5 places to visit: A Lolita’s Guide to Tokyo, Japan

Are you going to Japan on vacation? Moving there? Or still dreaming of your trip there?

This short guide will show you where to go and things to do as a Lolita in Tokyo, Japan! I’m sure that there are plenty of other places to go and things to do so please let me know if you know of any more ideas.

(原宿駅) Harajuku station.

#1 (竹下通り) Takeshita street

Maybe one of the most common areas to go as a tourist, however it’s one of the places you cannot miss. This iconic street and area of Harajuku is predominantly known for it’s J-fashion culture and the birth of Lolita fashion. Although there are now less street fashion wearers in this area, there are some remains of Harajuku fashion stores such as Closet Child, Paris Kids, ACDC Rag and more. Don’t forget to take a bite at the Santa Monica crepes store and the (カルビープラス) Calbee plus store! On the last Sunday of the month, Harajuku fashion walk comes through this area, so you can decide to join or ask to take photos!

#2 Laforet department store

Laforet department store: 1 Chome-11-6 Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0001, Japan

The Laforet department store and museum is located in Harajuku, in the Shibuya area, not too far away from Takeshita Street. The store is known for catering for youth and Harajuku street fashion. You can literally shop here all day as the store closes at 9pm! (11:00am～9:00pm). When you are visiting, please note that you can’t eat or drink within the department store, unless you are in one of their coffee stores. Also, there is no photos to be taken of any of the stores or products without permission. Some of the stores you can find here are: Angelic Pretty, ALICE and the PIRATES, BABY, THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT, Abilletage, metamorphose temps de fille, ATELIER-PIERROT and so on!

#3 Themed cafes

At Home Maid Cafe in Akihabara. Mitsuwa Bld. 4F – 7F Sotokanda 1-11-4, Chiyoda, Tokyo 101-0021, Japan

Cliché I know… But why not? Come and visit the maid cafes in Akihabara, Kawaii Monster Cafe in Harajuku or the pop-up Sailor Moon and other character cafes. At maid cafes the girls there will greet you at the door saying (お帰りなさいませ、ご主人様(お嬢様)！”Welcome home, Master”! A great maid cafe to visit would be the @(At) Home Cafe in Akihabara. In many of these themed restaurants in tourist areas, the staff can speak a little bit of English. If you are feeling confident, you can even practice your Japanese when ordering food or magical drinks. There are several themed cafes and restaurants such as: 猫カフェ 池袋《Cat Cafe ねころび》デートスポット, Vampire Cafe, Robot Restaurant, Cafe de Miki with Hello Kitty, Pompompurin cafe and more. The @Home-Cafe’s business hours are: Weekdays 11:30～22:00 Saturday 10:30～22:00 Sunday and Holiday 10:30～22:00 Last Order FOOD 20:50 / DRINKS 21:20 Regular Holidays No Scheduled Holidays.

#4 (代々木公園) Yoyogi Park and other traditional parks

Yoyogi Park in Tokyo. 2-1 Yoyogikamizonocho, Shibuya, Tokyo 151-0052, Japan

(代々木公園)  Yoyogi Park in Tokyo is a beautiful park with cherry trees that you can sit and have a picnic under during Hanami season in Spring. This park is more known for its Gingko tree forest that turns a stunning golden colour in Autumn. You can take a stroll with your parasol through the park and take a few pictures of your latest coordinate in this quaint city park. If you are looking for quieter and more residential parks, step out of the busy Tokyo streets and visit places such as the (根津神社) Nezu Shrine. There are many hidden areas that you can find when venturing out of the tourist hotspots!

#5 Theme parks

Sanrio Puroland. 〒206-8588 Tokyo, Tama, Ochiai, １丁目３１

If you love Sanrio characters, Sanrio Puroland is the place to go! Meet Hello Kitty or My Melody or watch the mini shows that take place throughout the day! This is also the perfect photo opportunity and a great place to visit for the day with friends and family. A weekday passport is ¥3,300 for adults and ¥2,500 for children aged 3-17. The park has different business hours, so please check out their website for more information at https://en.puroland.jp/. Another fun theme park to go to is Tokyo Disney Sea, which is unique to Japan! You can find out more information here: https://www.tokyodisneyresort.jp/en/tds/ . Other great places to visit is the Ghibli Museum in Inokashira Park in Tokyo, for a more mature adventure.

I would also suggest going to the (プリクラ) Purikura machines to take fun photos with family or friends! These are popular machines to take photos and upload them to social media sites such as Instagram and Twitter. (ガチャポン) Gachapon machines are also great to use if you are looking for some little goodies, for an example a Gudetama keyring that you can take home with you! Tokyo is a very large area and you will never get bored exploring it, you could go back 5 times and you still wouldn’t have seen or done everything!

Do you have any suggestions? Let me know! I might make a second guide to Japan next time.

Don’t forget to follow my social media as I will soon be posting about my trip to Japan!

meltycakes

Hello, I am a Sweet Lolita from the UK. I love to stalk the internet and find the best deal on one of my dream dresses! Aside from that my other hobbies are baking, sewing and figure skating (Go Yuzuru Hanyu!). I quite often participate in the Hyper Japan fashion shows in London, feel free to say hello if you recognise my name!

Thank you for reading my posts.