The Origin of Tokyo's Kawaii Culture

Takeshita Street is known as the source of Japan's “Kawaii” culture that attracts worldwide attention along with anime and cosplay. Harajuku, located on Takeshita Street, attracts young people from all over Japan in search of fashion accessories and classic crepes. After passing through the street, the Ura Harajuku and Omotesando area is full of apparel shops that transmit the latest fashion trends, as well as specialty stores, photogenic cafes and stylish restaurants. You can enjoy shopping, sightseeing and great food all in one colorful downtown location!

There are a variety of fashion, sweets, and souvenir shops that are crowded all year round. Recently, besides the classic crepe shops, there are also cotton candy shops, strawberry candy shops and other sweets that you can enjoy while sightseeing around.
You can also pay a visit to the popular animal cafes and spend time with cute animals such as cats, dogs and even owls. There are famous major cafe chains and fast food stores as well, where you can enjoy international dishes such as Italian and kebabs, not to mention Japanese izakayas, yakitori, beef bowl, etc. Just be careful not to eat too much!

Takeshita Street is only a few minutes walk away from famous tourist spots such as Togo Shrine and Meiji Jingu. It is also nearby the National Yoyogi Stadium, which is scheduled to be one of the Olympic venues, and Yoyogi Park, one of the largest city parks in Tokyo. It is also located in front of Harajuku Station (Takeshita Exit) on the JR Yamanote Line. If you take a train, you are within 10 minutes from Shinjuku and 30 minutes from Tokyo.
A friendly reminder, there is a currency exchange machine on the street and public washrooms near Togo Shrine, which are not very common in central Tokyo.

You can also walk to Omotesando and Meiji Jingu Shrine from Takeshita Street. Different from Harajuku's "kawaii" fashion, Omotesando is known for its sophisticated atmosphere, high-brand boutiques, and modern architecture. There are many signature shopping malls and landmarks such as Laforet, the center of youth fashion and culture, and Omotesando Hills, which is designed by the world-famous architect Ando Tadao. Don't forget to explore a little inside the small alleys, you will find interesting specialty shops such as Japanese Towel store that are unique to Japan. Also, if you go a little north from Omotesando, there is an area called Uraharajuku, also known as "Harajuku Art Village", where you can see many unique street arts which are great photo spots not to be missed.