Harajuku

For the young and fashionable teenager, spending time in Harajuku (原宿) on the weekends is practically a necessity. Even older folks will want to visit the area, though, to see Meiji Jingu shrine and Yoyogi Park. Understanding Harajuku The broad, tree-lined avenue leading downhill from the southern end of the JR station is Omote-sandō (表参道), which leads to the upscale Aoyama district. The street is full of cafes and clothing stores. For teenagers, though, the place to be is Takeshita-dori, which is a bustling narrow street several blocks to the north. Getting to Harajuku By trainJR Harajuku Station on the Yamanote Line is the obvious way to get to Harajuku. The station is very conveniently located next to both the entrance to Meiji Jingu and the beginning of Omote-Sando. By subwayDespite the name, Meiji-jingu-mae station on the Metro Chiyoda line is a little further down Omote-sando, but the subway is the best way to get here from central Tokyo. Naturally enough, Omotesando interchange is also on Omote-sando, and you can reach this via the Metro Ginza and Hanzomon lines as well. On footHarajuku is only 15 minutes away from Shibuya by foot, just follow the train tracks along Koen-dori from Hachiko. Things to see in Harajuku Youth culture If it’s Harajuku’s youth culture you want to see, don’t even bother unless it’s a Sunday. Each group stakes out its territory around Yoyogi Park (代々木公園 Yoyogi-kōen). The bridge across the train tracks is full of goths, decked out in black leather and white lace, with white painted faces. Besides just hanging out with friends, many of them come with the hope of being snapped by one of the many magazine photographers who mingle. Over by the entrance to the park, people with greasy hair listen to rockabilly music and dance in their vintage jeans. This subculture has been around for twenty years now. The sidewalks along the south side are usually occupied by junk vendors and loud rock bands. Both of these groups periodically get swept away by police crack-downs, though. The tree-lined area leading from the south end of the park to Shibuya is filled with all sorts of street performers, mostly folk-pop singers, but also including hip-hop dancing and street theatre. Harajuku Shrines Shrine maiden at Meiji Jingu Shrine maiden at Meiji Jingu Meiji Jingū (明治神宮), built in commemoration of Emperor Meiji in 1920, is Tokyo’s grandest shrine. Like all of Japan’s major shrines, it’s large in scale but simple in structure, entered via a winding path and through a giant torii gate. On summer weekends you have a very good chance of catching a Japanese wedding in progress here; the shrine is also packed on New Year’s Eve when people come here to celebrate the new year. Free entrance. In springtime, Yoyogi Park is full of cherry blossoms and people partying under the trees. Shopping in Harajuku Takeshita-dōri (竹下通り), north of Omote-Sando starting from the Takeshita exit of JR Harajuku, is Tokyo’s preteen haven guaranteed to fill any adult’s Hello Kitty quota in milliseconds. Omote-sando caters to those with more adult or at least more expensive tastes, especially as you head towards the eastern Aoyama end. Oriental Bazaar (5-9-13 Jingu-mae) is a kitchy Tokyo institution for tourists and expats alike, with four floors of shopping stocking everything from kamikaze T-shirts to gaijin-sized kimonos. Still, this is definitely the easiest way to get your souvenir shopping done. The Bazaar is housed in an instantly recognizable building with a faux-Chinese temple roof. Condomania, in a tiny triangular building at the intersection of Omote-sando and Meiji-dori, specializes in exactly what you’d think. Eating out in Harajuku Omote-sando has occasionally been dubbed the Champs-Elysées of Tokyo, which is true at least for the general price level of the trendy cafés and eateries along the road. One welcome exception is Shakey’s Pizza (6-1-10 Jingumae), which has an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet for ¥750 daily except Sunday. If you’ve never had seaweed, pickled ginger or fruit salad in your pizza, this is the place to try it. Tenya (てんや), the fast-food tempura chain, has an outlet on Meiji-dori just to the north of the Meiji-dori/Omote-sando intersection. ¥500 for a bowl. Retrieved from “http://wikitravel.org/en/Tokyo/Harajuku”   Looking for accommodation in Tokyo? Please support our site by using our hotel reservation system Tokyo Hotel (Article from/based on Wikitravel article and may be copied freely) |