Coming-of-Age Day

We were in Tokorozawa the other night, looking for ingredients for some Thai dishes that we love. It was a holiday Monday, to celebrate Coming-of-Age Day. I'm not exactly sure what happens, but I do know that twenty-year-olds gather at various places (maybe City Hall) for some kind of event. The young men wear suits and the young women often wear kimonos.

As we were walking up to Tokorozawa station to head home, we were aurally assaulted by a few of these of-age youths. Apparently, they had been taking part in some of-age behaviour (glug, glug, glug) and were being very rowdy. And, I mean, rowdy. The station entrance area was packed with milling people, but these 5 or 6 boys were yelling at the top of their lungs and running hither and thither. I wanted to smack them, and might have, had there been fewer people around, fewer of them, and had I been stronger.

The picture shows the entrance to Prope Road (right near the station) although it looks to be a few decades old.