Attack of the Show!

For my first and only Sunday off one of my roommates suggested that I visit a park near the Harujuku district. She said something about there being drums, lots of people and cool things going on so I decided to check it out. Either I forgot or my roommate just didn't mention, but Sunday is when the famed vibrantly dressed Harujuku girls gather, hang out, and are admired by passers-by both domestic and foreign. It was quite a sight to see - think Halloween on Franklin Street or at UW-Madison, times 100, minus all the fratasticity. So the equation looks something like this: Harujuku (Sunday) = H³ x 100 - frat boys. Minus H³ points if you have wrinkles. Bonus points for looking like a toy that will come alive and murder you in your sleep.

But that was only the beginning of the afternoon. There was an American film crew doing a segment for a G4 TV (network) show called Attack of the Show. At first I couldn’t help joining the small crowd (of mostly Japanese, actually) that had gathered to ogle the action. I mean, they were speaking English! American English! After watching for a couple of minutes I decided that I was losing some amount of dignity, so I moved on. I was gone for about 5 or 10 minutes when I thought to myself – Adelle, those people are American. They have TV cameras. You need to do SOMETHING! So I went back and trailed the group for a few minutes as they got different shots among the Harujuku girls. Finally, I scrounged up some courage and asked the nearest crew person – ‘Excuse me, is this for American TV?’ It was.

Apparently Attack of the Show is usually live, but they’re filming in Japan all week for a special segment. The guy I was talking to was keeping his eye on the script during filming, but we were able to chat between a few of the takes. I wasn’t sure if I should try to sell myself to him as someone who could be useful to the show or just as a fellow American awash in Japanese culture and yearning for compatriots fresh from the States. I went with the former. ‘(uh) Do you need any help with the filming or anything? I have some experience with fashion…’ Thankfully Jim (Tim? Pretty sure it was Jim) picked up on the latter and vaguely invited me out to go drinking with the group. ‘Do you have a mobile number?’ ‘(uh) No, do you have internet?’ Forgetting that I could potentially call him from a pay phone, I gave him my email address and left it at that. Well, that and a ‘(uh) I hope to hear from you soon!’

After that I walked a few meters and I was at the entrance to the Meiji Shrine, a very famous Japanese landmark. The Shrine itself was very impressive, just being in its presence almost gave me shivers. As I was walking away a group of Asian tourists came up to me with cameras, and I was quite happy to take their pictures in front of the Shrine. Except – that’s not what they wanted. They wanted to take pictures with me! So each individual in the group – about 4 or 5 people – came up one-by-one and stood next to me, facing the Shrine – while a friend took the picture!

I never made it to the park. The Harujuku girls, Attack of the Show, Shrine, and impromptu photo shoot were enough excitement for a few hours. Plus, the mist that formed in the early afternoon had progressively grown heavier and I was without an umbrella, so I went home.