In Tokyo You Must Escape Sometimes

I have been living in Tokyo for around a year and a half now. I have learned a lot, as well as, grown up a bit too. It has had it ups and downs but I am still here standing tall. To be honest, this is my first time to live in a large city on a long term basis. While I have adjusted to the fast pace of city life pretty well, I have discovered that it is sometimes hard for me to find time to get away from everything.

Back in good old West Virginia, it was easy for me to get away from everyone and be by myself. All I had to do was jump in my car, head for the woods, and I could be all by myself for as long as I wanted. In Tokyo, running off into the woods is not an option. Never the less, I have found ways to get away from people.

One of the things I do is trek off into Yoyogi park from time to time. If you walk a bit from the entrances at Shibuya gate and Harajuku, there is a lot of out-of-the-way spots to get some peace and quiet. I like some of the trails deep in Yoyogi park. Sometimes I grab a few beers from the quick stop at Harajuku station and walk down the trails. I do not run into a lot of people on the trails. Although, I do see homeless tents set up from time to time. Oddly enough, I do not see the homeless coming out from these tents so often. I guess they just hide out in them for most of the day.

When I get lucky enough, I see something really off the wall in the less traveled parts of Yoyogi park. One time I ran up on some guy slumped over a tree with a bottle of Jack in his hand. At first, I thought he was passed. I grabbed a stick and poked him a bit. To my surprise he stirred ever so slightly. I will never forget what he said to me, `Women, drink, give me more!` This happened at 3:00 pm in the day.

There are, of course, the lovers who decide to take a romp in the park. There are many stories about this kind of behavior, yet few people can say they have actually seen or done this kind of thing. Well, I have seen this kind of playful behavior go down at Yoyogi park. You will usually never see this kind of stuff going down at the more popular parts of Yoyogi park. It almost always goes down in the less traveled sections of the park. While I have, unwillingly and unexpectedly, caught a few people having a little fun in the park, only one couple sticks out in my mind. I had wondered down an odd path I had not noticed before. It was a pleasant day and I was just floating in the wind so to speak. As I was heading around a bend in the path a heard heavy breathing of both male and female nature. I expected to have the misfortune of seeing two people making out or something. What I did see was some older gentlemen having his way with a young gal; fully butt naked. The young gal screamed and hide behind the older gentlemen as he attempted to cover himself. All I could really do was laugh and make a quick exist from the area.


So, traveling to the deeper parts of Yoyogi park is a good to get away from the normal insanity of Tokyo; while running head first into the more unseen insanity of Tokyo.