-Japan is known for its beautiful landscapes and sceneries,

like the view from the top of kiyomizu-dera where you can see
the famous Mount. Fuji, engulfed in a sea of cherry blossom trees.
Or maybe the view at the Tokyo Skytree, where you can take a
glimpse at an endless view of various buildings spread across
Tokyo. But what if we don’t see Japan in an eagle-eyed view?
What does it have to offer? Well, plenty. Other than Japan’s
thick forests and acres of crop fields, it’s considered to be
Asia’s center of capitalism. With so much to offer, Tokyo’s mix
of traditional and ultramodern take, its diverse market never
ceases it’s open-mindedness. The same open-mindedness can also be
seen on the people who lie on the streets of Shibuya...

Harajuku is one of the most famous fashion districts in the world.

it has birthed some of the most creative fashion styles and
brought the word: "Kawaii" to a non-japanese consumer.

But how did Harajuku become what it is today?

The name "Harajuku" actually dates back to the kamakura period,

which began in the year 1192, however before the 1964 tokyo
olympics, they changed the address to "Jingū mae" ,
Jingū means "Shrine" , while "Mae" means "Front of".
so Jingū mae means "Front of shrine"

What does the word Harajuku mean? meadow lodging

The word Harajuku means “meadow lodging” in Japanese, according
to the online Japanese dictionary Jisho. ... High-end fashion
designers set up shops in Harajuku, and by the 1970s, it was a
popular destination for shopping, particularly after the
Laforet mall opened in the district in 1978.

What is Harajuku culture?

Harajuku culture got its start during the postwar Allied
occupation of Japan, when American soldiers and civilians lived in
the area. Curious Japanese youths came to experience a different
culture and browse the Western goods in local stores catering to
the Americans.

What was Harajuku fashion inspired by?

Image result for harajuku fashion
The fashion is inspired by Victorian clothing and styles from the
Rococo period. The name “Lolita” does not link with the Lolita
Book or movie. The origins of Lolita fashion date back to 1960s
Osaka. During the 70s and 80s, the trend grew, giving rise to
clothing brands.

Let us now talk about the Shibuya Street Fashion itself!

Japanese Street Fashion has a wide variety of fashion some

being considered extreme, supreme, extravagant and a lot more.
With the help of both local and foreign fashion brands, Japanese
street fashion was created. This was
popularized in 1990s and early 2000s, making trends lose the charm
and new afloat. Many of these trends has been chronicled by
Shoichi Aoki since 1997 in the fashion magazine known as FRUiTS.
Unfortunately, FRUiTS magazine has stopped publishing ever since
2017 with the reason, “no more fashionable kids to photograph.”
Styles have changed over the years but it is still prominent in
Tokyo today. A lot of young adults can be seen wearing subculture
attire in large urban fashion districts like Harajuku, Aoyama,
Ginza, Odaiba, Shinjuku and Shibuya.

One of the most popular styles, Lolita fashion, circulates around

skirts and dresses with petticoats beneath for volume. Its length
usually resides below the knees and tops usually are lace-trimmed
or ruffled in a Victorian or Rococo style. Paired with ankle to
thigh level stockings topped with lace and often worn with Mary
Janes. Sub-styles include: Gothic Lolita; heavily influenced by
Eastern and Victorian Goth style, Sweet Lolita; quite similar to
a child’s fashion, Classic Lolita; historical fashion quite
similar to gothic but more of a calmer vibe, Punk Lolita;
a mix of punk and Lolita and Ouji; is a masculine counterpart of
Lolita.

Gyaru, a style that originated in the 1970s, is influenced by

western fashion. It focuses on man-made beauty, wigs, fake
lashes and fake nails.

Ganguro a subcategory of gyaru, is a popular style among girls

starting in 1990’s and peaked in the 2000s. The ganguro style
consists of bleached hair,a deep tan, fake eyelashes, black and
white eyeliner, bracelets, earrings, rings, necklaces and
platform shoes. Some noticeable features are having
tanned skin and dyed hair. The terms "Yamanba" and "Manba"
refer to the extreme ends of the Ganguro style. However,
enthusiasts of both the Yamanba and Manba styles consider
ganguro as an "easy version" of their style. Nowadays, the name
'Yamanba' has shortened to 'Manba'.

Kogal is a high school uniform based style but with a more

casual look. Shorter skirts, loose socks, dyed hair and socks.
It started around in the 1990’s and gained its fame again at the
end of 2020.

Bōsōzoku is a not so popular kind of style but is often portrayed in many

forms of media like mangas, anime and films. A typical member wears a
uniform like jumpsuit similar to the ones worn by manual laborers or a
tokko-fukku, a type of military issued overcoat with kanji slogans. Kanji
constitue one of the two systems used to write the Japanese language.
These are styled open, without a shirt underneath showing off bare bandaged
torsos matching it with baggy pants tucked in tall boots.

Decora style originated in 1990s and early 2000s and rose to popularity even
outside Japan. It is represented by singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, who is a
singer and a model and often referred to as Harajuku girl in certain medias.
Wearers stick to a color palette and usually a plain shirt and hoodie often
worn with short tutu-like skirts. Hair is styled plainly and adorned with a
lot of cute accessories.

Visual Kei is a style created in the mid-1980s by Japanese musicians

consisting of striking makeup, unusual hair styles and flamboyant costumes,
similar to Western glam rock and glam metal. Androgyny is one accurate
description of this style.

Oshare Kei is the opposite of visual kei with bright colors and a lot of
pop impressions.
Angura Kei, the term means “underground” coming from its origins of
underground theater. Angura Kei is a dark Japanese fashion that is often
associated with a subgenre of visual kei.

Cult Party Kei is named after a shop now knows as the Virgin Mary but was
originally Cult Party. The style was popular around early 2010s and is
based on western religious artifacts like crosses and bibles.
Cult Party Kei is considered by some to be a subset of Dolly Kei.

Dolly Kei is made up of vintage style clothing and sometimes has

religious symbols. Grimoire is a store in Japan that has been described as
“the pioneering store behind the dolly-kei fashion scene”

Fairy Kei is a 1980s child fashion inspired style that are made up of
pastel colors, toys, and cute elements from western store lines from 1980s
and 1990s.

Mori Kei, mori meaning forest, has a style of a nature-theme. Natural

fabrics, light dresses and cardigans and color schemes are very pleasant
to look at. The style is a bit similar to Dolly Kei aiming to have a doll
appearance but in an earthy manner.

Peeps is a 90s inspired sporty goth style that was popularized by the
online magazines PEEPS.

Kimono style is the original nature of western clothing in Japan.

It is still influenced by traditional clothing with people using it for
important and formal occasions. The younger generation can be seen mixing
kimono into their modern style of fashion