Ground zero for the youth fashion industry here in Japan

and help me out with this report is

Michelle Branch

A fashion consultant and buyer

Hi,I'm Michelle

I've lived in Tokyo for several years and study fashion

So this is Takeshita street. Why is it such a magnet

for youth fashion?

It's cheap

It's eccentric

Everybody here's creative

How can you not come here?

Well this area is undergoing an amazing change as you can hear

there's drills, there's a jackhammers there's a lot of construction it's a

really exciting time to be here

and I definitely need a makeover, too

I think I can help

That's good news

Takeshita street is pedestrian-only

and is jammed with fashion shops cafes and restaurants

The independent boutiques are like laboratories for youth fashions

Some call them antenna shops

where new items are test-marketed

How did you get involved in Japanese youth fashion?

It just started with anime and cosplay

fully evolved to Japanese fashion

What's with this outfit you get blue hair

You got you know, skrits... What do you call the stilts? Hi...?

I don't know...

Yeah

Converse

How did you come with this look?

A lot of this is a combination of things I like and

all sorts of things really popular right now

Galaxy friends, pleated skirt, cult symbols,

It's what's IN right now

Tell me about TAKESHITA street. What makes this place

really special and what are we gonna see today?

We're going to see... lots of neons

A lot of influence from the 80's and 90's

Lots of subculture fashion as well like Lolita for example...

um, and a lot of cheap stuff

On sale & cheap

Colorful, flashy, glitzy even vulgar

It's teen heaven for pop culture

You never know what you're going to find around the corner

(Hello)KONNICHIWA

This is AC/DC rack

a popular locally grown shop on Takeshita

Thousands of colors dancing on fabric

Welcome to pop culture fashion

Everything in the shop is unisex

These certainly are colorful

Really?

The shop designs are original

and they are priced to move in the youth market

I'm having my doubts about the unisex style

The store's history is as colorful as it's fashion

AC/DC rag is the first shop on Takeshita street

and they're on a mission to keep it that way

A lot of other buildings have been torn down to make way for the new

But ACDC rag keeps going the way they've done things for years

they now have several shops on Takeshita

My boss started this shop

I think more than thirty years ago

He didn't have

Money actually

But they, he had

a big such a big dream,so he started this shop

It looks like Island

But nowadays in this areas

There are so many big shops

like quite popular brand shops

But he had, he has

So many memories for this shop

So we do still now

This is our　Identity

and this is Takeshita streets' identity

If we don't want to lose our identity

be on the front line up

yes, frontline

Top of Takeshita street

So we have to stay here

OK,OK,OK,OK

Oh Michelle, I feel like a new man

Look at this I had never worn anything

like this before in my life!

Now you look like one of the Harajuku kids

oh yeah, I'm ready to concur Takeshita street

Let' go

Yeah!!

I was skeptical about the shirt and pants

It seems like a ladies blouse but fashion energizes

Step-by-step I was getting more confident

now to find some accessories

There are so many shops to explore

Hey I got 'em

Color contacts

It's a real trend now

I went for impact! Neon white

I'll put it in

Which eye ball?

OK, look , look at the eye hole

Don't blink

I've never worn contacts before

But when they're in...

I changed from man to beast

Now we're on the attack

We need more accessories

and Michelle knows just the place

THANK YOU MART

Everything here is only 390 yen

I was in good hands with Michelle

It was time to complete the look but first

Let's jam

Time to turn to the dark side

We have these

bracelets here. Zippers that seems to go nowhere

socks which we need

The dark side light side ring

and a hat, the belts for running around 2G's

I think.... 2000 yen.Anything else?

You could get away if you feel so incline

OK

Top off the outfit with more color

Oh yeah

It's Harajuku time, baby

Power skull ring

NEON and go nowhere zipper bracelets

Bloody eye keyring with fancy belt

Clear spiked platforms that kick royal asphalt

Cool blue wig

Ice for the brain

Cap to hold the fort down

Color contacts and glasses to frame the madness

So here we are, at the end of Takeshita street

and I'm totally transformed. What did you do to me?

I made you colorful

I made you poppy

I made you hip and Harajuku boy

Just made me look twenty years younger

That's how you roll here

So this is what I guess in average

Harajuku pop style guy looks like

and it's definitely a look that's only in Japan

Let's go out!