Takeshita Street is a 400-meter pedestrian lane running downhill from Harajuku Station’s north exit, and it has been the catwalk of Japanese teenage fashion since the 1970s. It holds crepe stands, 390-yen accessory shops, purikura photo booths, idol merchandise stores, a Daiso and the cafes where every drink comes in a color that does not occur in nature. The clothing goes from pastel kawaii to punk to Lolita, often on the same mannequin.
It is a crush, and it is meant to be. Come early on a weekday if you want to see the shops, come on a Sunday if you want to see the people, and leave by the side alleys to find the quieter boutiques of Ura-Harajuku and the vintage stores that the famous street’s rent pushed out.
Tips
- Go before 11 a.m. on a weekday; on Sunday afternoons it moves at one step per second
- The classic order is a strawberry and cream crepe from Marion Crepes or a giant rainbow cotton candy from Totti Candy Factory
- The side streets off Takeshita, toward Ura-Harajuku, are where the independent kawaii and gothic lolita boutiques moved