Strolling down Harajuku's main drag, Omotesando, a gaggle of goths puts the finishing touches on their gear for the day, checking their fright makeup. A few meters away another group, dressed as Victorian-era French maids, puts up lacy parasols against the sun. Others, defying description of any kind, have designed their own costumes for the day composed entirely of plastic jewelry and vintage rags.

Tokyo is a city that's usually dressed to the nines — a place that prides itself on being well turned out. But a carnival-like scene has been going on for years now in Harajuku and Yoyogi Park with Elvis dancers, coifs flying and grease dripping, and their molls dolled up in fluffy dresses from the '50s.

The Elvis dancers are mostly gone now, no thanks to the noise emitted from their boom boxes, and cosplay, short for costume play, now dominates the scene.

The costumes spontaneously emerge from, it would seem, nowhere. One week the panda look is all the rage, then somehow it is back to the French maid or Lolita look. Lolita morphs into Goth, forming Goth-Lolita or "Gothloli." For some reason, gothlolies have become almost a mainstay, with slightly-less-ghoulish goths softening their coffin-shaped accessories with Hello Kitty dolls and a few lacy frills.

Have you just been dying to dress up like your favorite cartoon character and can't wait for Halloween? Harajuku is a fantasy world that becomes real — at least on Sundays. What would be jaw-droppingly bizarre anywhere else in the world is par for the course here. Japan is often described as a country of paradoxes, hung between the traditional and the modern.

Harajuku displays these contrasts like no other place in Japan. Who would imagine that "nurse" with a bloody uniform to be a shy and serious schoolgirl during the weekdays? Probably not her parents. Don't even try to use the public restrooms at Harajuku Station on a Sunday morning — they'll be full of cosplayers putting on their gear for the day, having left home in mundane jeans and a T-shirt, plus a backpack full to the brim with a new outfit.

A frequent question is — why do they do it? Cosplay grew in the '80s from the practice of dressing up like a favorite character from anime, comic books or video games at animation fairs. In fact, many of the costumes you see are still based on cartoon characters.

The most important thing, whatever the costume, is the cool attitude, and the only rule here is that anything goes. But these models, rebels or whatever they are, are just Japanese teenagers hanging out with their friends on a Sunday — albeit with an unusual way of spending their time. Standing there in khakis or jeans, you will undoubtedly feel a tad ordinary.

Maybe it would do us all some good to forget work, oil prices and taxes and dress up as someone else for the day.

POLAR OPPOSITES

When the Harajuku circus starts to seem mundane, for an interesting lesson in contrast Meiji Shrine is just meters away. Perplexingly, this is one of the most quiet, sober and ancient places in all of Tokyo. Entering through giant wooden torii gates, which mark the precincts of the gods, Meiji Shrine is a sanctuary not just from Harajuku's scene but from sprawling, high-rise Tokyo.

Almost bucolic, it's hard to imagine you're in a city, least of all Tokyo. The shrine occupies its own domain from the rest of the expanse of Yoyogi Park, the venue of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. This is ground zero for Japanese New Year celebrations, where kimono still rule and traditions remain intact.

It is also a popular scene for Shinto weddings. As an austere wedding procession passes by, it's hard to believe that on the other side of Harajuku Station quite another show is taking place.

At the other end of Omotesando — Tokyo's Champs-Elysees — is Aoyama, headquarters for big-name fashion designers and cutting-edge design. Aoyama is the domain of kogaru, or cosmopolitan gals, with impeccable manicures, spike heels and designer labels. These kogaru have never heard of a goth, much less desire to dress like one, even though their sisters are just down the street.

Pull up a chair at Anniversaire, Aoyama's premier terrace cafe, and watch the parade pass by — but don't forget your costume.

IF YOU GO:

Round-trip Internet fares from Honolulu to Tokyo in October start at $685.
Navigation: Visit the shops, ateliers and boutiques in the backstreets of Harajuku, particularly the alleys behind Omotesando Hills. Farther up the street toward Aoyama are the name-brand designers — Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Shu Uemura, Chanel and Hanae Mori. For designer threads under one roof, Omotesando Hills, Tokyo’s newest shopping center is devoted to fashion and accessories. www.omotesandohills.com.
Join the cosplay community and browse photos of the latest getups posted by members at www.en.curecos.com. For online cosplay shopping in English, visit www.candyfruit.com.
Meiji Shrine is dedicated to Emperor Meiji (1852-1912) and his consort, Empress Shoken. Meiji was the first emperor of modern Japan. He became emperor in 1868 at the peak of the Meiji Restoration; during the Meiji Period, Japan modernized to join the world’s major powers. The shrine is open daily from sunrise to sunset. Free.
Yoyogi Olympic Stadium: Across from Yoyogi Park, the stadium was designed by Kenzo Tange for the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. The stadium’s shell-like steel-suspension roofing earned it a spot in the Japanese Ministry of Construction’s Top 100 Public Structures of Japan. The stadium is used for concerts as well as sporting events.
— John Lander