Harajuku

:For other uses of Harajuku, see the disambiguation page

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Harajuku (原宿) is the common name for the area around Harajuku Station on the Yamanote Line in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo, Japan.

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It is primarily known as a hangout for teens and contains the department store Laforet, which has many trend-leading brands for young people.

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Harajuku became famous in the 1990s due to the large numbers of street performers and wildly dressed teens who gathered there on Sundays when Omotesando was closed to traffic. This was stopped at the end of the 90s and the number of performers, visual kei fans, rockabilly dancers and punks has steadily decreased since.

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Near the train station there is the Meiji Shrine which is famous for the large number of people who come to visit every year as well as Yoyogi Park. Also nearby are Takeshita Street, a street lined with fashion boutiques and various goods mostly for young teenagers, and Omotesando, a very long street with cafes and upscale fashion boutiques popular with residents and tourists alike. Recently, the area known as "Ura-Hara" (backstreet Harajuku) has become well-known for independent casual fashion designs, footwear and so on. Local landmarks include the headquarters of NHK. The streets are heavily crowded on the weekend when teens gather to shop and hang out with their friends.

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Harajuku is a popular iconic location in the entertainment world, both inside and outside of Japan. The 'Winter Sports Special' episode of the series MXC contained a scene filmed at the station where 'Captain Tenneal' gives one of his pep-talks to the contestants. As of 2005, Harajuku is a major theme in the show of American singer Gwen Stefani, who incorporates four female dancers dressed like Harajuku girls into her background act. She also has dedicated a song ("Harajuku Girls") to them and also mentions them in her songs "What You Waiting For?" and "Rich Girl" (all from the 2004 album Love. Angel. Music. Baby.).

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Harajuku Station: Harajuku Station (Japanese: 原宿駅 -eki) is a station on the JR Yamanote Line located in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, adjacent to Yoyogi Park. The station was opened on October 30, 1906....

Yamanote Line: The Yamanote Line (山手線; Yamanote-sen) is one of Tokyo's busiest and most important commuter lines. Running as a circle, it connects most of Tokyo's major stations and urban centres including the Ginza area, Shibuya, Shinjuku and Ikebukuro....

Japan: For other uses, see Japan (disambiguation)....