Must-see attractions in Harajuku & Aoyama

  • TOKYO, JAPAN - NOVEMBER 23: Meiji-jingu in Tokyo, Japan on November 23, 2013. The shrine officially designated one of Kanpei-taisha, the 1st rank of government supported shrines.
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    Meiji-jingū

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    Tokyo’s grandest Shintō shrine is dedicated to the Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken, whose reign (1868–1912) coincided with Japan's transformation from…

  • yoyogi park in Tokyo, Japan

    Yoyogi-kōen

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    If it’s a sunny and warm weekend afternoon, you can count on there being a crowd lazing around the large grassy expanse that is Yoyogi-kōen. You'll…

  • Omotesando Dori

    Omote-sandō

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    This broad, tree-lined boulevard is lined with boutiques from the top European fashion houses. More interesting are the buildings themselves, designed by…

  • Nezu Museum

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    Nezu Museum offers a striking blend of old and new: a renowned collection of Japanese, Chinese and Korean antiquities in a gallery space designed by…

  • Ukiyo-e Ōta Memorial Museum of Art

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    This small museum (where you swap your shoes for slippers) is the best place in Tokyo to see ukiyo-e. Each month it presents a seasonal, thematic…

  • TOKYO - APRIL 1 2012: People, mostly youngsters, walk through Takeshita Dori near Harajuku train station on Sunday April 1 2012. Takeshita Dori is considered a birthplace of Japan's fashion trends.; Shutterstock ID 113994796; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; Project no. or GL code: 56530; Network activity no. or Cost Centre: Online-Design; Product or Project: 65050/7529/Josh Vogel/LP.com Destination Galleries

    Takeshita-dōri

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    This is Tokyo’s famous fashion bazaar. It's an odd mixed bag: newer shops selling trendy, youthful styles alongside stores still invested in the trappings…

  • Boutiques along narrow, winding Harajuku street Cat Street  (south side of Omote-sando), Harajuku & Aoyama

    Cat Street

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    Had enough of the Harajuku crowds? Exit, stage right, for Cat Street, a meandering car-free road with a mishmash of boutiques and a little more breathing…

  • Ichō-namiki

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    This boulevard inside Jingū-gaien (the public outer gardens of Meiji-jingū) is lined with gingko trees. For a couple of weeks around late November and…

  • Design Festa

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    Design Festa has long been a champion of Tokyo’s DIY art scene and its maze-like building is a Harajuku landmark. Inside there are dozens of small…

  • Spiral Building

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    The asymmetrical, geometric shape of architect Maki Fumihiko's Spiral Building (1985) may not look very sinuous on the outside, but the name will make…

  • Meiji-jingū Gyoen

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    On the grounds of Meiji-jingū (accessed via the shrine's main approach) is the strolling garden, Meiji-jingū Gyoen. It once belonged to a feudal estate;…

  • SunnyHills Minami-Aoyama

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    Kengo Kuma's design for Taiwanese pineapple cake shop SunnyHills uses 3D-modelled latticework that's supposed to evoke a bamboo basket but also resembles…

  • Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    A painter and sculptor, Okamoto Tarō was Japan's most recognised artist from the post-WWII period, a rare avant-garde figure with mass appeal. His works…

  • Yoyogi National Stadium

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    This early masterpiece by architect Tange Kenzō was built for the 1964 Olympics (and will be used again in the 2020 games for the handball event). The…

  • Prada Aoyama

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    Of course you could shop here, but pretty much everyone comes just to ogle the curvaceous glass bubbles of the boutique's exterior, designed by Herzog &…

  • Dior Omote-sandō street entrance on the boulevard, Omote-sando, Harajuku & Aoyama

    Dior Omote-sandō

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    This five-storey glass building (2003) uses clever lighting and acrylic screens to pull off the effortlessly chic look of a breezy tiered skirt. Pritzker…

  • TOKYO/JAPAN - November 21 2023:wide-angle view of the mirrored interior of Tokyu Plaza Omotesando
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Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Harajuku

    Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Harajuku

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    The entrance to this castle-like structure by Nakamura Hiroshi is a dizzying hall of mirrors (which makes for a great photo); there’s a roof garden on top.

  • Watari Museum of Contemporary Art

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    In a building (1990) by Swiss architect Mario Botta, Watari-Um stages exhibits that range from retrospectives of established art-world figures (such as…

  • Omotesandō Hills

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    This deceptively deep concrete mall (2003), designed by Tadao Ando, spirals around a sunken atrium. Andō’s architecture utilises materials such as…

  • Kawaii Monster Cafe

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    Artist and stylist Sebastian Masuda is behind the lurid colours, surrealist installations and other-worldly outfits of this darkly cute cafe. In the…

  • Louis Vuitton Omote-sandō

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    Aoki Jun’s design for Louis Vuitton (2002) features offset panels of tinted glass behind sheets of metal mesh of varying patterns and is, fittingly, meant…

  • Tod's Omote-sandō

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    Pritzker Prize–winner Itō Toyō designed the Tod's boutique (2004). The criss-crossing strips of concrete take their inspiration from the zelkova trees…

  • Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo

    Harajuku & Aoyama

    On the top floor of Aoki Jun's Louis Vuitton boutique, this light-filled gallery hosts contemporary exhibitions backed by the luxury brand's well-endowed…