HARAJUKU SHOPPING GUIDE: TOKYO GOTHIC LOLITA PUNK SHOP PHOTOS, VIVIENNE WESTWOOD, JAPANESE COOLEST CLOTHING STORES.
Photo diary of a stroll through Harajuku, Tokyo’s best shopping destination for alternative, punk and Goth fashion. At the Takeshita Doori entrance, a rainbow-decora girl was selling socks and accessories.
Nearby, the Maxicimam store holds cute and elegant Lolita dresses.
Keep walking and veer towards the right. There are Visual Kei memorabilia stores, as well as inexpensive punky-electro merchandise.
Further down on Takeshita Doori, there are two stands that sell crepes. Sadly, the pumpkin ones are only available around Halloween. But the takoyaki stand (on the parallel street to the right of Takeshita Doori) is terrific year-round.
Near Takuya Angel’s shop, a truck serves “yum yum yummy” food.
Next door is the Vivienne Westwood Closet Child. Everything here is secondhand.
Including the rocking horse shoes — the original ones!
Vivienne Westwood’s iconic hats and punk plaid.
Heart and cherry shoes.
Unfortunately, Westwood is expensive in Japan, even when bought used.
However, the cute character goods stores in Harajuku are easy on the wallets. A great place to pick up souvenirs.
The alternative shoes are also incredibly well-priced. 5000-6000 yen for studded boots.
You can’t go wrong with the bright casualwear from stores such as AC/DC, with items mostly under 3000 yen.
Want more photos and peeks inside these stores? Mosey over to my complete Gothic Lolita shopping guide.
Have you gone shopping in Harajuku? What were your favorite stores? Did you find affordable purchases?
Japanese Word of the Day: Joshikai = Gathering for women only
Song of the Day: Suspiria – The Frozen Ones
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LA CARMINA
57 Comments
Amazing this :)
AHHH I see cute things! And pumpkin! I want to go!☆
Pumpkin!! haha I miss all the pumpkin flavored food that was available around Halloween..
♥ ♥ ♥
ohh… are you going to sex pot? that’s a good place too. darn wish I was in harajuku too
Cool ;)
What available shoe size is the largest for girls in Japan?
Hmm, it’s hard to find something above a 9… Bodyline tends to have the largest sizes. My male friends have the best luck there.
Good to know.
My size is 8.5 to 9 so I barely fit ;)
You’ll be ok! ;)
Wahhh!! So wish i was there!
>___>
I bought a pair of boots at harajuko but I don’t remember the price …. it was 6 years ago xDD
I always find the best shoe designs and deals here
Nice party. Great!!
I’m jealous. There are no stores like that in France :-(
really enjoyed Harajuku´s post! I just love the colorful clothes and kawaii accessories. God I wish I can go to Tokyo someday
Love it!
oh my chthulu, that is the cutest and most awesome food truck ever. It beats the taco trucks around here. Although what exactly is yum yum yummy food?
Good question!! It looks like it’s pink and rainbow food… O_O
aah , i bougth platform shoes in this shop !! =3
Love the shoes in Japan. They always fit me, too!
yes i already think about shoes i’ll bought when i’ll be @ Tokyo XD
in france shoes are too hum….classicals ><
yes i already think about shoes i’ll bought when i’ll be @ Tokyo XD
in france shoes are too hum….classicals ><
OMG (@w@) i need socks like those!! everything is beautiful (*w*)♥ i loved it! Gothic style is the best!
yes, Harajuku never fails to inspire me! Lots of VK fashion and merchandise around.
I need to go there!! >_< IMMEDIATELY
Drop everything and go! right now!!
I stumbled upon an ACDC shop and bought a nice skirt with suspenders attached. The sad thing was when I tried it on in the store (and I had to take my shoes off when I stepped into the dressing room) one of the buttons fell off to my horror. When I went to purchase the sales clerk gave me a new skirt as I apologized for breaking the button!
Awww!! At least the clerks are always gracious and polite ~__^
ACDC has cute clothes, and I’ve bought from them a few times. However, it’s true that the quality is not as good as it can be… One of my puff skirts got ruined in the wash >_<
kawaiiiiiiiiiiiiii~ >///<
C-U-T-E!!!
That’s cute!
That’s cute!
I loveloveloved shopping in Harajuku. I was there every weekend for a year. My favourite stores were AC/DC, Closet Child, ThankYou Mart, aaaaand another one of the 2nd hand stores, I don’t remember what it was called….
Some of my favourite purchases were my Westwood scarves. I love them to death.
Every weekend for a year!! I’d go broke ahah.
Secondhand store… do you mean Kinji on Meiji-doori? It’s large, with the orange sign. Lots of good stuff there. xoxo
♥ >u< ♥
I died around Vivienne (which is expensive also in Europe, anyway). I was wondering, how about clothes sizes in Japan? I have this feeling that an US 8 would be considered very very fat XD
Vivienne Westwood sizes are standard, but most Japanese brands only go up to a US 8 or 10 (depending on the brand). Places such as Uniqlo go higher. A size 8 won’t have any trouble shopping in Japan, no worry!
Jeese…it feels like ages since I’ve been on this blog. Everything’s been so busy busy busy this semester. And because of that…I dropped a class. I just couldn’t handle it. If everything becomes about work or classes and you have no time for you, YOU GOTTA FIX IT. And I just did…and I feel a lot better I have to say. ^_^
And I’ve tried Karaoke for the first time. Yes the first time, well a “Japanese Karaoke Bar” here in CA. And I have to say THAT IT WAS BEYOND FUN. There were so many Japanese songs…it helps improve your reading skill! I mean…AMAZING, it has every new song that came out. It had the GazettE’s PLEDGE which got me pretty excited haha.
AND ZOMG OMG OMG OMG VIVIENNE WESTWOOD!!!! Did they have their signature LIGHTER?! I bet not. T_T I want it really bad…it costs $3000-$5000 for it…but it looks so nice and would be an extraordinary piece of jewelry for me. Don’t worry I don’t smoke…but I really like the look of it.
And you can never go wrong with cute pieces from Harajuku. NEVER! KEEP BRINGING ON THE CLASH OF DARK VS BRIGHT COLORS. It looks ever so wonderful.
Hope you’re having good fun!
Oh how exciting!! You’re lucky when there is a good song selection like that. Not all karaoke places have Jrock songs, especially in the US…
Glad you took action and dropped the class; must be a relief :)
I used to just buy mens’ boots and Sneakers, men’s shoes are way more fun and girly in japan than they are the west. Come to think of it I brought a whole lot of men’s stuff while living in Japan, why should boys get all of the visual kei fun???
So true!! The Men’s Closet Child in Shinjuku (near the West exit) is fantastic.
I have photos of the C Child Visual Kei music store too — love that place! Have you been to the Ikebukuro one? LOTS of great stuff there.
I’ve decided you are one of the coolest (and cutest) girls on the planet, and smart to boot! ^_^ Keep up all the great blog posts, pics, vids, etc – I love them all!!
<3 <3 You're so sweet!! Thank you – your words mean a lot to me.
I love your perspective and of course, all the fashion! And it always looks like you’re having fun, but I know a lot of planning and hard work must go into everything too! Thanks for all the effort and passion you put into what you do!
Harajuku <3 my favorite place for shopping~~ :D XD
I bought a Vivienne Westwood tiny orb necklace at that VW store and it's my favorite necklace ^-^ it was pretty pricey though.. 17000 yen I think.. but totally worth it .<
and the result = I had to buy an extra suitcase -.-' XDD
Oh lovely!! Hahah just posted Laforet photos today, and will be posting more in the next week or so… :)
Nice clothes!
Awesome pics. I like the way you present it all!
I have dreams of going there one day,and when I do…I’m sure I will be broke when I leave
I have dreams of going there one day,and when I do…I’m sure I will be broke when I leave
La Carmina, I already saw your guide, that’s what lead me here! ^_^ I would love to see more stuff like oddities, freakshows, creepy stuff, cool shops that have odd stuff, (not so interested in clothes) and weird/cool museums, there are always the obvious stuff to find online, but people who live in the area always know about the hidden bits! I know about Coney Island and will be visiting that at some point too, thanks! xxx
In Harajuku I have spent the most money/week in my life …
hahaa
OH MY GOD! VIVIENNE WESTWOOD <3
I always get VW knock-offs because I don't want to pay for the real stuff~~
I LOVE your hair, by the way. I was thinking of getting mine tinted a dark and rustic maroon/purple colour.
Regarding earlier comments, Do stores in Japan sell really small sizes? I would believe they should, but I don't know for sure. I'm a 0 in just about everything. . .
I just visited Harajuku about a week ago and fell in love with every store I went into, it was however very expensive especially due to the depreciated dollar. I was able to make a few purchases though and regret not having more funds when I went.
Awesome! I actually just updated this guide yesterday!