My absolute favorite part of Tokyo; Harajuku.

Harajuku is the fashion district of Tokyo just outside of Shibuya. Shibuya has a fair amount of shops as well but if you want to do some real shopping, Harajuku is the place to go.

I haven’t been shopping all around the world but, Harajuku is simply the best shopping I’ve ever experienced. My shopping radius is actually very small, I haven’t even been to NYC yet. However, I do have the luxury of being able to shop in LA or Vegas whenever I want since both are nearby. I love to shop and I do plan on being able to say that I’ve shopped around the world one day. I’m really curious to see if there will ever be a place able to top Harajuku.

Let me tell you why Harajuku is so great:

GREAT PRICES. Right away, everyone assumes that Tokyo is expensive which isn’t totally true. I feel that in general that it is rather comparable to most major cities, nothing you can’t handle. Being that I’m a college student with a part time job, I didn’t go to Tokyo with an insane amount of money to spend so I had to be wise and make sure that I was being very selective. To tell you the truth, I was slightly bummed because I felt that I wasn’t going to be able to do as much shopping as I wanted to. However, I was in for a great surprise. Everywhere you go in Tokyo, everyone is dressed so nice. They believe in a nice physical appearance and high quality items. With that being said, every thrift store you go into is going to be loaded with designer items. I am a lover of designer fashion and high end streetwear so I was pretty much in heaven, you can find it literally anywhere within Harajuku. I pretty much got brand new clothes at “used clothes” prices, everything I got was comparable to $100 or less. I understand that “thrifting” or “used” clothes isn’t ok with everyone but if you don’t have a problem with it then have a blast (-: If you do prefer new clothes that weren’t preowned, there is still a bargain shopping opportunity for you. There are a lot of stores that are comparable to Forever 21 styling & prices, most of the time it’s even cheaper. These types of store have there own alley with other t-shirt shops in between. I would recommend buying accessories at the cheaper stores if anything.

SHOPPING OF ALL VARIATIONS. One thing about shopping in Los Angeles is that it’s very spread out. There are multiple districts that you have to go to in order to find the items your looking for. In my opinion I believe that Harajuku has all kinds of shopping within just one area. In Los Angeles you have The Alleys, Fairfax, Melrose, Rodeo Dr., & of course standard American malls that you can go shopping at. Harajuku offers everything that LA shopping offers — in one area. You have the cheap stores like the LA Santee Alley. Flagship streetwear shops like Fairfax. Vintage and select wear like Melrose. Then high end fashion like Rodeo drive. They have mainstream commercial stores as well but in a sense you can find more of that in Shibuya than Harajuku. Regardless, there is something for everyone here.

THE ATMOSPHERE. The atmosphere in Tokyo alone is one of a kind but Harajuku really has a vibe of it’s own. It’s happy, it’s fun, it’s animated, it’s so many things! Even though it’s busy, there is still this calm warmth that surrounds you. It’s also a great place to people watch but I don’t mean that in rude way. Everyone comes to Harajuku with their best outfit; dressed to impress. It’s so cool to see all the different types of styles and personalities here. It’s a great place to find new inspiration.

꒰⁎ ✪̼ ◡ ✪̼` ⁎꒱   HARAJUKU FOREVER   ꒰⁎ ✪̼ ◡ ✪̼` ⁎꒱

FEATURED IMAGE INCLUDES: Top from DI$COUNT UNIVERSE, Shorts from Zara, & Sneakers from Superga.