The Dakota appears as Yoko Ono’s home and the starting point for a day that moves from a delayed arrival to a rain-soaked performance in the park and back again. Its significance in the episode lies in this practical, social role: it gathers the visitors before the concert and receives them afterward.

Setting and Arrival

Yoko Ono invited the narrator to a Japanese group’s performance of Medea in the park. The narrator invited Jay Shriver, and they took a cab to The Dakota, at West 72nd Street. Heavy traffic stretched the ride to an hour and cost $7.50. When they arrived, the limo was still there, but by the time they went upstairs, everyone was leaving; a call had confirmed that the concert would take place rain or shine.

From the Dakota to the Park

The visitors went ahead despite the downpour. The narrator sat in the park without the double jacket worn on colder days and chewed gum to keep warm. The rain eventually stopped. After the performance, the narrator and Yoko Ono went backstage, where Japanese visitors showed particular interest in the narrator and interviewed both of them. The outing also brought the narrator into contact with many friends not seen for forty years.

Return and Social Gathering

Afterward, the group returned by limo to Yoko Ono’s home at The Dakota. Store-bought food was served, in a style the narrator compared to entertaining at the office. The episode thus places the building at both ends of the excursion: first as the point of departure amid a rushed, rain-disrupted evening, then as the setting for a more informal gathering after the public performance.