Dragged out of lethargic sloth, I joined Mrs. Kangaeroo in watching the Tachikawa Twinkle Garden projection mapping event on a bleak Sunday, with only dextrous digits saving the show from putting the “little” into Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

After being bombarded by Facebook ads for weeks, I was pretty keen on going to the event.
But when Sunday dawned, it was cold, bleak and wet. Mrs. Kangaeroo had put in a nightshift, and I was happy enough to idle the day away, basically being a pig.
But the erstwhile warrior that she is, my spouse dragged me out of my sloth, onto the Tama Monorail and into Tachikawa to see the show.

We arrived with enough time to have dinner at Tachikawa Gyoza Stand Green Springs, which I wasn’t impressed with when I saw the prices and need to order using QR codes, but now feel compelled to write about because it tasted so great, even though we only basically ate snacks.
After the quick meal, we were ready for the show.
And I almost regretted going.
The projection mapping was divided into three sections: the first a story about a boy and a fairy; the second regarding animals in the Tama region; and the third was a performance by Xtrap, a finger kaleidescope group that I had never heard of before.
With all due respect to the efforts of the artists, the first two sections were lousy and many people walked out, even though it was a free public display.
But then, Xtrap came on. They were absolutely magnificent! It was wonderful to watch the show by the young performers moving their fingers with grace, dexterity and synchronization to create a dazzling display.

Xtrap really saved the night and made the event worthwhile. After moaning and grumbling for most of the evening, it turned out to be a fabulous night, bookended by a great walk to and from the station.