A sunday in Harajuku (Tokyo)

If it is less known than Shibuya, which is the district of Fashion in Tokyo with the crazy crossroad, Harajuku is one of the most famous district for the young unhabitants of Japan’s capital. It is located close to Shibuya (there is only one stop between Shibuya and Harajuku) and is one of my favourite districts of Tokyo for its diversity and its constant agitation.

Diversity of Harajuku

Without using the famous cliché of Japan’s duality between ancient and modern Japan, it is true that diversity is one of the noum which best describes Harajuku. In the same Sunday afternoon, you easily can meet young cosplayers, clothed like theirs favourite manga characters, and then a woman dressed in white celebrating her wedding in Meiji Shrine, the biggest shintoist place of Japan. And this, in a district where mostly three kind of people coexist in two parallele streets : on the first exit of Harajuku Station, the street Takeshita, where you will find teenagers and students, and on the second, the avenue of Omotesandô, which are known to be Japanese «Champs Elysées » and which appeals an older and richer public. And everywhere, internationals, « gaijin » in Japanese, who come to visit this district and who may be more numerous than Japanese people…

Takeshita Dôri

Located at the front of « Takeshita Dôri » exit (Exit 1) of JR Station of Yamanote Line, the entrance of the street is delimited by a portal topped by a clown with ballons which is illuminated at the end of the year. The narrow street is perpetually crowded. On sundays, it is almost impossible to put your feet on the ground : you are just able to follow the flow… Agoraphobic, caution ;) Takeshita Dôri counts a lot of shops whose activities are dedicated to young people : goodies, accessories, fast-foods (Lotteria, McDo…) and special restaurants (Sweet Paradise, an all-you-can-eat specialised in sweets), clothes, shoes… and different places typically Japanese : costumes to dress up as Goth Lolita, official store of Tamagochi (on the left before the entrance of the street), Idoles shops (where you can buy pictures of your Idoles), an entire floor of Purikuras (interactive photo booths), the biggest one-hundred-yen shop of Japan or even stands which sells crepes filled with cream… Yeah. Takeshita Dôri is the teenagers’Paradise.

Omotesandô

Around 200 meters away from this street, there is Omotesandô… the Paradise of (well-of) fashion-addicts. On a wide wooded avenue, with looks like the « Champs Elysées » of Paris, the most prestigious brends of Haute Couture are exposed : Prada, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Dior… If you may not dare to enter into the shops, the architecture of the buildings is interesting as designers must have been crazy while creating them. While being at Omotesandô, you really should go to Kiddy Land a toy store which is currently moving in one of the small perpendicular streets. You will find all these brends you may have cherish while being a child : Hello Kitty, all the goodies from the Gibhli Studio, Pokemon…

Meiji Shrine and Yoyogi Parc

As I said in the introduction, everyone can find his own version of Tokyo he like : if you do not like too much shopping and crowd, you can go for a walk in the park of Yoyogi (Yoyogi Koen). You can easily access it from the second exit of the Harajuku JR Station. Cross the bridge (where you may see some cosplayers every Sundays, even though you will soon realise there are more photographes than desguised people…) and you will join the entrance of the Sanctuary. It is announced by a tôri. You should find it after 500 meters : you cannot miss it, it is the biggest of Japan ! It has nothing in particular but its size is huge and you could assist a wedding ceremony on Sundays. Moreover, the documentation is also available in English, as for some of the charms and predictions. A good way to discover some aspects of this religion, which is more a cohesion of habits than an actual religion in Japan.

I hope you will like this district of Tokyo as I love it : it is amazing how you can find different atmosphere from one street to another and some hours can be enough to discover most of Harajuku… However, I recommend you to spend some time in the shops to be able to feel the ambiance I like.

Marièke Poulat