HARAJUKU

Description

Essentials about Harajuku in brief

A walk through the Harajuku district is recommended especially for younger visitors to Tokyo. The district is considered the center of Japanese youth culture. The many small stores and boutiques of the district are a mecca for all fans of Japanese youth fashion. And those who like to watch cosplayers and Lolitas and listen to Japanese rock should visit the adjacent Yoyogi Park on Sunday afternoon.

The location of Harajuku

Harajuku is the name given to the district around Harajuku Station, which bears the same name. The name does not appear on most maps, because the district officially belongs to the Jingumae neighborhood of the Shibuya district. Harajuku stretches from Harajuku Station to Omotesandō Avenue.

Harajuku as a center of Japanese youth culture

Harajuku is especially popular with young Japanese and is considered one of the most important fashion centers in Japan with its many stores and boutiques. The small shopping street Takeshita-dōri (Takeshita Street) and the section of Meiji-dōri located in Harajuku are the main shopping areas. The somewhat punk-heavy youth fashions predominantly offered here gave their name to a distinct style, Harajuku-Kei.

On Sunday afternoons, the small bridge between the station and the entrance to Yoyogi Park is the largest regular gathering place in Japan for elaborately and imaginatively dressed up youthful cosplayers and so-called Lolitas. In the adjacent part of Yoyogi Park on Sunday afternoons, many young bands of various, mostly rock, music genres play.