VickiSoCal

Labor Day is the same day as (American) Thanksgiving this year. My 15 year old wants to see Japanese teenagers out and about in their natural habitat and possibly interact with them (she is in Japanese 3 this year). She tells me the area around Harajuku Station is where she must go and it must be on a day that school is out. Since we arrive late Monday and depart Saturday, this seems our best shot. Is the teen scene likely to be lively there on that Thursday? Also if two 40 something parents are not terribly interested in spending several hours there, is she ok wandering about? She has a list of stores, the park where kids hang out, and other areas she wants to explore. She seems to have put a lot of thought in to this as she was rattling off where the "best" Starbucks is and the "best" cat cafe and so on. And obviously her Japanese is better than ours.

Gradfly

I've been there on a Sun. so I can't speak for the area during a weekday. However since you plan on going during a non-school day, expect that area to very packed. Its like a sea of people, and very hard to walk through if you're going against the flow. From my observation, tourists seemed to greatly outnumber the locals and I've heard that the teen scene is moving away from Harajuku. As far as wandering about, I think the big issue will be getting through the crowds.

VickiSoCal

Sounds like a nightmare to me! Maybe we will just stop by and she will decide she doesn't need to hang out there.

frankmu

Meiji Jingu/Shrine is across the street from Harajuku and next to the station. If you haven’t been there before, it’s a very pleasant walk. A nice option if Harajuku is too crowded for you.

ksandness

I haven't been to Harajuku recently, but even when I was last there in 2013, the place was crowded to the extent that one could barely move. However, the teen scene was a lot less colorful than in the 1980s, when various costumed "tribes" gathered to dance and do stunts near the entrance to Meiji Shrine.

If your daughter is into anime or manga, she may enjoy Akihabara more.

mjm

Yes it will be packed just as she wishes. That and Shibuya will be her paradise. You will like;y have more fun elsewhere, rendezvousing with her later. If you both have phones that work here or WiFi for WhatsApp etc. you'll be able to stay in contact. Eminently safe and nothing to worry about there at all.

27 year resident of Tokyo and I have a teenage daughter (17 y.o.) so reach out if you need info etc.

VickiSoCal

Thank you! Yes, she is going to be so, so happy, she can't wait. We will probably just spring for data on her phone and let her wander.

ksandness I'm not sure what she's in to, I don't really understand any of it, but I know she wears braids, leather jackets with school girl type skirts, and makeup that looks weird to me and shops at Uniqlo and thinks people who play Pokemon Go don't really understand Pokemon like a true fan. I'm just mom, what do I know.

LapLap

I don't go to Harajuku much but went a few years ago during the end of March when school was out. The streets were packed solid.
Floaty chiffon and organza skirts were in fashion at the time, but what half the females were wearing was the discount high street version of the trend - looked like they had cheap nylon net curtains draped around them.
As the streets and apparel stores and sweet dessert shops were soooo packed, and I had a young child with me, it wasn't exactly a pleasant experience. What really made the experience sour were the touts and burly men hanging around, some rollerblading and skateboarding amidst the congestion, some overtly making advances to very young women/girls, and others just touting (like you'd see in Roppongi). Most seemed to be African men pretending to be North Americans.
I was back in Harajuku last October for my daughter's 7-5-3, and all was well, but this was a standard week day when the kids were at school.
Nevertheless, the school holiday version of this area did spook me and I'd be having a serious conversation with my daughter before ever letting her loose in Harajuku (or Akihabara) during a school holiday.

If you're daughter has a serious interest in Street Fashion, I'd seriously recommend hanging around Western Yoyogi (just by Shinjuku) close to the entrance of the Bunka Fashion College on a regular school day.
For my taste, these students, hands down, are the most style conscious and interestingly dressed people in Tokyo. Tout free too.

VickiSoCal

Great, we are staying in Shinjuku, so that will be easy to add in.

OliverB

Might be fun to see the leather clad rockabilly gangs with their overdone cartoon looking pomps hanging in Yoyogi Park on Sundays, if she's into that.

freecia

I stopped by Harajuku on a weekend a few years ago and noticed many of the young people in the "Sunday parade" were foreigners. The rockabillies were an older crowd.

A more recent search mentions that Harajuku parade people watching scene has gone https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel...s_there_a_new/
https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel...e_bridge_on_a/

Since she actually wants to interact with Japanese teenagers, well, the girls were mostly waiting in line for the sweets cafes and some fan/photo book thing I couldn't really understand.

Be sure to make a reservation for the cat cafe ahead of time. Some are too full for walk ins.

VickiSoCal

I don't think she's looking for full on cos-play people, just hip teenagers out doing normal socializing and shopping.

LapLap

freecia mentioned queues - and has a point. They're often some of the easiest ways to interact with people. The Disney Parks offer loads of opportunities to meet and chat, but there are places in Tokyo too, such as Tokyo Dome City near Korakuen station which has thrill rides (there's a lovely Japanese Garden nearby too if you parents want a different pace).
My daughter is young but SUPER sociable, we end up chatting to loads of confident teenagers and young adults on our trips as a result. She likes the Disney Parks as much for the time in the queues as the rides themselves. Last October in particular, when the visitors could dress themselves in Disney themes, she had an absolute blast. I tend to let her take the wheel and ride along in her wake. The DIY guest immersion experience at Hallowe'en Disney isn't something I would have sought out for myself, but that just shows what I know - rides took a back seat, it was all about the visitors; it was freakin' amazing!

---
Forgot to mention that the Bunka Fashion College has a clothing museum attached to it with changing events. She could also enquire to see if she could go inside the college to use the canteen facilities as a visitor. Some Universities allow access to their canteens, but not all do. Might be worth asking. Food tends to be economical in student canteens and it's a peek into a different lifestyle.

lobsterdog

I would strongly recommend going to a cat cafe on a non-holiday weekday; they're much less crowded and the cats are friendlier. The Takeshita-dori branch of Mocha might be the best bet, although the Bengal Cat's Forest (also on Takeshita-dori) is fun because it's all Bengal cats.

Checking their schedule, the current show is ending on Tuesday November 21, so you'd have to go on the Tuesday if you want to catch the show. The museum is usually closed for several weeks between shows.

ksandness

Go to a cat cafe as soon as possible after opening. I went to one in Shimokitazawa late in the afternoon, and the cats all seemed to be burned out on human contact. They seemed to be making a point of avoiding the customers--you know how cats do: they give you a look of utter contempt and saunter away.