Golden Week Streets

Yesterday began what is known as Golden Week, a week at the beginning of Spring in which Japan has 4 national holidays in rapid succession, and many organizations just take a break during the days in between each holiday, resulting in a week long vacation for almost the entirety of the country. While many people are going off on adventurous travel plans, I'm staying right here in Tokyo, and started off my Golden Week celebrations in the neighborhood of Koenji.

The best performance of the day. Note the small squadron
of astounded children nearby. They were messing
with him throughout the entire performance,
 and he took it as a chance to make things a bit more fun.

Koenji (高円寺) is a convenient train hop away from where I'm living, and a really interesting area of tiny shops and restaurants. However, what drew me there for the first time Sunday was Bikkuri Daidogei (びっくり大道芸), a huge street performance festival that sprawls throughout the area. There were performance of every variety, from musicians to jugglers to magicians and back again. It was a beautiful day and I could have enjoyed simply strolling through the neighborhood regardless of the various squads of performers there to ensure that I was having a good time. The most notable act of the day was a performer who first seemed to be a mime of sorts, but ended up also being an absolutely incredible juggler. Not only was he incredibly skilled, but he was playing with kids from the audience the entire time (not to mention a few grown-ups), and really knew how to sympathize with the crowd and draw their energy to his performance. As much as I've been able to grow technically as a juggler here, it was a very refreshing reminder that ultimately good performing has little to do with the skills you show on stage, but so much more to do with connecting to the audience, and enabling them to feel the excitement along with you.

Needless to say, the street festival has been the highlight of my Golden Week thus far. Other than that, I've been keeping myself busy staying social around Tokyo, seeing friends, playing in the park, all of the good stuff that one should be doing during a week off in the spring. Tomorrow morning I'm off for a retreat with the juggling club, and so will be rounding off this Golden Week with a nice-and-shiny, 3-day juggling jamboree. Until then, よろしく！

A walking, metallic, bird on stilts....Don't ask questions.

A brass band playing every kind of tune you can imagine. 

A diabolo artist who did all of his routines to the tune of an audience-member-driven street organ.