History
Harajuku as it is now traces its roots to the end of World War II during the Allied Occupation Of Japan. U.S. soldiers and government civilians and their families lived in a nearby housing area called Washington Heights. It became an area where curious young people flocked to experience a different culture and stores in the area stocked goods marketed towards middle and upper class Japanese and Americans.
In 1958, Central Apartments were built in the area and were quickly occupied by fashion designers, models, and photographers. In 1964,when the summer Olympic came to Tokyo the Harajuku area was further developed, and the idea of “Harajuku” slowly began to take a more concrete shape.
After the Olympics the young people who hung out in the area, frequently referred to as the Harajuku-zoku, or the Harajuku tribe, began to develop a distinct culture and style unique to different groups and the area. From this distinct style grew the culture of Harajuku as a gathering ground for youths and as a fashion mecca.
Location
Harajuku is an area between Shinjuku and Shibuya. Local landmarks include the headquarters of NHK, Meiji Shrine, and Yoyogi park.
The area has two main shopping streets, Omotesando and Takeshita(Takeshita-dōri). The latter caters to youth fashions and has many small stores selling Gothic lolita, visual kei, rockabilly, hiphop, and Punk outfits, in addition to fast food outlets and so forth.
Omotesandō has recently seen a rise in openings of up-scale fashion shops such as Louis Vuitton, Channel, and Prada. The avenue is sometimes referred to as "Tokyo's Champs-Elysees". Until 2004, one side of the avenue was occupied by the Dojunkai aoyama apato, Bauhaus-inspired apartments built in 1927 after the 1923 Kanto Earthquake. In 2006 the buildings were controversially destroyed by Mori Building and replaced with the "Omotesando Hills" shopping mall, designed by Tadao Ando. The area known as "Ura-Hara", back streets of Harajuku, is a center of Japanese fashion for younger people—brands such as A bathing ape and Undercover have shops in the area.
