> We all went down to Harajuku to see if we could see some artistically dressed youngsters
Over 95% of the people in Harajuku are tourists going there to do exactly that. Locals completely avoid the area.
> We all went down to Harajuku to see if we could see some artistically dressed youngsters
Over 95% of the people in Harajuku are tourists going there to do exactly that. Locals completely avoid the area.
Meh, you see all sorts. It's definitely much more touristed in the last decade. The heyday may have been late 90s and early 00s. See Fruits magazines and books. Certainly, "normal" Japanese avoid it, but they always have, just like Asakusa, Kabukicho, Roppongi etc.
https://archive.org/details/fresh-fruits/mode/2up
That said, you still see Medatsu (目立つ) and lots of younger people there looking for fashion, because that's where many of the (overpriced) used clothing stores are. There used to be more weird bands and such doing pop-up shows or playing at the Yoyogi band shell. Still, lots of Japanese tourists as well as foreigners, and lots of food events/festivals around there.