Takeshita Street, Tokyo

Takeshita Street, situated in the vibrant Harajuku district of Shibuya, is a bustling 350-meter thoroughfare renowned for its eclectic mix of stores. The street slopes gently from Harajuku Station to Meiji Dori and is a pedestrian-only zone from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

Takeshita Street is celebrated for its unique fashion culture and is frequently visited by students on school trips and international tourists, seeing a particular surge in visitors during weekends, holidays, and school vacations.

The street is characterized by small, trendy boutiques targeting a youthful demographic. Some stores have maintained their presence for decades, blending tradition with the latest fashion trends. Alongside major chains like The Body Shop, McDonald's, and 7-Eleven, the majority of local businesses are small independent shops that carry an array of styles. These shops are often a bellwether for broader fads, and some are known as "antenna shops," which manufacturers seed with prototypes for test-marketing.

The street's transformation into a shopping hub began in 1976, while the late 1990s saw the rise of subcultures like hip-hop, Gothic, and Lolita, which gained popularity among the youth. But above all that, it gained global recognition as the epicenter of "kawaii" culture in the 1990s.

In the mid-2000s, Takeshita Street attracted Chinese tourists in their numbers, drawn to Japanese souvenirs available at 100-yen shops like Daiso Takeshita Street and local drug stores.

Despite its dynamic history and diverse offerings, efforts have been made to maintain the area's cultural integrity, including regulations against adult entertainment establishments.