Tokyo - Yoyogi Park

Yoyogi Park, or Yoyogi-keon, once the parade ground for the Imperial Japanese Army, was renamed to Washington Heights when it was appropriated by the occupying forces for military housing. During the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, it served as the site for the Olympic Village. In 1967 it became the public park Yoyogi-keon.

Yoyogi Park use to be a hangout for Japanese Rock and Punk bands. Until recently, every Sunday, exactly at noon, the police would close off the main street running through Yoyogi Park. That is the signal for Tokyo's teanagers to set up their amplifiers and transform the park into one large dance party. At 5:00pm a whistle blows, the crowd disperse, and the streets returns to traffic as usual. This practice is no longer allowed, much to my disappointment. This extreme contrast in Japanese culture was just the theme I was looking for in my pictorial tour of Japan.

Regardless, the park itself is worth walking through. It is incredibly serene and peaceful. The wide avenue through the park is enclosed within a beautiful forest-type garden, cutting the one off completely from the hustle and bustle (I think I used this phrase before...) of Modern day Tokyo.

Links of interest:

Yoyogi Park - Peace and quiet - at least during the daytime
Whatever Happened to Washington Heights?
   interesting story and great pics of Yoyogi Park