Harajuku

Harajuku translates to “Meadow Lodging.” This area in can be found inside of the Shibuya ward around the Harajuku Station. This place has major landmarks and buildings, such the NHK headquarters which is the Japan Broadcasting Station, and tons of fashion. Harajuku is known as the fashion capital of the world. Sunday, being the area’s busiest day, you can see many fashionistas, both male and female, parading the streets. Their styles are a mixture of Gothic Lolita, Visual Kei, punk, hip hop, cosplay, Decora, and ganguro, wich is basically your average American ‘California girl.' To prove how big of a role fashion plays in Harajuku, a magazine was made to expressive the youth’s fashion. The magazine, FRUiTS, comes out each month with pages of the youth in Harajuku expressing their selves. FRUiTS message is short and sweet: “You are the best stylist to express yourself.” Being the fashion capital, Harajuku has many stores that cater to its fashion needs. Fashion stores can be found along Harajuku’s two main streets, Omotesando and Takeshita, and its more low-key back roads, a section known as “Ura-Hara.” In the past, Omotesando Street was a bunch of apartments where designers and photographers lived. Today, it also holds up-scale fashion stores and still has its apartments. Ura-Hara, unlike the rest of Harajuku, is has a hidden and reserve feeling. It mostly tends to males who are into skater, graffiti, and hip-hop styles, but it still tends to other younger people. One of Ura-Hara’s stores is called A Bathing Ape, or Bape for short. Harajuku isn’t just about fashion. It also has the Meji Shrine and Yoyogi. Both places differ a great deal. The scenery on the streets is crowded and loud. While inside the shrine and park, things are bit more peaceful and slower pace. Meji Shrine sits upon 700,000 meters (about 175 acres) of forest. Yoyogi Park, home of the 1967 Olympics, blossoms with Cherry Trees during the spring and young people gathering with friends year round.