga, the one I described from N2N in an earlier blog posting. Stop by and give me a Trick or Treat, or just say hello.
Cheers,
Kelly sunbuns99 / sunbuns / sunbunz
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