WHERE TO VISIT: Yoyogi park

Japanese people love festivities, especially when it comes to international cultural events. We're not talking bon-odori or the traditional local mikoshi carrying events with food stalls selling Japanese food. The younger generation are more interested in stuff like Oktoberfest, St Patrick's day, or any kind of festivals introducing foreign culture. Well, there's a park near Shibuya and Harajuku that's famous for hosting events all year round. Ever heard of Yoyogi park?

How to get there:

If you ever drop by Shibuya to see the world's greatest pedestrian crossing, you should definitely take a stroll through Yoyogi park, which is just a 12 minute walk from Shibuya station. At the great intersection, you will see a building with a Starbucks on the 2nd floor, and a huge screen. When you're at the intersection with the building in front of you, turn right and you'll see an elevated railway known as the JR Yamanote line. Walk alongside the elevated tracks and you'll eventually bump into Harajuku station. Yoyogi park is just in front of the station :-) It's also conveniently located next to Meiji shrine, making sightseeing much easier. Yoyogi park isn't just some big park. It's also well-known venue for cultural events.

They held a St Patrick's Day event in late March. And to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Japan's diplomatic relationship with Ireland, they were also promoting tours to Ireland and selling Irish goods. I happened to be lucky enough to drop by this special event on a warm afternoon. The sakuras in the park were just starting to bloom everywhere. There were food stall everywhere, celebrating the special event and even selling authentic Irish cuisine, something you'd hardly experience in Japan. A lot of participants were clad in green although I forgot to buy a green T-shirt for the event. My bad. They had an on-stage concert performing dances and Irish folk music.

But this is just one of the events they have at Yoyogi park. It's not just food stalls selling the typical takoyaki or yakisoba, Turkish kebab or naan curry that you see near the park entrance. They also have rock concerts with fans flocking from Hokkaido to Okinawa. The sakura will be in full bloom around April 1st ( no fooling! Check the sakura forecast for updates if you think I'm making up stories! ) and the park is expected to be crowded with people who want to sit under sakura trees and get drunk. Yes, it's not illegal to be under the influence in public areas. Of course, you can expect a long line in front of the WC during hanami season.