Tokyo Travel Forum

I'm going to be in Tokyo on a Monday and Tuesday. Is it worth it to visit Harajuku since everyone talks about the costumed kids on Sunday?

Hey

Harajuku is still an excellent spot to visit. Got many cool shops and cafés. It is a lot of designer stuff and you can go and see the cool boutiques where many of these kids buy there amazing outfits. Might even bump into a few on the shopping strip if you're real lucky.
However I dont think there will be any coz-play-zoku at the entrence of Yoyogi park .. think that is only a weekend thing. I went there first time on an early Sunday and it was crowded but next visit I made to Tokyo I went there on a Sunday afternoon and they had already disappeared. Only a handfull left...

Enjoy your trip!
:)

Agreeing with the previous poster, Harajuku is an excellent place any day of the week. In fact you will enjoy more on a weekday as it would be less crowded than the manic weekend where you'll be fighting from the JR station all the way to Omotosando with 1000's of people.. it's not so much fun!

As for the costumed people .. it's not so many in recent times that do this and having visited on more than a few occasions it isn't quite the draw it used to be.

I wonder are there places in Harajuku where you can rent cosplay costumes for a few hours to blend in with the locals and take crazy pictures? :P

<< I wonder are there places in Harajuku where you can rent cosplay costumes for a few hours to blend in with the locals and take crazy pictures? :P >>

Haha.. :) Ok.. first of all, the coz-play-zoku kids are not really the locals in Harajuku and getting a costume won't make you blend in.. on the contrary. You will stick out so get ready to pose for the cameras.

From what I got told from my friends in Tokyo many of these kids are bullied in school and live in the suburbs. Every weekend they get together with their gang and dress up as for example anime characters. Coz-play-zoku is roughly translated into Costume Play Gang.

I have never heard of the possiblity to rent a costume but I cant say for sure. However I have looked at the costumes in stores and they dont come cheap..

Have fun! ;)

Thank you for responding!! This will change my itinerary - will give me more time to plan other options.

i heard that gaijins (foreigners) dressing up in cosplay is somewhat frowned apon.... they are called the 'wannabe nihonjin' (wannabe japanese)... so by all means give it a go but be prepared to get a few dirty looks from the real cosplays!