Aoyama, Omotesando
[Open 11am-9pm (Sun -8pm) daily.]
Found Muji is a concept brand from the design-savvy retailer, reprenting a collection of simple but elegant products and designs discovered by Muji trend-hunters in various parts of the world. Muji then teams up with the craftsmen or small...
[Open 10am-4pm (weekends only).]
Farm-fresh fruits and vegetables are on sale at the popular farmers market that pops up every weekend in front of UN University (across the street from Aoyama Gakuin). Besides the dozens of stalls there are also a few food trucks selling...
With its striking silhouette, this shopping and office complex stands out against the Aoyama skyline. The building was completed in 2009, designed by the architectural firm of Sakakura Associates.
[Open 11:30am-2am daily.]
Although it's only located on the fifth-floor level, the big outdoor terrace at Two Rooms offers a lovely unobstructed view north looking out over Harajuku, with the skyscrapers of Shinjuku in the distance. Choose from well-made cocktails or any of...
Pritzker Prize-winning architect Fumihiko Maki designed this Aoyama landmark, which was completed in 1985. There is an excellent design shop on the second floor.
[Open 5:30pm-1am daily.]
The venue of choice for top jazz and R&B acts from overseas.
[Open 11am-9pm daily.]
Unlike most prefectural antenna shops, this spacious, attractively appointed store specializes in local handicrafts more than food and drink, and it's well worth visiting just for its pottery selection. You'll also find beautiful glassware, paper...
[Open 10am-5pm (enter until 4:30pm). Closed Mondays.]
Pre-modern art from Japan, China, and other Asian countries is the focus of the collection here, with some 7000 items including painting and sculpture, calligraphy, ceramics and lacquerware. The stunning building was designed by architect Kengo...
[Open 11am-8pm daily.]
The striking lozenge-shaped glass panels that make up the facade of the Prada building are varyingly concave, convex and flat in curvature, resulting in ever-changing visual impressions as you move around the interior or exterior. The building...
[Open 10am-6pm (enter until 5:30pm). Closed Tuesdays.]
The artist and sculptor Taro Okamoto is known for his iconic, cartoonish and somewhat surrealist large-scale public sculptures. The museum occupies the space that he used as a studio and residence for fifty years, until his death in 1996. Upstairs...
Aoyama 1-chome
[Open 11am-7pm daily.]
The Traditional Craft Center in Aoyama offers handy one-stop shopping for a range of Japanese crafts. It's all here and it's all for sale - from pottery, lacquerware and carving knives for your everyday needs to more esoteric washi (paper...
Harajuku
[Open 10am-8pm daily.]
The goal of this second branch of the popular Meguro mini-pig cafe is to create a "Three Little Pigs" picture-book experience, so be prepared. Like their original branch, the shop is set up as a place to play with friendly piglets while you drink...
This very stylish seven-story shopping and restaurant complex features mostly small boutiques and luxury brands. The structure was designed by architect Tadao Ando and completed in 2006.
The curving, organic-looking shapes of the glass and concrete facade of Tod's are inspired by the zelkova trees that line the Omotesando boulevard. The building was designed by architect Toyo Ito and was completed in 2004.
Echoing the spiral forms of Fumihiko Maki's Spiral Building and Tadao Ando's Omotesando Hills nearby, the design of this shopping complex is based on the concept of five boxes stacked on top of each other and rotated around a central core, forming a...
[Open 11am-8pm daily.]
This small two-room gallery located next to the MOMA Store specializes in contemporary Japanese art, and it's generally worth checking out if you happen to be passing by.
[Open 11am-8pm daily.]
More than 1800 very tasteful items are stocked at this museum shop from the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Everything from stylish lamps to clever wristwatches to stationery and kitchenware. The selection also includes a number of items...
[Open 11:30am-7pm daily.]
A well-stocked shop devoted to the beloved Belgian comic-book hero and his dog, Snowy.
[Open 8am-11:30pm daily.]
Yes, Tokyu Plaza is yet another multi-story shopping center in a city full of them, but this one is worth knowing about for the lovely sixth-floor rooftop terrace area that looks out over Harajuku. The spacious terrace area, the sixth-floor coffee...
[Open 11am-8pm daily.]
One of Harajuku's most famous shopping destinations, this six-story building is crammed with tiny boutiques representing various current fashion trends. The top-floor museum hosts regular exhibitions of contemporary art.
[Open 10:30am-5:30pm. Closed Mondays.]
Specializing in ukiyoe (woodblock prints), this three-story museum puts together thematic exhibitions every month showcasing portions of their collection of 12,000 woodblock prints. Around half the prints on display any given month have...
[Open noon-8pm (Sun -5pm). Closed Mondays.]
This compact Harajuku gallery is devoted to showcasing the work of Japanese illustrators, and there are generally fresh new shows every week. Much of the work is quite affordably priced, and there are usually postcards and other goods for sale as...
[Open summer 5am-8pm; winter 5am-5pm daily.]
This sprawling park next to Harajuku station (and adjacent to Meiji Jingu shrine) draws a big, diverse crowd on Sundays, but is much quieter during the week.
[Open sunrise to sunset daily.]
One of Tokyo's major tourist destinations, Meiji Shrine is especially popular at New Year's, drawing more than three million visitors during the first three days of January. (The main New Year's Day ritual is held at 7am on January 1.) Other...
Designed by architect Kenzo Tange, this elegant structure, with its dramatically sweeping profile, has become an iconic work of modern architecture. It was completed in 1964, built specifically for the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.
[Open 10am-8pm (last entry 7:30pm) daily.]
With its prime location overlooking JR Harajuku station, this newest branch of the Mocha cafe chain packs in the crowds, including a good number of overseas tourists. The playroom is fairly compact, but there's plenty of comfortable seating and a...
[Open 11am-8pm daily.]
Sprouting out of the backstreets of Harajuku like some bargain-basement Pompidou Centre is the Design Festa Gallery. If not Tokyo's most avant-garde art space, the gallery - an offshoot of Design Festa (Japan's biggest art and design event, held...
[Open 11am-8pm. Closed Tuesdays.]
You can get a milk snake to go with your iced coffee and cake at Tokyo Snake Center, a new animal cafe in the young fashion district of Harajuku, Tokyo, that opened in August 2015. As you enter, you'll find a dozen colorful snakes in clear...