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Harajuku & Aoyama

Harajuku is one of Tokyo's biggest draws thanks to its grand shrine, Meiji-jingū. It's also Tokyo's real-life catwalk, a world-renowned shopping destination where the ultra-chic (and chic in training) come to browse and be seen. Many boutiques here have been designed by influential architects – another draw. Neighboring Aoyama is a shopping and dining district for the city's fashionable elite.

Attractions

Must-see attractions for your itinerary

Meiji-jingū
Harajuku & Aoyama
Tokyo’s grandest Shintō shrine is dedicated to the Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken, whose reign (1868–1912) coincided with Japan's transformation from…
Yoyogi-kōen
Harajuku & Aoyama
If it’s a sunny and warm weekend afternoon, you can count on there being a crowd lazing around the large grassy expanse that is Yoyogi-kōen. You'll…
Omote-sandō
Harajuku & Aoyama
This broad, tree-lined boulevard is lined with boutiques from the top European fashion houses. More interesting are the buildings themselves, designed by…
Ukiyo-e Ōta Memorial Museum of Art
Harajuku & Aoyama
This small museum (where you swap your shoes for slippers) is the best place in Tokyo to see ukiyo-e. Each month it presents a seasonal, thematic…
Nezu Museum
Harajuku & Aoyama
Nezu Museum offers a striking blend of old and new: a renowned collection of Japanese, Chinese and Korean antiquities in a gallery space designed by…
Takeshita-dōri
Harajuku & Aoyama
This is Tokyo’s famous fashion bazaar. It's an odd mixed bag: newer shops selling trendy, youthful styles alongside stores still invested in the trappings…
Cat Street
Harajuku & Aoyama
Had enough of the Harajuku crowds? Exit, stage right, for Cat Street, a meandering car-free road with a mishmash of boutiques and a little more breathing…
Ichō-namiki
Harajuku & Aoyama
This boulevard inside Jingū-gaien (the public outer gardens of Meiji-jingū) is lined with gingko trees. For a couple of weeks around late November and…