A small flag flutters over the clock tower of the Wako warehouses.
The dial reads 14.05 and clocks another sunny afternoon on the radiant Chuo-dori avenue.
We are in the heart of Ginza, the Tokyo neighborhood known, among other wonders, for having the most expensive real estate on the face of the Earth and second only to its neighbor Chiyoda, where the emperor resides.
From 1612 to 1800, this neighborhood housed the mint that produced part of the silver cash that circulated in Japan. The factory, in addition to invigorating the Japanese economy, ended up lending its name to the area and, today, more than ever, that name fits him perfectly.
Casal strolls in front of the luxurious windows of Ginza, the most valuable neighborhood in the Japanese capital.
The Exquisite and Sophisticated Tokyo of Ginza
One square meter of land in the center of Ginza is worth around 100.000 euros (around 10 million yen). Virtually all the leading brands in the fashion and cosmetics world have a glamorous presence there.
They attract wealthy families driven by eager wives and groups of young people obsessed with the colors and shapes of the most famous logos. City authorities know how much this consumer fever can yield.
Teenagers choose t-shirts packaged in a mirrored shop in Harajuku.
On weekends, they close the avenue to traffic, from early morning until almost dusk. They hand it over to a crowd that roams and re-walks from top to bottom under the smug gaze of Western models on the high billboards.
We leave Le Café Doutor, half-recovered from fatigue for a hot drink, and embark on the new adventure in this incorrigible realm of capitalism that a Buddhist monk in a yellow cape, a conical bamboo hat and white ankle boots seems to challenge, begging for alms from busy souls .
Across the street, an upscale Nissan booth is overcrowded. Inside, its new model Z Fairlady is displayed on a chrome and swivel platform and the space is not enough for so many interested parties.
Employees promote a new Nissan brand model.
Curious and occasional photographers compete for each piece of the vehicle and several lost heads follow the presentations of the car through the window.
The Japanese Fashion of Consumerism
We continue down Chuo-dori and, after passing countless idolized multinational stores, we find an orderly line of more than 100 meters that fills part of the avenue's sidewalk and serves as a pretext for a city policeman to pass the time, ordering them forward and step back who is misaligned, even if only 10 or 20 centimeters.
The store where the queue starts offers a short period of discounts and has been around since it opened its doors, forcing the last customers to have endless waits.
Other strategies serve the same attraction. We turn our backs and are faced with a formation of Japanese models that parade along the road at long paces and adapted to that asphalt catwalk.
In suggestive mini-skirts and high-heeled gladiator sandals, the teenagers stand out from the short passers-by and promote the irreverent design of such a new Esperanza collection.
Models promote a brand on one of the main streets in Tokyo's Ginza neighborhood.
The predominant female dedication to appearance increasingly motivates the opposite sex to take care of themselves. To the point that, in Tokyo, and all over Japan, many men now walk around with suitcases, wallets and fanny packs as genuine as faces, made up, with eyebrows fixed.
On other occasions, we have investigated the phenomenon in commercial areas that compete with the metropolis and the truth is that, apart from one variable or another, the generalized consumerist tendency remains.
Omotesando, Aoyama, Shibuya – A Whole Urban Frenzy for Profit
In the upscale areas of Omotesando and Aoyama, some of the world's fashion gurus – Prada, Louis Vuitton, Channel, Empório Armani, Dior etc. – they have hired architectural gurus and built splendid branches that add value to their products and to the metropolis.
An employee descends a staircase in the elegant building of the Prada store in the Ayama district.
Shibuya has become even more famous since “Lost in Translation” once again revealed his most crossed crossing in the world.
I didn't need the extra stimulus but, in competitive Tokyo, all outreach actions – planned or spontaneous – are welcome and many thousands of foreigners are known to visit the area every year just to admire the strange ebb and flow. urban people.
Those who do, reveal the creative freshness of Japanese youth and the fashions and countless sub-fashions of the street: the lolita, the gyaru (hyper-makeup and produced women in general), the kogal (which uses school uniforms), among so many others.
Goth-androgen-looking teenager in Harajuku.
They also discover parallel manifestations of Japanese culture such as the cult of purikura (amazing digital photography and post-processing stores), the design of noisy halls of pashiko (game of chance based on a movement of spheres, to which many natives have become addicted) and the exotic vision of black rappers who call clients to the “Americanized” bars and clubs for which they work.
The Creative Stronghold and Outside the Harajuku Box
Nearby, the Harajuku district stretches the concept of creativity to the maximum tolerated by Japanese society and goes beyond the limits without major ceremonies.
The unprejudiced stores on Takeshita Street delight teenagers who find clothes and accessories there that allow them to build their exclusive styles, recycled or deprived after just a few days.
In such a way, brands use them as thermometers and testing centers for their most daring products.
Hundreds of trains a day stop at the Harajuku railway station and pass under the wide bridge that leads from the neighborhood to Yoyogi Forest Park and its Meiji Temple, a duo that continue to safeguard the city's Japanese Shinto honor.
Cosplay, Tokyobillies and a Count of Other Fashions
When we cross it, the bridge is handed over to Tokyo's most exotic urban clans. Shy Lolitas chat in the surroundings but it is the androgynous Visual key cosplay characters that stand out the most: those who wear striking makeup, hair and clothes, in a black way.
Besides them, the Dolly Key, inspired by the Japanese vision of the Middle Ages and fables, and the Fairy Key, an 80's variant of Lolitas that uses different tones and patterns.
Lolita exhibits, in Harajuku, a look that is much appreciated by a layer of Japanese cosplay fans.
They are only a tiny part of the currents of the prolific street fashion of Tokyo.
Two rockablies and proud bikers to salarymen of black facts and the edoko geeks (from Tokyo), Japanese expressions intersect in the vast metropolis and compose a spectrum that does not stop renewing itself.
Opportunistic businessmen in the capital know how to exploit this wealth. Brands such as A Bathing Ape, Comme des Garçons, Evisu, Head Porter, Original Fake, Uniqlo, Visvim, W, TAPs and XLarge employ the best breeders and generate astronomical profits.
Exquisite shoe showcase in the Omotesando district.
Not everyone is consensual. Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo have become the exponents of Japanese fashion and their pieces are displayed at the most renowned fashion events.
And yet, in many countries, all too often, their creations are considered impossible to wear.
