5 posts tagged “aoyama”

It's day two everyone!!! Yes, we were back to our old "stomping grounds" again. Harajyuku desu. It's always Ura-Hara and the quiet streets of Aoyama, the posh suburban district of the ever-bustling Tokyo.

• UT Uniqlo (t-shirt only Uniqlo store)
• Base Station (undergarments & fashion)
• KiddyLand (toys & gifts)
• Montauk (bar / lounge)
• Lavazza (coffee shop)
• Atmos (men's fashion & sneakers)
• Rendezvous (men's fashion)
• Supreme (men's skate fashion)
• Neighborhood (fashion)
• Stussy (fashion)
• Real Mad Hectic (men's fashion)
• A.P.C. Underground (fashion)
• Head Porter (men's & women's bags, luggage & accessories)
• Bounty Hunter (men's fashion)
• Secret Base (exclusive collectible toys)
• Bape Cafe!? (restaurant / cafe)
• Bape Store Harajyuku (men's fashion)
• Beams T (t-shirt only Beams store)
• Beams (fashion)
• Omotesando Hills (exclusive shopping center)
• Bapexclusive (men's fashion)
• Apee / Bapy (women's fashion)
• Original Fake (fashion & toys)
• Tab Device (men's denim fashion)
• Hysteric Glamour (fashion)
• Black Flag (men's denim, men's fashion & women's fashion)

Ah...I almost forgot one more thing!! We ALWAYS gotta make a trip to eat at the lovely BAPE Cafe!? (and yes, this restaurant's name has an exclamation mark and question mark in it...don't ask me why...it just does.) This cafe always showcases the Simpsons collaboration artwork drawn by the Original Fake artist KAWS (a.k.a. Brian Donnelley). This series of artwork is titled "the Kimpsons". Not only that...but the food is pretty good, and the prices are very affordable, even for kids on a tight budget. If you ever get a chance to go to Harajyuku and/or the Ura-hara side...you should definitely make a trip to BAPE Cafe!? . If not for the food, then for the incredible artwork....and pretty much everything's got a Bathing Ape print, logo or design on it...right down to the ice cubes.

Today's the day where we just felt like blah. No, not really...I just wanted to say that for the hell of it. But anyway, we headed back to Harajuku and Aoyama. Today's the day where we could go back and get the last minute stuff we wanted or to get the stuff we were thinking twice about getting the first time. There wasn't much going on today except some casual browsing and walking down Omotesando in the Harajuku part. During the other times we visited Harajuku, we mostly walked around Meiji-dori and Harajuku Street. Today, we really focused on Omotesando Hills and a lot of the back and side alleys because that's where most of the cool, underground urban stores are. Most of the shops we were looking for were all in the back alleys, in the most un-noticeable places  (not in some over-priced, stuffy shopping complex). And they don't have very big or ornate storefront signs either....sometimes no signage at all.

After visiting Harajuku...again...we walked all over Aoyama (wich isn't that big of a district...but it's not small either). We of course had to visit the BAPESCLUSIVE store again. And we met the same sales clerk that helped us out the last time. I couldn't believe he remembered us. I know it's only been 3 days and all, but there's so many customers coming in and out of that store, and there are a lot of tourists who visit that store too, so I was a little surprised when he was acting so familiar with Jian. One thing I regret though is that I didn't ask for his name. This sales clerk guy was so friendly and so nice to us, and he tried so hard to speak to us using the limited amount of English he knew. He helped Jian try things on; he helped us pick stuff out, and he would even give us advice on things that don't match. He was trying so hard and I really admire him and appreciate that he tried to make us feel welcome and feel comfortable. In contrast, when we visted the BAPE Store in Harajuku, the sales clerks weren't exactly friendly, but they weren't mean either. They were just really quiet and hard to talk to.

We went to Harajyuku (and Aoyama) with a mission. We had 2 maps (one Tokyo atlas map and one Superfuture brand shopping guide) and a compass. Yes, a compass. Surprisingly, that compass came in handy more than the maps. We would use the maps as a reference for all the street names, but then we'd ultimately use the compass to figure out when we had to head west or north or something like that. That's the best, most efficient way to get around town without having to constantly stop and ask for directions.

So, what about that mission? Oh right! I forgot to tell you about our mission. When we went to Harajyuku, we were in search of some major urban streetwear. So that means that we were looking for some custom-designed, urban, semi-specialty clothes................for Jian of course. You know...such brands as: Comme des Garçon, A Bathing Ape, Undefeated Tokyo, Neighborhood, Original Fake, etc. Check out HypeBeast or Cliff Edge for examples of custom-designed urban streetwear.

And now...........for some pictures!! 

* Please keep in mind that most stores DO NOT like you taking pictures in front of their stores. It's not a set rule/law that you can't, but it's best to ask the store first. I know for a fact that the A Bathing Ape brand stores do not allow any pictures to be taken inside or outside of the store. From what I know, they do not want people taking pictures of their goods or their store, in order to prevent bootlegging and illegal copying. Most of the stores we went to had surveilance cameras everywhere (i.e. the BAPE Store). The Bounty Hunter brand store has only one storefront window with only the store's sign hanging in the window. The surveilance camera is right under the store sign, pointed straight at you. So we took most of these pictures really early in the morning before any of the stores opened.

 These were some interesting things we saw along the way:

Out.

Today we went to the Harajyuku district and Aoyama district. Let's just say, "We came, we saw, and we concquered." We were in Harajyuku so early in the morning, the stores weren't even open yet. And I mean, we were there at least 2 hours before any store was open. It seems crazy, I know, but had a nice time walking around and getting to know our surrounding areas more intimately. We were sort of trying to map out places to go by following a shop map we had before the crowds started getting rediculous.

Since we knew where to go and where things were located, we had an easy time shopping, so we were done shopping in just a few short hours. We had originally planned to spend the entire day in just Harajyuku alone, but after shopping, we had plenty of time to travel elsewhere, so we walked all the way to the Aoyama district (which is about a 10 minute walk down Omotesando dori).

Oh my God, we were so burnt out by dinnertime! Our feet and legs were so sore and so strained, we had to hobble back to our hotel. It was the most painful experience of the entire trip. Let's see, it's been 4 hours since we got back, and our legs still feel like they're being hit repeatedly with a sledgehammer.

That's the story of our day. Stay tuned for pictures!!!!!!!

Out.