"Gwen Went And Sang About It" Top 5 Page for this destination Harajuku by tigerjapan

Harajuku - where streets have names like; Cat Street and Killer Street, is where the young get funky and the funky stay young. Recently featured in a song by Gwen Stefani Harajuku is famous as a funky little shopping district. People get dressed up to come here. You have weekend Goths, punks, techno-coloured freaks, throwbacks to the “gal” look (of Shibuya fame), rock-a-billies and other generally produced looks. It lacks a lot of substance, but it’s fun for tourists to see. Most of these people “do” their look for the weekend (or day they go there) they are happy to have their photo taken and many of them hope to be asked to be in one of the street magazines that shoot in the Harajuku area.

If you like a fashion you see, you can pop into a number of stores and pick up your own mini-top hat or some surgical gauze to wrap yourself up in. Some of the less obvious, less showy clothing is where the real inspiration can be found. A lot of fads are started in Harajuku, but once it’s hit it is EVERYWHERE!

As a general rule I think it’s important that we remember this… some things that a Japanese girl (or guy) can pull of cannot be pulled off by someone not from Japan. I have seen some foreigners who live here give it a go… and lets just say, they shouldn’t have! Sundays are generally the best days to see the Japanese kids in the costumes.

Harajuku has a lot of cafes, restaurants and interesting shops. It is also very close to the boutiques of Omotesando/Aoyama and the shopping district of Shibuya. Harajuku first came of it’s own in the year of the Tokyo Olympics (1964). The Olympic village was located nearby and the possibility of being able to meet someone famous drew people to the streets of Harajuku… they haven’t left since!

Sights of interest in Harajuku are; Takeshita Dori, Omotesando Dori, Meiji Jingu Shrine, Yoyogi Koen and any of the little streets that take your interest. Spend an afternoon here just wandering around. In summer Yoyogi Park is a great spot for a picnic or you can check out my restaurant tips.

This web-page has some funny Harajuku comments;
http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/38454

Just your regular look

Also see:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3006.html

for more info on Harajuku

• Pros:Fun, good shopping and English widely spoken
• Cons:Can get a warped view of Japan and what Japanese are really like
• In a nutshell:If you come to Tokyo you just have to visit Harajuku