The View From Tokyo: why Laforet Harajuku is an epicentre for the city’s alternative creative ideas

Harajuku** itself is Tokyo’s youth culture capital, focused on the Takeshita Dori (east from the station), a narrow street lined with quirky shops and often even quirkier fashions.

4. Shimo-Kitazawa A maze of narrow streets, that look completely unchanged from the 50’s or 60’s. No ugly skyscrapers here.