On the corner of a main crossing in Tokyo’s trendiest district, there used to be a building called the Harajuku Central Apartment. Built in 1958, it was often regarded as the place for young creatives to gather if they needed a spark of inspiration, especially during the 1960s and '70s.
The building housed offices for a number of now-famous creators, but it also had a cafe called Leon on its first floor — a rendezvous spot for creatives including Rei Kawakubo, a fashion designer who founded Comme des Garcons, Kansai Yamamoto, another influential fashion designer, film director Juzo Itami, and advertising copywriter Shigesato Itoi.
Many of them rose to fame by networking at the Central Apartment, which was torn down in 1996. As such, the building is often credited for having greatly contributed to establishing Harajuku’s reputation as a leading hub for creatives.
Although there is no doubt that Harajuku remains popular today — for both fashion and tourism — some say that the area has lost its luster as a hub for creators or a mecca for youth fashion.
Rapid advancements in technology and changing work and lifestyles mean things are no longer as they were in the past.
But local efforts are underway to get Harajuku's creative juices flowing again.
Last month, a new complex with a mission to become the modern version of the Harajuku Central Apartment opened its doors.
“We have been alarmed by how Harajuku was starting to lose its glamor and losing creative people,” said Hironori Ozawa, the executive manager of the project promotion department at Tokyu Land, which operates the newly opened Harakado complex.
“If individual creators think they don’t necessarily have to be here and go somewhere else, large firms would be in trouble because they would lose the opportunity to collaborate with them,” he said.
To fulfill its mission, Harakado — which made its debut on April 17 — has come up with a number of creator-friendly arrangements.
For instance, its third floor is dedicated to displaying and selling creative works, and it also has facilities for creators to promote their works, such as studios for the recording of podcasts and videos.
Baby the Coffee Brew Club, a members-only lounge dedicated to networking and hosting events, is also located on the same floor while a school for creators to study graphic design, video editing and music is scheduled to open later this month.
Harakado is also equipped with a communal bath, or sentō, on its underground floor — a rare feature for large-scale complexes in Tokyo. The operator believes that the sentō can function as a place for people to relax, talk and meet others.
Considering Harakado’s prime location, it would probably be able to profit more if the complex focused more on retail rather than fostering creators.
But if the developer were to do that, “Harajuku’s uniqueness would diminish and the area would be similar to other towns in Tokyo,” Ozawa said. Tokyu Land believes there is a solid business model in establishing a healthy ecosystem of creators, he added.
Hideaki Oki, the head of Ooaa, a Tokyo-based firm that collaborates with other companies to manage creative projects, concurs with Ozawa.
Oki’s firm is in charge of managing the members-only lounge on the third floor.
When brainstorming the concept for Harakado, Oki knew that if the facility was promoted as a commercial complex, a place of consumption, it would not be seen as a cultural hub, he said.
Oki, 41, who lived in Harajuku when he was in his 20s and now has an office there, also feels that the district’s status as a creative hub has weakened.
“I wouldn’t say Harajuku has been in a downtrend ... but I think the consumption aspect has probably grown excessively,” he said. For Oki, Harajuku's healthy balance of creation and consumption is what made the area special.
Back in the '90s, Harajuku was already famous for being a unique shopping district. But as the area's popularity went global, a greater variety of stores emerged over the years, including retailers peddling fast fashion, outdoor brands and K-pop merchandise.
“I believe just having shops for people to buy things won't really lead to new creation,” Oki said.
In the past, relatively low rents allowed young creators to set up base in the area. But as Harajuku's fame grew, so did the rent, which made the area less appealing to up-and-comers. And today, people may be less particular about where they work due to the prevalence of remote work.
Nevertheless, Oki hopes to turn the Harakado lounge into a place where up-and-comers can interact and exchange ideas.
While respecting Harajuku’s creator culture in the past, simply imitating the past isn't enough, however. Borrowing two-way baseball star Shohei Ohtani's words, Oki said, “let’s stop idolizing.”
“We are of course very grateful to those legendary creators (who made Harajuku such a cultural hub), since we are still benefiting from their legacy,” he said.
“Yet we really need to be in a phase where we can create (a movement) from here” that will be stronger than in the past, he added.
Nearby, Laforet Harajuku — a fashion-oriented shopping complex with a 45-year history — is taking on the same challenge.
“I think Harajuku used to be a gateway for success for creators," said Nobuo Arakawa, an executive officer at Mori Building, which is in charge of managing Laforet Harajuku.
"They would challenge themselves here, take steps to grow and expand their brand nationwide.”
Success stories include fashion creators such as Hiroshi Fujiwara, the don of Tokyo streetwear circles, Takeo Kikuchi, who co-founded the Bigi brand, and Hitomi Okawa, who started the Milk brand.
“But as times have changed, there are more people who don’t even need to have physical shops, because they can do business online,” Arakawa said.
Still, Laforet Harajuku is encouraging creatives to put their faith in Harajuku.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Laforet Harajuku opened Ai to Kyouki no Market (Market of Love and Insanity) on one of its floors with the aim of providing creators who hadn't been able to display or sell their works and meet new people with an opportunity to do just that.
The 222-square-meter shopping area, which takes up about half of the floor, showcases dozens of creators’ works, ranging from clothing and accessories to crafts and artworks. The cheapest and smallest exhibition space costs ¥20,000 a month.
“There is also a monthly gathering for exhibitors where they can meet with other creative individuals and view each other’s works," Arakawa said. "Through such interactions, they can maybe seek collaboration.”
Laforet Harajuku is no newcomer when it comes to giving up-and-coming designers a chance to sell their wares. In the '80s for example, it supported a group of young fashion designers who were known as “mansion makers” because they were making clothes in rooms in apartment buildings (manshon in Japanese).
“We’d like to give creators a chance to improve together through fashion culture. And I feel that this is the Harajuku way,” Arakawa said.
Some creators participating in the Ai to Kyoki no Market said they were thrilled and honored to be given an opportunity to display their works in Harajuku.
“When I was in college, my en vogue seniors often shopped in Harajuku, and we thought Laforet was a really cool place to go to,” said Tomoko Higuchi during an event to celebrate the two-year anniversary of the market on Sunday.
Higuchi has been displaying her embroidered patches at the market since July last year, and she's been able to promote her own brand while making connections with other creators.
“We buy one another’s products and mention them on Instagram. As we get closer, we talk about possible collaborations,” she said.
For Masanosuke Sugiyama, a creator in his 40s who sells lenticular stickers, being able to collaborate with others at the market has been a precious experience.
When he started, he was only displaying a few stickers at the smallest exhibition space. But as he encountered other creators who were willing to provide designs for the stickers, his lineup grew to more than a hundred.
“This is of course a really great place to sell, but at the same time, it's also a place for encounters,” Sugiyama said.
“Up until I joined, I’d never really come to Harajuku before, but I feel like I’ve become a little younger because there have been more opportunities to work with creatives in their 20s.”
Laforet Harajuku, having marked its 45th anniversary last year, has been a mainstay in Harajuku and a witness to its evolution over the years.
Asked about how the district has changed and whether it has really lost some of its shine, Masashi Ando, general manager of the Laforet Harajuku management office at the Mori Building, said it may seem that way because of greater diversity and changes in how trends are set in recent years.
“I think Harajuku was simpler in the '90s," Ando said. "There were pretty big trends, such as sneakers and street-style fashion.”
Harajuku's casual street fashion was more popular than ever during that time, and so were stores in areas known as Ura-Harajuku (backstreet Harajuku), especially among young men.
In those days, fashion magazines played a key role in setting trends. There were a number of magazines and shops that focused on street fashion in Harajuku, which helped popularize the area and make that fashion style more visible.
Yet with the proliferation of the internet and social media, people’s taste in fashion, food and goods has diversified, making it harder for one definitive trend to emerge in Harajuku, Ando said.
“Looking at the current Harajuku area, I think 'diverse' is the best word to describe it in a simple way,” he said, adding that the district still has a lot of potential as a place that sets fashion trends.
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