For more than twenty five years rockabilly dancers have been gathering in Tokyo's Yoyogi Park on Sunday afternoons.  They get together to partake in a unique version of 1950's Americana greaser subculture putting on an ostentatious display of fashion, dance and loud rock 'n' roll music.  Although the rendezvous appears to be somewhat unstructured, these guys and gals are actually members of organized Tokyo rockabilly clubs, some of whom proudly display their affiliation on their clothing.

In Japan it goes without saying that if you are going to play the part, you definitely have to look the part.  To that end, the men deck themselves out in black head-to-toe, sporting greasy, pompadour-style hair-dos.  Accessories include dark sunglasses, a colored plastic comb in one hip pocket and a chain-tethered wallet in the other.  Pointed, black leather shoes held together with electrical tape complete their getup.  On the less rebellious side, the women doll themselves up in brightly-colored, knee-length, French poodle skirts and saddle shoes with their hair pulled back in a ponytail.

The rockabilly dance style is mostly improvisational.  Their moves are a blend of twisting, break-dancing and free-form aerobics-like gyrations added for personal expression.  They usually dance as a group until one brave soul takes center stage while the gang squats around in a circle clapping like cheer leaders.  Since few of them are particularly talented dancers, the point of it all seems to be more about enjoying classic tunes, looking "cool" in a 1950's sort of way and socializing with friends.

The rockabilly dancers always draw a crowd of curious onlookers.  However, with their numbers dwindling and many members now pushing forty, it is a unique bit of Tokyo's pop sub-culture that may soon become a relic to the past.