Take the Namboku line to Ouji station, first exit on the left up the escalator, and you will find a small park/resting area about 30 paces ahead.
This is where I sat down on the first day. Just a little over an hour, resting, like it seemed the other people were doing... I notice a few things. First, that I was the only foriegner, Second that I was the only female, and Third, that there was no other person around or about the same age as me. There were a lot of older guys, in those workers jumpsuits and towels on their heads, finding some time to woof down an onigiri or sit and chat for a few minutes. They would eventually get up and get back in their little trucks and head off to whatever job it was they do.
After about twenty minutes a group of four kids, must have been around 7 or 8. Again, all boys... running around jumping over benches and playing what we would remember as cowboys and Indians, they played a game that looked a little like Ninjas and Samurai or something. seriously!! They were "karate chopping" each other and stabbing each other with imaginary swords, making kung fu noises and the whole bit. Pretty interesting though, only one of the boys noticed that I was sitting there. They were so involved in the game, but the one boy who saw me couldnt stop staring, just like he'd seen a ghost or something. I smiled, but no reaction... he kinda just stumbled off and kept playing, guess he just got over the shock.
When I started to look outside of the park, toward the road, thats when I noticed where the women were. Most of them were waiting at the bus stop, catching it to somewhere. Some were walking toward the station, or waiting at the cross section to go toward the outdoor shops across the street. Most of these women were obaachans, little, hunched over, and most had short hair with hats for shade from the sun; I suppose, even though it was hardly sunny. The streets around were not so busy sounding, just the occasional sound of engines running and every time a semi-large truck would turn --everyone knew it, the trucks speaker would yell out "Migi ni magarimasu"/"Turning Right" on repeat until the turn was actually made.
After I noticed the time, I just got up and left to the station to head to school.
Day Two: My second adventure in the park was very different from the first. Probably because the time of day was different. This time there were a couple homeless there, one lady and two men, the lady was really old and so skinny she looked like a skeleton. the guys were also old, but not so skinny, kind of chubby for the Japanese standard.
I wasn't planning on sitting down this time but when I was walking by there was a kid standing, facing the park, playing guitar and singing. He had a mic and a generator and amp and was really wailing. To my surprise, he was actually pretty good! could actually sing really well. Though it was kind of weird that most of the people around the park and in it seemed to be ignoring that he was even there. But it was more crowded than when I sat in the park before, almost like they wanted to appear NOT interested, but I think they were enjoying it. This time there were also some not so salary looking men, but a little lower class than that, drinking lemon chu hai and chatting. There were lots of young people in the streets, on their way home from school, or so it looked like. and lots of young couples walking past. There was an incident i remember so clearly, that even though I have been in Japan for two years, every time something like this happens I am still amazed at how different the culture is here... These two girls were waiting at the cross section, and I would have never noticed them amongst the crowd of people who were also standing there waiting for the light... but a mister donuts clerk came running down the street and went up to them, and when I watched and listened to what was going on, the clerk was just returning their Mister Donuts point card that they had left there... Mister Donuts is down the street, but in America i am sure that the clerk wouldn't have ran out into the crowded street after these two girls for a measly point card!! I kind of giggled to myself, gets me every time!!
Day 3: On the third "day" in Ouji, I actually went at night, because on my way home from work I notice that more often than not there are these couple of old guys sitting on some cardboard with a little tape player, listening to music, chillin out, stretching and having some drinks. I never took the time previously to sit there at night and fully listen with them, or to them, so tonight I stopped to see. Previously when I would walk by and kind of hear them rambling on, and not being able to hear the music clearly, I always thought that they were listening to Enka (old Japanese music) since there are so many old enka karaoke bars near my house... To my surprise, when I got a little closer, they were listening to Cyndi Laupers "Time after Time"! I snickered and cant help but wonder where r why these drunken older homeless men got this. Other than the older homeless men across from me, there was a woman talking to a man next to me on the bench, and besides that, today not many people were in the park, most of them just seemed to be passing through or going home from the last train. After a little while, I decided to go home too, but even as I left the old men and lady still stayed there.
