
Why does this combination, of uniformed authority and short ladders, always slay me?
For those unmoved by emperors and princesses, one of the most re-assuring and pleasurable sites at the Emperor’s address on January 2 of each year is the extravagant display of uniformed protection. With his yellow analog megaphone, white gloves, and pillowy lips, this policeman is welcome to tell me what to do.
Tokyo has an excessive number of simply adorable male cops on foot. (No, there are no women police walking the beat). A festival or street event just brings more of them out in public. And unlike the US, many of them are good looking. While the Japanese seniors were taking photos of the procession of monks, I took advantage to capture this image of public safety.
Related post: Emperor’s annual speech is great occasion to view wide variety of police outfits
This weekend there are a lot of omatsuri festivals in Tokyo. We visited one of the largest last night, which the husband and his siblings attended as children. Last year, we saw portable shrine carrying, and one super hot policeman. This year was quieter, with fun street food and lots of yankiis.
In addition to savory pancakes, yakisoba, shwarma, beer, a strange sweet on an ice block, one omatsuri tradition is chocolate covered bananas with sprinkles. Somehow this image confirms every foreigners’ image of Tokyo, combining kawaii, moe and moe.