The story behind this shot

Sunday was just one of those wonderfully memorable days. Hanami, cherry blossom picnic, time for us is one of the most gorgeous times of the year in Japan because it is a time when we can all come together and just chill under the Spring flowers, get all excited about Summer and laugh about times gone by - Sunday was no exception.

Having been away in Australia for what I thought was the peak sakura time I was sad to think that I might have missed hanami season in Japan this year. Perhaps the blossoms were a little less plentiful but that didn't stop the crowds of party goers flocking to Shinjuku park to enjoy the last bursts of the short lived season (I swear there are way more than 4 seasons in Japan.) I was lucky to be a part of Sunday's celebrations.

We packed up the hoops, stuffed our bags with some yummy fruit and headed to meet up with the gang. Shinjuku Park is a gated park for which you need to pay an entry fee. To keep the park gorgeous all year round and ensure everyone's happiness, apparently, there are many rules and signs clearly stating them. One of the rules is " no play things" - that includes hoops. I prewarned Masao that we would be busted at the gates (there is no way to hide 10 colorful hula hoops) Sure enough we were swarmed upon by security guards, one after another. Each time we fended them of with "Oh no we are not going to use the hoops we are just carrying them" They believed us (??) and we were in.

It was not too long before the hoops were cracked open and the groovers came out of the woodwork. It is so cool to watch hooping newbies initial reaction to hoops. It is like each personality type has a different approach to how they tackle the first time hoop moves. Some like to sit back and watch for a long time before attempting, some want to jump right in and get their spin on not giving up until they master it, others come into the spin laden with self doubt and then surprise themselves when they can actually get into the moves quick quickly. It is all such a joy to watch.

Time flew and we were soon heading out of the park towards another local hang when we spotted IT. The ghetto blaster sent from heaven. It twinkled in the sunlight and spoke to Leila and I in very clear terms, saying "turn me on and get your hoop on!"

And so we did!

With the hoards of human traffic flowing out of the gates it wasn't long and we had drawn quite a crowd. The show pony in me took full advantage. Leila and I showed off a few moves, we let the break dance boys do their thing, a funky old man with smoke in mouth popped in for a quick dance off, we passed around a few hoops and then it was time for the grand finale. A little party trick that Bunny taught me that is a true crowd pleaser - the hoop throw on. We only had enough hoops for Leila to throw 5 hoops on me but it was enough for a big cheer, a good tummy workout and a final rock star pose.



It is a revolution!