I have to admit, I was powerless to resist going to a thing where hundreds of people dressed more or less as cats pranced down the street, some of them raucously performing musical numbers in which “nyan nyan nyan” replaced all the lyrics.
The Bake Neko Parade gives everyone and their granny an excuse to dress up every October near Kagurazaka Station. If you’re in Tokyo and want to get a notification about this and other great weekend to-do stuff, subscribe to the TokyoCheapo email thing. They’ll let you know the dates, times, maps and all the particulars!
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Will this be your new favorite mystery too?
“The Samurai’s Octopus…will keep you guessing—and turning pages—all the way to the end. I couldn’t put it down!”
—Susan Spann, author of the Hiro Hattori mysteries
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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly e-magazine Japanagram, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
Only In Japan 
I found some videos on YouTube, one with bagpipers. Wow.
I saw the bagpipers! But (fortunately?) didn’t hear them. ha
OMG, I thought we were the most neko baka people in the world, but now I see we have serious competition! Why have I never heard about this parade before?
Oh, we tried (tried, mind you) to visit the Imperial Guest House, but the lines were too long so we gave up. On the way back to the station, we saw a bagpiper playing in the grass. Looked like an ordinary Japanese guy, no kilt, no lilting accent, no explanation. Only in Japan…
Ha, I once went to a steampunk event in Shibuya where the mysterious lineup of entertainment included Japanese bagpipers (oops, nearly typed bagpoopers!) It’s a really strange disconnect, innit? And I can’t take much credit for winkling out the Bake Neko event, –Tokyo Cheapo sends out a really awesome and useful Next Weekend’s Events in Tokyo email every Thursday, and do a pretty fantastic job of finding stuff like this (plus giving accurate & useful info like time, map, etc).
Thanks for the heads-up! I’m on their monthly mailing list but didn’t know they have a weekly, too.