Tokyo - Harajuku: High Fashion and Sweets

Harajuku girls, I'm looking at you girls

You're so original girls

You got the look that makes you stand out

Harajuku Girls, I'm looking at you girls

You mix and match it girls

You dress so fly and just parade around (arigato)

If you've heard of Harajuku, it was probably in association with that great poet and sage of our times, Gwen Stefani. Apparently, the No Doubt front woman visited this area of Tokyo several years ago and fell in love. She then made it her mission to share that love with the world via her music (and a moderately-priced perfume line available at most CVS stores).

I admit, it's hard to walk the pedestrian-only streets of Harajuku without feeling inspired. I was initially something of a skeptic -- devoted as I am to Salvation Army couture and eight-dollar tennis shoes -- but after half an hour of strolling amidst the ultra-cute Lolita girls and innumerable crepe shops, something changed. I began to develop -- dare I say it? -- a passion for fashion.

Well, okay. Not really. I'm still shlubbing around in thrift-store threads, and I still plan on rocking these eight-dollar shoes until they spontaneously combust or scream for mercy. But for a few glorious hours, I was caught up in the magic of Harajuku. Allow me to bestow a small piece of that magic upon you, dear readers.

Alright, so this is a misleading way to start out.  Pictured above is Meiji Shrine, a famous site dedicated to the Emperor Meiji and located in a park in the Harajuku area.  It's quite grand -- the torii gate you see is nine meters across and was crafted from a special tree plucked from a mountain in Taiwan (because apparently all the trees on all the mountains in Japan just ain't good enough).

We came to Meiji Shrine to see a festival.  In keeping with our inglorious track record with festivals, however, we seemed to have come either too early or too late.  We did see several traditional Japanese wedding processions, however.  Yes, that's "processions" plural.  They had 'em lined up one after another like a matrimony-themed parade.  Apparently, the wedding schedule at Meiji Shrine is just a little tight.  (By the way, the traditional bridal outfit of Japan includes an enormous white head-covering to conceal the woman's horns, which grow as a result of her transformation from a blushing virgin into a jealous she-devil upon her wedding day.  Or so I've been told).

Ah, Lolita fashion.  To explain where this aesthetic came from would take too long and bore most of you to tears, but the basic idea is to dress like a Victorian-era doll.  Poofy skirts, gigantic bows, and demure stockings are all indispensable to the Lolita on the go.  These Lolis were kind enough to pose for us.  Love the hair...and the unicorn purses!

The entrance to Harajuku.  Don't let the McDonald's sign fool you -- this place is all quirkiness and class.

A Lolita store in the heart of Harajuku, where your humble blogger purchased a dress!  The place was bumpin', and they were blaring weird Euro-trash techno versions of Disney songs from the in-store stereo.  Nothing says "elegant Victorian fashion" like a dance remix of Hakuna Matata!

This store was geared toward either magicians or drag queens.  I pointed out a few get-ups that I thought would look particularly fetching on Ryan, but I guess he just wasn't feeling pretty that day.

A store that poses an age-old question: where, oh where, am I going to store all these ducks?  (A second, ancillary question: why is there an apostrophe in "ducks"?)

My Lolita dress.  A true Loli would cover up all that exposed skin with a heavily-ruffled blouse and some stockings, but I'm a wanton American woman who places her body on display at every available opportunity.  Also, I didn't want to spend more money to buy the blouse and the stockings.