Sneaker Freaker promotion

Autumn is here.

I say that, not because there is a decided nip in the air, but rather that because its past 1 September, the official start date and the Tokyo-ites have moved from their summer to their winter wardrobes. So, despite the fact that its gorgeously sunny, with perfect blue skies, and I saw a few red (Western) faces today, the Japanese were clad in warm bobble hats, leggings, corduroy and jumpers. It was the same when Spring moved into Summer. I was feeling uncomfortable showing my arms in May in a vest, but arrived back from my trip to be the only one not showing the tops of my thighs. Today, I was pretty much the only one still in shorts.

Autumn equinox is on Wednesday this week, and with 'respect for the aged' day tomorrow, this period is known as 'Silver Week' and offices are closed until Thursday. We expected Tokyo to empty in the same way London does at Easter. We couldn't have been more wrong - its packed! Traffic is unusually terrible and most areas are busy with a shopping frenzy. M's team have a promotion in Harajuku, one of the main shopping areas aimed at the younger crowd and we went in to check it out.

The campaign is for 'Sneaker Freaker', the definitive guide to trainers. There were a number of dummies positioned hanging off walkways, peering over the edge to see the passers by's shoes. They had also taken an escalator, and placed faces on the up risers, thereby appearing to look at the shoes being worn. It was a great idea and worked well, however at times, the area was so busy, it was impossible to see. I think it would work much better on a longer escalator ride - like Selfridges.

It seemed to be the day for promotions to encourage more spending - if that were possible. There were many, along with a lot of shop openings, causing great bottlenecks along the roads. A man in an orange mask hung from the signage of a spectacle shop, apparently by one hand. I felt sorry for him as it was boiling hot and he must have been melting. I'm not sure if it actually brought much additional custom because the crowd below meant it would have been hard to gain access. Design T'shirts next door were certainly benefitting. Maybe it was their promotion! Would be very shrewd move it it were.