• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

RecipeTin Eats

Fast Prep, Big Flavours

Small book

My cookbook "Dinner" now available!

  • My RecipeTin
  • My cookbook!
  • Recipes
  • Recipes By Category
    • Mains
      • Chicken
        • Chicken mince
      • Beef Recipes
        • Ground Beef (Mince)
      • Pork
      • Lamb
      • Turkey
      • Shrimp / Prawns
      • Salmon
      • Fish
      • Salad Meals
    • Quick and Easy
    • Soups
    • One Pot
    • Stews
    • Slow Cooker
    • Sides
      • All
      • Vegetables
      • Show Off Salads
      • Rice (all)
      • Fried rice recipes
      • Rice (plain)
      • Potato
    • Pasta
      • All
      • Pasta bakes
      • Pasta salads
    • Sweet
      • Cakes
      • Cheesecakes
      • Cupcakes & Muffins
      • Cookies
      • Puddings & Cosy Desserts
      • Bite Size
      • Pies
      • Slices & Bars
      • Frosting & Icing
      • Ice cream
    • Cuisine
      • Asian
        • All
        • Stir fries
        • Noodles
        • Soups
        • Chinese
        • Japanese
        • Korean
        • Thai
        • Vietnamese
      • French
      • Greek
      • Indian
      • Italian
      • Mediterranean
      • Mexican
      • Middle Eastern
      • South American
    • Dietary
      • Gluten Free
      • Low Calorie
      • Vegetarian
    • Other Categories
      • BBQ
      • Breakfast
      • Burgers
      • Cocktails
      • Party Foods
      • Rice Recipes
      • Roasts
      • Sandwiches & Sliders
  • Collections
  • About
    • Me
    • RecipeTin Meals
    • Free Recipe Books
    • Contact
    • Food Bloggers Central
    • Nitty Gritty
      • Policy: Use of Recipes & Images
      • Privacy & Disclosure
Home Japan Travel

Tokyo Travel Guide: Harajuku

By:Nagi
Published:16 Aug '19Updated:25 Sep '19
2 Comments

Jump to: Harajuku Highlights/ What To Do / What To Eat / Getting Here / Map

Harajuku is most famous for being the playground of the alternative youth of Tokyo! Takeshita Street is the centre of this weird little universe, where you can see Harajuku girls dressed in kawaii and cosplay outfits, boggle at bizarre fashion, browse quirky shops, eat crazy snack creations and get swept up in the weekend crowds swarming down the strip.

This is the crazy side of Japan that’s a must-see! But there’s plenty more than just crazy teen culture to explore in this and its neighbouring areas. Read on for more!

Harajuku - famous for Takeshito Dori street
Takeshita Street

Harajuku

Just north of Shibuya lies Harajuku and its adjacent areas, where a range of wildly differing cultural aspects of Japan and Japanese people in a relatively compact area.

Let’s get the most obvious of these out of the way.  Harajuku’s most well known attraction is Takeshita Street (Takeshita dori), a narrow street where the zaniest of Tokyo’s teens come to shop, play and be seen.

Away from Takeshita Street though reveals a more grown-up side to the area.

Just a few streets away from Takeshita Street is the expensive neighbourhood of Omotesando where haute couture retail and art attract the stylish, the cultured and the wealthy.

Yoyogi Park is a popular park on the other side of Harajuku Station, lively with strollers and weekend revellers, especially the famous for the Rockabilly Dancers. Directly adjacent to Yoyogi Park are the grounds of the venerable Meiji Shrine, a Shinto shrine dedicated to one of Japan’s most important emperors.

Harajuku Kawaii outfits
Harajuku Fashion

RecipeTin Highlights

  • Walk down Takeshita Street on a Sunday, the busiest day of the week, and get in amongst the wacky teen crowds doing their thing!

  • Watch the Rockabilly Dancers at Yoyogi Park. A bunch of old Japanese dudes twisting to 1950’s rock, entertaining onlookers for 30 years!

  • Make a visit to Meiji Shrine, hidden deep within a beautiful leafy oasis, is one of Tokyo’s most important and famous shrines.

  • Stroll Omotesando for some sophisticated calm, where high street and chic boutique fashion mix with cool contemporary architecture.

See below for more information on each of the above!

Harajuku Takeshito Dori street - colourful store
Clothing Store on Takeshita Street

What to do in Harajuku

Takeshita Street

When people think of ultra-wacky Japanese teenage fashion and pop culture, they are probably thinking of Harajuku Takeshita Street (Takeshita dori). This is arguably the epicenter of Harajuku, a narrow street crammed with fast food shops, cafes, clothes retailers, quirky shops and WTF moments.

It’s also crammed with people and on weekends especially Takeshita Dori is extremely crowded, which only seems to add to the slightly mad atmosphere of the place.

How to get there: The start of Takeshita Street is right outside Harajuku Station – you won’t miss it, just follow the crowds!

When to go: Sunday for maximum crowds and teenagers in kawaii outfits. Midweek for a quieter experience!

Harajuku Takeshito Dori street
Takeshita Dori

Yoyogi Park

Immediately to the west of Harajuku over the JR rail line is Yoyogi Park (Yoyogi koen). The park is large but fairly unremarkable but popular with visitors and also long associated with its people-watching and happenings.

The park has long been a magnet for interesting characters, performances and random events. One notable group who has been doing their thing for many years at Yoyogi Park are the rockabilly dancers. Sporting patched jackets, leather boots, slicked hair and maybe 30 years on the clock too many to be really doing this, every Sunday these older groovers twist to 1950’s rock in front of bemused crowds.

How to get there: Just 50m from Harajuku station, about 150m from Takeshita street. See map below.

When to go: Sunday – to watch the rockabilly dancers!

Yoyogi Park Harajuku Tokyo
Yoyogi Park

Meiji Shrine

North of Yoyogi Park is Meiji Shrine (Meiji Jingu), one of Tokyo’s most famous and important shrines. The shrine was built in 1920 in honour of Emperor Meiji and his wife.

Meiji reigned during the late 19th Century until his death in 1912, and under his rule Japan underwent a key transformation from an isolated feudal state to a modern, industrialised world power influenced by the West. He is considered a key figure in Japanese history, and without him there would have been no conveyor belt sushi, no Pokemon and no Japanese cars to compare other makers to on reliability measures.

The shrine complex itself is located deep within the shrine grounds, and to reach it you walk a long path through a leafy forest, passing under two large mon (gates).

A few minutes walk north of the main shrine is the Meiji Jingu Treasure House (or Treasure Museum). Here are displayed various personal belongings of the Emperor and the Empress.

How to get there: 500m from Harajuku Station, see map below. (Note you cannot reach Meiji Jingu from inside Yoyogi Park, and must go out the entrance again)

Harujuku Meiji Shrine in Tokyo
Meiji Shrine

Omotesando

Omotesando runs south-east from the main intersection at Harajuku station and is a leafy, long boulevard lined with flashy global designer brands stores, buildings showcasing impressive contemporary architecture, as well as a smattering of cafes, restaurants and art galleries.

Snaking off either side of Omotesando are a maze of small streets and alleys. These hide myriad interesting shops and boutiques, as well as restaurants and stores that are worth perusing, especially less mainstream and high street than the main road.

This part of Harajuku – Omotesando and nearby Aoyoma at the east end of the boulevard – caters to a mature and sophisticated crowd. It’s one of the wealthiest areas of Tokyo, home to many people with more money than you and I – quite a stark comparison to the teeny-bopper street party vibes of the nearby Takeshita Street!

How to get there: The start of the strip is about 300m from Harajuku Station. There is also a station – Omotesando Station – at the other end of the strip so you can walk from down Omotesando to Harajuku then make your way to your next destination.

Omotesando in Harujuku Tokyo
High End Shopping in Omotesando
Omotesando in Harujuku Tokyo
Omotesando Avenue

Harajuku Food

While there’s a huge range of food options in Harajuku (like anywhere in Tokyo), we think of Harajuku food as mainly novelty food, intended to appeal to the youth that hang there. Think:

  • Fully loaded colourful crepes

  • Monster ice cream cones

  • Giant fairy floss

  • Wild coloured bubble teas

  • Colourful candies and cute sweets

Harajuku Takeshito Dori street fairy floss
Giant Cotton Candy, Takeshita Street
Harajuku Takeshito Dori street crepe store
Crepes on Takeshita Street

Gyoza Restaurant in Harajuku

But one place we can recommend is Harajuku Gyozarou which is a gyoza restaurant.

You’ll find Harajuku Gyozarou in a number of guidebooks and online guides. The gyoza (Chinese-style pork and cabbage dumplings) are tasty, cheap and pair well with drinks after a long day of walking and gawking the area. We recommend the pan-fried variety – steamed gyoza just aren’t the same without the crispy bottoms! Aside from gyoza there is a small selection of other Chinese dishes also available. Queues are the norm but the line moves fairly quickly.

Harajuku Gyozarou
Address: 6 Chome-2-4 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo (Map).
Phone: +81 3 3406 4743
Open: 11:30-04:30 daily (Sun LO 22:00)
Tabelog page

Harujuku gyoza - Harajuku Gyozarou
Harajuku Gyozarou

How to get to Harajuku

You can get to Harajuku on the train using either of these lines:

  • JR Yamanote Line to Harajuku station; or

  • Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line to Meiji-jingu Mae (5 minutes walk to Harajuku)

JR Harakjuku station is only 1 station away from Shibuya on the JR Yamanote Line. You could also walk from Shibuya to Harajuku station and to Yoyogi Park – about 15 minutes.

Read the Tokyo Trains section in the Tokyo Travel Guide for information on travelling on trains, and how to figure out which trains to catch where!


Harajuku Area Map

See below for how to use this map.

How to use this map

  • By restaurant name – Click the icon on the top left to reveal our list of recommended restaurants in this area (see above for more information on each restaurant). Then click on the restaurant for more information about that restaurant as well as highlighting the marker on the map.

  • Zoom in and out by clicking the + and – on the bottom left.

  • Large view – Click the icon on the top right to open a new tab to view the map in full screen.

  • Click a marker on the map to reveal more information about the restaurant.


See our Tokyo Guide!

Born in Japan, raised in Australia, Sydney is our hometown, but Tokyo is our playground. This Tokyo Travel Guide is a culmination of a lifetime of travelling to Tokyo, condensed into one place!!

RecipeTin Eats Ultimate Tokyo Guide - What to do in Tokyo

 

What to do in Tokyo – individual Area Guides

Quick links to separate pages for individual Area Guides for the main areas of interest for visitors to Tokyo. Each of these contains: what to do, our recommended highlights, how to get there, map, what to eat and where to eat it!

Asakusa  /  Shinjuku  /  Shibuya  /  Harajuku  / Tokyo Station  / Imperial Palace / Ginza  / Ueno / Akihabara

 

Previous Post
Tokyo Travel Guide: Shibuya
Next Post
Tokyo Travel Guide: Ginza

Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

Read More

Free Recipe eBooks

Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!

Related Posts

Ultimate Tokyo Travel Guide - What to do in Tokyo, what to eat, where to stay

What to do in Tokyo – Ultimate Guide!!

Top 10 BEST FOOD in Tokyo Japan

Top 10 BEST Foods to Eat in Tokyo

Asakusa Tokyo Travel Guide

Tokyo Travel Guide: Asakusa

More Japan Travel

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cooked this? Rate this recipe!




2 Comments

  1. Janice says

    December 5, 2019 at 12:12 am

    I think you did a great job and it is so nice to have a voice to put with your writing! At the end I loved how Dozer was watching you ladle food into the bowl. I wish you the best with your new ventures and I think your future looks very bright because this was an excellent video.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      December 5, 2019 at 6:09 am

      Thank you so much Janice – N x

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

Free Recipe eBooks

Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!

Meet Dozer

Official taste tester of RecipeTin Eats! Meet Dozer
As Featured On

What's for Dinner?

Close up of beef enchiladas in a baking dish, fresh out of the oven

Beef Enchiladas

Butter Chicken served over basmati rice in a bowl, ready to be served

Butter Chicken

Overhead photo of 2 black bowls with Chinese Chicken Salad with Asian Dressing, ready to be eaten

Chinese Chicken Salad

Salisbury Steak recipe in skillet.

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken - 7 ingredient magic. The coconut fragrance is heavenly! recipetineats.com

Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken

Fast prep. Big flavours!

Never miss a recipe

Back to Top
  • Related
  • RecipeTin Japan
  • Food Bloggers Center
  • Help
  • Contact Us
  • Image Use
  • Privacy Policy & Terms
Site Credits Maintained by Zao Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled © RecipeTin Eats 2023 · All Rights Reserved Back to Top