Cat Street, Harajuku
The image a lot of people get when thinking about Harajuku is a quirky artsy neighborhood with lots of quirky people in interesting and unique outfits. Maybe you think of Haruka Kurebayashi or RinRin Doll. What a lot of people don't know though is that this image is quite outdated.
These days, Harajuku is absolutely flooded with tourists. Most shops are fast fashion- the first shop you saw when leaving the station used to be an H&M! A really big one too. Takeshita dori is mostly small cheap shops, lots of knockoffs, and so many tourists you can barely move. I remember feeling a little disappointed when I first entered the street. So where did all the artsy resale shops go? They moved to Cat Street!
Cat Street is an alleyway behind Harajuku that I think fits the image of artsy resale shops way more. There's hardly any tourists, just locals. Loads of secondhand shops, ranging from leather shoes to jewellery to clothes with a certain vibe that fit that store's brand. The vibe that's present in most of them is vintagey quirky, with massive jewellery (earrings always pierced), a combination of lace and leather and lots of long skirts. It isn't quite the bright red-and-pink 2000-ish Harajuku style that is so famous, but at least to me it looks like that style grown up. Walking around there felt a lot more like Harajuku than Takeshita dori. Unfortunately Cat Street tends to be a lot more expensive than Takeshita, but in exchange you can get some truly unique pieces!
A bunch of shops on Cat Street. As far as I know they're all resale shops. My personal favourites were (me), which I shot a couple times, and Romantic Standard, the shop on the middle right.
The entrance to (me). I loved their coords!! Pretty punky.
Romantic Standard clothes. Their style is a lot more classy and romantic, but still funky.
Romantic Standard earrings. I don't think I was really able to catch the size of those earrings, they were MASSIVE. If I had pierced ears I would've snapped up those big bejewelled crosses in a heartbeat!
Fairy-esque clothes in Nadia, the pink storefront in my first picture. They had a very vintage vibe, varying from 40's to 70's.
Walking down the street, waaaay less people than Takeshita dori and way less tourists. The white stalls in the back were from a street fashion festival that was going on at the time. Yes, this "crowd" was Cat Street on a festival day.
Stock from various shops. All were on sale!
Charity stalls. The theme for 2019 was sustainability, so there were a lot of charities present.
Unfortunately crappy picture of a cool stall that made bags from recycled Vietnamese commercial banners. The name is just legible, Tuan Tuan.
Stylish bags from recycled airbags with a funny dark name.
Of course I snapped up a couple goodies as well!
Lace tunic from Romantic Standard, on sale!
Gorgeous lace corset belt from one of the stalls, unfortunately no idea which shop it was. I plan to take out the zipper and turn it into a waist piece on a dress as the sides are straight instead of curved, so it doesn't fit me quite right as is.
If you're into fairy kei, Cat Street might not be new to you at all as both Candy Stripper and Nile Perch have their flagship stores here!
All in all, Cat Street is a definite must-visit if you're in Harajuku. It's close to the station too, so there's no real reason not to go! The entrance to is very easy to find, simply follow Takeshita dori to the end, cross the road there and go into the alley that is directly on the other side. It might not look like anything is there but there is! Simply follow the scattered shops, you'll be on Cat Street before you know it! If you want to look up more info online, the name is the same in Japanese.
Did you know Cat Street existed? Is it up your alley (heh)? Let me know!
These days, Harajuku is absolutely flooded with tourists. Most shops are fast fashion- the first shop you saw when leaving the station used to be an H&M! A really big one too. Takeshita dori is mostly small cheap shops, lots of knockoffs, and so many tourists you can barely move. I remember feeling a little disappointed when I first entered the street. So where did all the artsy resale shops go? They moved to Cat Street!
Cat Street is an alleyway behind Harajuku that I think fits the image of artsy resale shops way more. There's hardly any tourists, just locals. Loads of secondhand shops, ranging from leather shoes to jewellery to clothes with a certain vibe that fit that store's brand. The vibe that's present in most of them is vintagey quirky, with massive jewellery (earrings always pierced), a combination of lace and leather and lots of long skirts. It isn't quite the bright red-and-pink 2000-ish Harajuku style that is so famous, but at least to me it looks like that style grown up. Walking around there felt a lot more like Harajuku than Takeshita dori. Unfortunately Cat Street tends to be a lot more expensive than Takeshita, but in exchange you can get some truly unique pieces!
A bunch of shops on Cat Street. As far as I know they're all resale shops. My personal favourites were (me), which I shot a couple times, and Romantic Standard, the shop on the middle right.
The entrance to (me). I loved their coords!! Pretty punky.
Fairy-esque clothes in Nadia, the pink storefront in my first picture. They had a very vintage vibe, varying from 40's to 70's.
Walking down the street, waaaay less people than Takeshita dori and way less tourists. The white stalls in the back were from a street fashion festival that was going on at the time. Yes, this "crowd" was Cat Street on a festival day.
Stock from various shops. All were on sale!
Charity stalls. The theme for 2019 was sustainability, so there were a lot of charities present.
Unfortunately crappy picture of a cool stall that made bags from recycled Vietnamese commercial banners. The name is just legible, Tuan Tuan.
Stylish bags from recycled airbags with a funny dark name.
Of course I snapped up a couple goodies as well!
Lace tunic from Romantic Standard, on sale!
Gorgeous lace corset belt from one of the stalls, unfortunately no idea which shop it was. I plan to take out the zipper and turn it into a waist piece on a dress as the sides are straight instead of curved, so it doesn't fit me quite right as is.
If you're into fairy kei, Cat Street might not be new to you at all as both Candy Stripper and Nile Perch have their flagship stores here!
All in all, Cat Street is a definite must-visit if you're in Harajuku. It's close to the station too, so there's no real reason not to go! The entrance to is very easy to find, simply follow Takeshita dori to the end, cross the road there and go into the alley that is directly on the other side. It might not look like anything is there but there is! Simply follow the scattered shops, you'll be on Cat Street before you know it! If you want to look up more info online, the name is the same in Japanese.
Did you know Cat Street existed? Is it up your alley (heh)? Let me know!
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