Harajuku

Tokyo

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DESTINATIONS japan tokyo Shopping Harajuku

Harajuku

Catering for a similar crowd to Ginza, the colorful street Harajaku has more of an edge. As well as the familiar Prada, Dior and Burberry, if you walk just round the corner you’ll find the funky teen stores of Shibuya. One of these, the 109 store (2-29-1 Dogenzaka), is said to inspire the mad and consistently madder styles seen on the Shibuya streets. At 109 and others like Laforet Harajuku (1-11-6 Jingumae), young women’s wear is packed to the rafters.

Shopping

Shopping in this city has become more of an art than a simple pleasure. If you’ve got cash to spend then this is the paradise of all shopping paradises. Shopping malls and department stores abound and specific areas are often devoted to certain wares to make life easier. Roppongi is more than just hundreds of shops - it is a mini city of restaurants, clubs, cafés, cinemas, hotels and museums. It is where the expat crowd in particular, party, eat, drink, shop and hang out and is about as far from traditional Japan as is possible. Roppongi Hills, a mall comprising most of the above, is at the centre of this hive of activity and attracts a good percentage of Tokyo’s serious shoppers. Housing high street, boutique and designer brands, you can safely expect to find everything you’re looking for. . If you want to avoid more mainstream bookstores and spend some time looking for some hidden literary treasures, Kanda is where to go. Browse among the second-hand shops that line Yasukuni Dori and you’re bound to stumble upon a few gems. Good Day Books is Tokyo’s oldest and most famous used English book store and you can spend hours here among the 40.000 second hand and new copies.