An Oddity Among the Odd

I assume that most people are aware that the greaser look and lifestyle has its own special place in Tokyo. Just go to Yoyogi park on the weekend for proof. There are always great Rock A Billy parties and shows to go to in our dirty little city. While the Japanese have taken to this lifestyle, I have noticed that not many gaijin sport the high and tight pompadour,leather biker jacket, jackboots, and live the greaser lifestyle. I understand exactly why. The idea of a greaser fell out of pop culture long ago in the west. So, I find myself being the lone gaijin greaser in many situations. For the record I have not always sported a pompadour. In the past I would grow out a fine pompadour, keep it for a while, and eventually cut my hair short and start the process all over again. Hell, a few times I even dyed my hair some crazy color during transitions phases. These days I have decided to keep a pompadour until I am old and gray; or until I am forced to cut it. None the less, I have always had the greaser thing about me for the majority of my life. So I wonder: Where are all the gaijin greasers in Tokyo?

There is no way in hell that I am the only one. This city is just too diverse for someone to be totally unique. There are so many people, from so many different cultures and backgrounds, living in Tokyo that there must be a little gang of gaijin greasers running around in Tokyo. I just have not run into them yet. The funny about the whole situation is that I often lurk around the expected places to find greasers, yet gaijin greasers are not to be found in these places. So, where the hell to they hang? Maybe they are loners, which a lot of greasers tend to fall into, and don`t get out much. There are plenty of gaijin who keep to themselves due to the natural isolation of living in a different culture. Maybe they live so damn rough they do not last very long in Tokyo; i.e. end up getting deported for doing something unforgivable.

With the lack of gaijin greasers, I might just be an oddity among the odd. You know, being gaijin makes a person odd in the land of the raising sun. Hell, maybe I can bring the look and lifestyle back to the forefront of popularity along gaijin. Most likely, I am looked at as being just some odd ball with a strange obsession and way of living. Well, that is ok with me. I have written about being strange before. You know, I am actually comfortable with standing out in a crowd at this point. I mean, I add an interesting mix to the stock of teachers in my company. We need people who are different and interesting in my company to attract some more business. Now that I am a little higher up in the company I can add some flavor to the management team. We need to get the teachers to feel that they are working for an interesting company again. You know, like in the old days when things were rocking like Elvis and profit was high. Back in the day when we stood at the top of the mountain of English companies, there was no one cooler than us.

Anyway, if you know any gaijin who have greaser tendencies I would like to meet them. It would be interesting to meet some greasers from, lets says, Europe or even others parts of Asia. They might be a hell of a lot rougher than me but I can hang with even the toughest of people. We can get good and sloppy drunk together(I still have not learned about drinking, have I?), go to a good rockabilly show, and even become friends of sorts. If you do see me on the streets don`t be shy about walking up and saying hello. Just say: your the Tokyo gaijin greaser from the internet right? You never know, it might be the start of a great friendship.