5 / 5 - One review
How to get there
5 min underground ride from Shinjuku station
When to go
All year round
Minimum stay
A few hours
Harajuku Eki (Japan)
©
Catherine Derieux
Practical information on Harajuku Eki
Reviews of Harajuku Eki
Harajuku, emblematic area of cosplayers and Lolitas of all types, Sweet, Pink or Gothic, is not just a fashion temple. You will also find fascinating artists' dens.
My suggestion:
Sales addicts: keep an eye out for sales, often astounding! Making it very affordable to treat yourself to a frilly, rustling Sweet Lolita dress or a range of wild accessories. It is not possible to try on items in some shops: remember that sizes are cut on the (very) small side.
My review
Harajuku is mostly known for Takeshita Dori and its gaily coloured shops. If I enjoyed going up and down the aisles collapsing under the weight of Lady Gaga T-shirts or handbags with unlikely shapes, what appealed to me especially was the other face of this sometimes badly known area.
I recommend that you push on as far as Harajuku Street and Cat Street. Here, as if by magic, the crowd seems to vanish and you enjoy the secluded charm of these quiet and welcoming streets. You can discover other treasures in a vintage secondhand clothes shop or a Hawaiian fashion shop, but my favourite was my visit to Design Festa, an unusual place in which artists' studios, a bar and an exhibition room are gathered together.
For a last change of atmosphere, I suggest you take away one of those improved pancakes for which the Japanese have the knack, to Yoyogi park, opposite Takeshita dori, for a peaceful green bath.
©
Catherine Derieux
221 travelers' photos
