shibuya, kigurumi, and tarako
shibuya is a crazy place.
this is the first place i’ve ever been to in japan, and in retrospect, that might not have been the best idea. after flying into narita one dreary evening, without thinking much, i took the good ol’ yamanote (山手) line into shibuya hachiko exit. as i’m sure anyone who’s ever been to that particular area in the evening can tell you, the place is an absolute madhouse thronging with people, with dizzying lights from the billboards and sights and sounds. one can certaily find a better place to go to ease into a shock that is japanese megapolis. some place like ueno, for example.
being there again, and knowing what to expect certainly eased the stress that comes with the place. but it’s still pretty difficult to get used to the sheer number of people on the street.
therefore, one must take rest and find a refuge in a form of a restaurant or a cafe or something.
here’s something i’ve never noticed about shibuya… they have some incredibly large rats on the street. i don’t mean some cute little mousy-critter that scurries here and there, i’m talking about giant beasts that hang out in street corners size of small rabbits. as i sat in one of the coffee houses drinking a beer, i idly watched several of these plague carrying menaces stroll about. absolutely horrifying.
mingling with the locals and gyarus with makeup that made them look like large raccoons, i was taking a break in one of the street corners enjoying an odd cigarette when for minutes at a time i kept on hearing some bizzarre music behind me repeating the refrain “tarako, ta-rako…”
“tarako”? if iremember correctly, tarako is a type of spicy fish egg, popularly used in pasta (i know, the concept is pretty disgusting, but it’s actually pretty tasty).
tarako pasta
anyway, the song went on and on, and i had to admit it was pretty catchy. later on in the hotel i would discover that this particular song is sung by these two little girls in a group called “kigurumi”, and the song “tarako, tarako, tarako” is number two in japanese music chart.
here’s the music video from good ol’ you tube. a bit of warning. to keep your sanity, watch it once. just once. i mean it. you watch it more than once, and the song will never leave your brain, and you will go through your day humming “tarako, tarako” like some kind of fish egg loving zombie.
just like that song from a few years ago, “osakana tengoku”, this song is now played wherever tarako is sold.