Harajuku Takeshita Street

Takeshita-dori runs about 350 metres from opposite Harajuku station down to Meiji-dori, and it is narrow, pedestrian and packed - crepe stands, rainbow candyfloss, purikura photo booths, cheap clothing, secondhand shops and character stores, aimed squarely at teenagers. It is worth being straight about what it is and is not. The Harajuku that appeared in international coverage in the 1990s and 2000s - the Sunday gatherings on Jingu Bridge of Gothic Lolita, decora and visual kei - has largely dispersed; the bridge crowd faded through the 2010s and what remains on the street is mostly retail. The more interesting clothing is now in the backstreets of Ura-Harajuku and along Cat Street towards Shibuya, where the small labels and vintage shops sit. Omotesando, the wide tree-lined avenue alongside, is the luxury end with buildings by well-known architects.

What you actually see

• A 350-metre lane - narrow, pedestrian and permanently crowded.
• Crepes and purikura - the street's fixed points, along with cheap fashion.
• A dispersed subculture - the Jingu Bridge gatherings have largely ended.
• Better backstreets - Ura-Harajuku and Cat Street for small labels and vintage.

When to go

All year; weekday mornings for space. Two hours.

Honest expectations

Weekends make the street shoulder to shoulder and slow. The subculture fashion visitors expect is largely gone from the street itself. Much of the retail is cheap and repetitive. Queues for crepes and popular shops are long.

Nearby

Meiji Jingu is beside the station; Omotesando runs south-east.