Harajuku – Kawaii, Cosplay, Crowds

When I was a teenager, I had this book called Fresh Fruits by Shoichi Aoki which is filled with pictures and profiles of Fashionistas in Harajuku. I have no idea where I bought this book or why, but I do remember being absolutely captivated by the strange fashions and interesting interviews held within the pages.

Now somewhere between joining the Navy, moving to Victoria and then New South Wales and the Brisbane and then… well you get the idea… the book has gone *somewhere* BUT the memory of what I saw in those pages inspired me to hit up Takeshita Dori when we went to Tokyo.

Harajuku is a neighbourhood in Shibuya City. It is well known for it’s kawaii culture, quirky vintage shops and *those* crepes! It’s a place that feels very fun, but also very touristy. And if you’ve seen the photos of the main street (Takeshita Dori) just jam packed with people – they are not faked! That is what Harajuku is like… on the weekend.

We went twice. Once was purely by accident while walking from Shinjuku to Shibuya in search of the Hachiko Statue. That first time we went on a week day and it was busy, but no where near as busy as when we went the following Sunday. See the following pictures for a comparison.

The first time we went we had a bit of a look around and hit up some stores. My daughter and I jumped in a photo booth to relive my teenage years and then she hit up some gachapon machines. We honestly didn’t stay too long but it was long enough to get a good feel for the place (and I had a tattoo appointment in Shibuya to get to).

We returned to Harajuku on the weekend to find a huge crowd. So we really stayed away from the main street. There wasn’t much there that we felt we couldn’t buy elsewhere and instead of the fashionistas and cosplayers – there were just crowds and crowds of people. It was actually quite overwhelming.

We also thought the Disney Store in Harajuku had a great range of products but it wasn’t decorated as nicely as the one on Odaiba Island. So if you’re after the real Disney Store atmosphere, this isn’t the store for you.

We did go to Harry Harajuku – a hedgehog cafe. Unlike the absolute tourist trap that was the dog cafe in Akihabara, this one was really good. The hedgehogs were cute and all had their own distinct personalities. Sam held one that was just so hyped up by everything, Tim got to hold the biggest one in the joint – some were sleepy, some were really affectionate, and all were just delightful. I would highly recommend Harry’s Harajuku if you’re looking to do something totally absolutely positively cute. Have I mentioned that they were cute?

We then went for a walk and found Tokyu Plaza, the most instagram-able place in Tokyo. And the mirrored ceiling really was spectacular. The shops inside were really just shops. A lot of high end brands and the line to get into the Frozen 2 themed cafe was intense. We took our photo and then moved on. We bought nothing.

The thrift stores in Harajuku were really cool but very overpriced. You really are paying to say you went thrifting in Harajuku. We looked, it was a fun experience to window shop there, but again we bought nothing. Which became a reoccurring theme. The line for ice cream was way too long, and then we saw the prices so we left it. Same with the crepes.

We did find a shop called B-Side where Liz bought a whole bunch of stickers. They were so unique that it’s top of my shopping list for the next Japan trip – stickers from B-side.

The verdict on Harajuku? It was an experience, but nothing like what I expected. From reading the book as a teen, I really thought there would be streets of wild fashions and too-cool-for-school people. What I saw was a literal sea of people, overpriced desserts made for instagram and some cute hedgehogs. I would go back to Harajuku to buy stickers and leave.

This is not to say that I think everyone should not go, but I think everyone should go with measured expectations. And hit the side streets. Takeshita Dori will give you anxiety for weeks.