Omotesando is a kilometer-long boulevard of zelkova trees laid out in 1920 as the approach to Meiji Jingu, which became, from the 1990s, the street where fashion houses hired the world’s architects to build them a flagship. The result is an open-air museum of contemporary architecture: Ando’s Omotesando Hills, Ito’s Tod’s wrapped in concrete branches, Herzog & de Meuron’s diamond-paned Prada, Kuma’s wooden Sunny Hills and SANAA’s layered Dior.
Walk it from the Harajuku end toward Aoyama in the late afternoon when the trees are lit, with detours into the small back streets where the cafes are. The Nezu Museum and its garden at the top end are the reward; the Cat Street turn halfway down is the way to Shibuya.
Tips
- Omotesando Hills, by Tadao Ando, has a spiral ramp that follows the slope of the street and a preserved wing of the 1927 Dojunkai apartments
- Look up at Prada by Herzog & de Meuron, Tod's by Toyo Ito and the Dior building by SANAA, all within 300 meters
- The Nezu Museum at the far end has a bamboo entrance path and a Japanese garden worth the 1,500-yen ticket