I will follow him!

Is the cute guy in glasses and plastic raincoat facing the camera a member of the police or a protest leader? In either case, I am eagerly following.

So many choices!

Seeing so many police makes me think of the quandary faced by the Bachelorette. Do I have to choose just one? I am also digging the plastic yellow bullhorn: so analog, so simple.

So many uniformed police, so little threat

The intricacy of the police formation seems in direct proportion to the docility of the protesters.

Police on the move, at anti-nuclear demo in Shinjuku

Marching solemnly together, these police look disciplined and prepared for the rain. Do you think one red plastic light saber is enough for this troupe? I wonder if the others wish they could carry it?

Police pair outside Bluebird hair salon

Even crazy hail does not deter me from a Tokyo anti-nuke demo. Over the next week, I’ll be posting my bonus entertainment from the serious energy issues: admiring a wide variety of uniformed police. There must have been hundreds of uniformed officers on duty, doing nothing.

My favorite of all was this synchronized pair, securing the Bluebird hair salon with the power of their ear pieces. It must be nice to work with a buddy.

Piggies running in hail are added benefit of anti nuke demo

I am fortunate that I can easily multi-task. For instance, participating in an anti-nuke demonstration, while also enjoying the over-abundance of police. My favorite moment was watching them run in the heavy rain. Pure pleasure!

What’s with sticking your tongue out?

Is this a universal male signal? Walking down the street, I am always surprised, and yes a bit intrigued, to see men with their tongues out. I’ve seen men do this in almost every country and city. It is clearly *very* moe.

This photo comes from a Tokyo anti-nuke demo, and I am not sure if the tongue came out because he noticed me taking a photo. Or perhaps the tongue is aimed at someone else?

In any case, demos are great for people-watching and photo-taking. What do you think about male tongue action in public? Have you ever seen a woman do this?

Much moe at anti-nuclear demo in Koenji

Yesterday’s anti-nuclear demo (原発やめるデモ) in Koenji far exceeded my expectations. About 15,000 marched through the streets from Koenji to Omekaido Douri seeking the end of nuclear power. There were also young men on stilts and silver foil outfits, shirtless punk rockers with tattoos and huge hair, a seemingly random boy band in matching yellow track suits and geometric hair styles. All in all, it was very earnest and carnival-like. It made me feel better about my neighbors and Tokyo’s future.