Japan: Harajuku at night -- Takeshita Street

Date: 29th March 2015

The final post in a series of four on this one day! My day began at the East Gardens of the Tokyo Imperial Palace followed by a visit to the impressive Shunjuku Gyoen for more cherry blossom sightings and then to Harajuku/Yoyogi Park to check out the Sunday scene there.

To end my day of sightseeing, I next walked to the shopping streets of Harajuku.

Jingumae road Tokyo panorama — This is Jingumae Road, a major shopping hub in Omotesando. A lot of high end brands and shopping centers down this road.

Harajuku station evening Tokyo — That’s the classic exterior of Harajuku station

I was here mostly to check out Takeshita-dori (or Takeshita street).

Takeshita street Harajuku Tokyo Japan — Takeshita street is the main attraction in Harajuku’s shopping scene

Takeshita is a pedestrian-only street which has a mix of independent fashion store, bigger brands and the odd “wow, an entire shop for just this stuff?” Like the stores around Shibuya crossing, Takeshita-dori is another spot where a lot of Japanese youth fashion trends emerge.

Takeshita street shops Tokyo Japan — It sure was colourful and bright

Kit Kat bags Tokyo Japan — This is the lowest price I found Kit Kat bags for. Most other shops sell them for 249 yen on average.

Takeshita street Harajuku at night — It was an eclectic mix of shops here

Disney store Aita Harajuku Tokyo — You have stores selling Disney merchandise…

Bpoint anime store Harajuku Tokyo — …to anime and manga…

Boyband idol shop Harajuku Tokyo — …to an entire shop selling nothing but photos of Japanese male idols and boybands

Idol postcard shop Harajuku Japan — Just one more of those “only in Japan” kind of stores

The World Connection shop Harajuku Tokyo — This shop was mostly filled with classic American pop-culture memorabilia

Coca Cola shop Harajuku Tokyo — Another one of those fascinating shops you don’t find a whole lot of

Takeshita street Harajuku at night-tokyo — There are a bunch of eateries as well

Crepe shop Harajuku Tokyo — This eatery specializes in only crepes

Harajuku street Omotesando Tokyo — At the end of Takeshita Street and across the road is Harajuku Street. I didn’t feel like checking it out for some reason.

Harajuku at night street Tokyo — I took a right to explore the shops on this street

Kicks Lab shop Harajuku Tokyo — An entire store for kicks — a slang word for sneakers

Barbie store Harajuku Tokyo Japan — An exclusive Barbie store. Eesh.

Ralph Lauren shop Jingumae road Harajuku — I was now on Jingumae road. This is the Ralph Lauren store.

Christian Dior Moma design store Tokyo Japan — The white building is the exclusive Christian Dior store

Oriental Bazaar Omotesando Harajuku Tokyo — This shop is the Oriental Bazaar, one of the oldest souvenir shops in Tokyo

Japanese dolls Oriental bazaar Tokyo — They sell a whole range of souvenirs popularly associated with Japan — like dolls…

Kimono shop Omotesando Tokyo — … kimonos and yukatas…

Sushi magnet souvenirs Japan — … to magnets of all kinds. They had some interesting magnet designs I didn’t really find elsewhere around Tokyo. So I ended up buying some.

Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Harajuku — There aren’t many large shopping malls in Tokyo, mostly due to how expensive land is in the city. So most shopping centers are mid-sized, like this one.

Line store Omotesando Harajuku Tokyo — LINE is the most widely used messaging app in Japan. Its mascots and stickers are so popular that they have shops selling merchandise featuring them.

Takeshita street crowded Tokyo night — I walked back to Takeshita street and ended up buying a shark hat at another of those store selling quirky items

I then walked to the Daiso store, which I planned to visit last. The Daiso in Harajuku is the largest in Tokyo. It’s three floors of mostly 100 yen goodness. I bought a bunch of stuff, some useful and some not so much — but I couldn’t resist the prices.

Maiko dolls Daiso Harajuku Tokyo — I had seen these Maiko dolls without boxes on display at many souvenir stores across Tokyo and Kyoto. I had seen prices go as high up as 5000 yen! Daiso had a bunch of them (not in every colour) for a 1000 yen. I had to buy one.

I planned to pick up some of those Kit Kat bags (mostly the green tea and cheesecake flavours) and guess what — all sold out! It was only an hour before I saw it first and now, all gone. Ugh.

Ramen shop payment vending machine — Dinner was back at Asakusa. I ordered a beef bowl and paid using the vending machine.

Noodle dinner miso soup Tokyo — It wasn’t the best meal I had. I should have had ramen instead.

And that’s the end of this rather long and hectic day. It was a lot but I saw and went around quite a bit. Just two more days to write about. For now, I had to give my feet some rest!

Next post(s) in this series:
Japan 2015: Visiting Akihabara a second time, because why not?

Japan 2015: Cherry blossoms in full bloom at Ueno Park

Japan 2015: Rikugien garden’s weeping cherry blossom tree

Japan 2015: Getting to Hakone; Lake Ashi sightseeing cruise

Japan 2015: Hakone ropeway; onsen at Hotel Green Plaza

Japan 2015: Ōwakudani sulphur springs, views of Mt. Fuji — and last night in Tokyo

Japan 2015: Getting to Narita Airport — and flying an Airbus A380 for the first time

Previous posts in this series:

Japan 2015: Harajuku on a Sunday – Meiji shrine and Yoyogi Park

Japan 2015: Cherry blossom sightings at Shinjuku Gyoen

Japan 2015: Boat ride to Odaiba; giant Gundam statue at DiverCity Mall

Japan 2015: Cherry blossom celebrations by Sumida River

Japan 2015: Denboin garden, near Sensoji Temple