During my mapping exercise, I spent my time in the Harajuku district. Known for it’s “kawaii” aesthetic, Harajuku has become a frontrunner in fashion trends across the world. For fashionable teens, hanging out in the Harajuku district is a must. The area is an important area for Japanese teen culture, serving as a stylish place to hang out after school and on the weekends. While the Harajuku district has a large scene for teenagers, many families, adults, and even older citizens come to experience the shops and cafes.
I first arrived at the Harajuku Station at around 2:20pm. As I first stepped out of the train, the station didn’t seem especially busy. However, as I traveled up the steps leading to the street, I was confronted with a large crowd of people. Hundreds of people were scurrying around the area known as Takeshita Street. This bustling street serves as a hub for many of the popular shops within Harajuku, as well as a major tourist attraction. When I first stepped onto the street, I noticed immediately that the shops were very colorful, with bright pastel pinks and blues. Most of the stores were clothing stores. The street seemed very westernized and tourist-centered; there was a mix of cheap souvenir shops, large commercial clothing stores, a McDonalds, and poplar gimmick foods such as burgers and crepes. This sort of pandering to a western audience seemed to be effective, as there were more European and American tourists in one area than I have ever seen in Tokyo.
The majority of people on Takeshita Street seemed to be teenagers, women, and small children. As I continued down the road, I decided to stop at an accessory store called “Paris Kids” at around 2:55pm. Although I only stayed at the shop for about 20 minutes, I was able to make several observations. The store was filled entirely with mothers, young adult women and young girls. Most of the children in the store appeared to be under the age of 10. There were no fathers present. The only man in the shop seemed to be the manager. I began to wonder if this was because their fathers were out at work, and that the mothers were left to shop with and take care of the children. Many of the children appeared to be especially interested a shelf of toys resembling food. The different toys were squishy, scented replicas of various types of desserts. The children all seemed to be wearing similar outfits of a shirt, jeans and tennis shoes. The mothers were dressed modestly, wearing sleeved shirts, long skirts or pants, and heels. Perhaps, I thought, this was a representation of what the transition from childhood to adulthood is like in Japan.
After leaving Paris Kids, I continued to walk down Takeshita Street. During this time, I realized that Harajuku had two main aesthetics: a “kawaii” aesthetics and a “punk” or “gothic” aesthetic. Based on the clothes I saw people wearing as they walked down the street, these aesthetics could frequently cross over and morph together into a sort of “creepy cute” style, or “pastel goth”. I was able to see many types of people embracing this fashion statement. While I was walking and entering various shops, I found that the stereotypical gender roles behind clothing choice were frequently challenged in the area. I saw many men wearing makeup, pastel colored clothing, tiny shorts, skirts, and fake nails. While women did sport very feminine, girly outfits, there were some women who chose more androgynous clothing like suits, loose dress shirts and slacks. I believe this was a sign that Harajuku is a nonjudgemental, accepting place within Japan. As I continued to walk, I also noticed several couples, some same-sex, holding hands together as they browsed the shops. As a pro-LGBTQ+ person, it was exciting to me that these couples felt accepted and safe in Harajuku, especially since Japan has not officially legalized gay marriage and has limited protections for LGBTQ people.
For my final stop in Harajuku, I decided to sit down and have a bite to eat in an anime cafe at 4:00pm. The cafe served various types of crepes and drinks, and had quite a bit of merchandise from both popular anime and current season anime. I ordered a strawberry crepe and sat down with my notebook to observe. A Japanese man kept glancing over at me periodically, which made me feel a little self-conscious. I wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary, which led me to believe he was looking at me either because of my facial piercing or because I was foreign. I tried to ignore this unwanted attention and focus on the mother and her children at the next table over. The mother seemed very overworked and tired; she seemed to be very irritated with her two young children. The father was not with them. Her children started to run back and forth in the space of the cafe, laughing loudly and yelling to one another. The mother seemed to accept that this was happening and used the opportunity to get some rest. I believe that this says something about the role of women in Tokyo as caregivers, mothers and children. Women seem to be managing many different household jobs at once, which can lead to exhaustion and stress. Perhaps Japan can work towards a more equal division of household labor and work in the future for all genders.