Coming to Harajuku on a Sunday afternoon is like stepping into an open-air market of fashion and underground cultures. Walk along the famous Takeshita Street or one of Harajuku’s many alleyways and you’ll stumble across unique fashion accessories, adventurous cosplayers, and an energy rivaling that of a Middle Eastern marketplace.
Much in the same vein, the nearby Yoyogi Park features a wide array of clubs and individuals enjoying their day off from work.
On any given Sunday, you’re likely to see a dance group called the Tokyo Rockabilly Club.
Right at the entrance to Yoyogi Park, this group dances to stereo-driven oldies standards to the delight of a gathered crowd. The flapping of puffy, rainbow-colored skirts mixes playfully with the rustling of jet-black leather jackets. The dancers rock in both choreographed partner routines and freestyle soloing to fast-paced and lighthearted music called Rockabilly.
This group, along with others whose names one will know by their names stitched upon the backs of their jackets, have met in Yoyogi Park to dance to and dress up in their shared passion: 1950’s American music and culture.
The men traditionally sport an excessive amount of hair gel, giving their hair a sheen similar to a recently waxed car, while the women wear ’50’s style skirts and blouses and elaborately style their hair.
Rockabilly had its start in the early 1950’s in the United States. It’s a genre of music which blends the sound of “rock and roll” with American regional styles such as country and bluegrass. A famous and highly popular artist from this period was Bill Haley and the Comets, whose classics like “Rock Around the Clock” can still be heard today.
The genre found a following in Japan among the rock-music-loving youth of the time. While it mostly died in popularity after a few years, it enjoyed a limited revival of interest in the 80’s and 90’s both in the United States and in Japan.
The current “rockabilly look” can be attributed to the popularity of bands like The Cools (クールス）who began performing in the the late 70’s and continue to this day. They mixed the rockabilly style with the leather-clad fashion and greasy-haired biker look made popular in American movies like Grease.
Come to either Harajuku Station on the Yamanote Line or the Meiji-Jingumae Metro Station on the Chiyoda and Fukutoshin Lines.
From either of these stations it is a quick two minute walk to the entrance to Yoyogi Park, which is also home to the famous Meiji Shrine. On a sunny day, these rockabilly lovers will be out in a group in the large square outside the entrance to the Park.
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