Flamboyant straight men are what I love the most about Japan

Until recently, Japanese gays seemed content to fade into the background: a performance of normality bordering on boring. Not so for the straight men of Japan, who are truly some of the world’s most magnificent peacocks.

I love the attention to detail: the rolled up hem has a fruit pattern, zebra print can be fused with jungle print, hair fried and stiff, skin is kept eerily dark and flawlessly unblemished. Sitting hip-to-hip challenges no one’s masculinity.

When I feel frustrated about various aspects of a foreigner’s life in Japan, I look around the train and feel uplifted, inspired, and very much in love.

For seijin no hi, Coming of Age Day, peacock alert!!

Today is Seijin no hi, Coming of Age Day, on which Japan celebrates those who have turned 20 this past year. Lots of super garish kimonos for the girls, and more sober kimonos for the gyaruo peacocks who mix tradition with huge fried hair.

The image above is courtesy of Julie in Japan, one of my favorite foreign bloggers in Japan. Why are Canadians so cool?! Julie is the perfect blogger: original, prolific, fun, and incredibly sweet disposition.

Last year my post did not include any original images or even found ones of young male fashion outlaws. I’ll be trolling Nakano today hoping to find some good snaps with the new camera.

Dear readers, please send me or link to any good images you create or find!!

Goodbye summer and men in yukata

One of the best parts of summer in Japan is men in yukata, a light-weight summer kimono. The funniest thing is that when young guys wear them in Tokyo, typically they choose dark and understated ones like the one worn by Tamaki Hiroshi above.

It’s a rare moment for the Japanese peacocks to choose restraint, and the girls in summer wear the most garish colors and patterns on their yukata. At least, as you see in Tamaki-sama’s photo, he hasn’t eschewed the fancy hair-do and extraneous jewelry (including ankle bracelet?!).