Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo's fashion


Multimillion diamonds
Couple about to leave the hyper-chic Prada store in Ayama.
omotesando
Passersby pass in front of a window in the sophisticated neighborhood of Omotesando.
another fashion
Goth-androgen-looking teenager in Harajuku.
Nissan
Employees promote a new Nissan brand model.
Ginza-Shiseido
Casal strolls in front of the luxurious windows of Ginza, the most valuable neighborhood in the Japanese capital.
tinned t-shirts
Teenagers choose t-shirts packaged in a mirrored shop in Harajuku.
street models
Models promote a brand on one of the main streets in Tokyo's Ginza neighborhood.
Geek Fashion
Teenager dressed in fashion also known internationally for geek.
Criminal-Police Fashion
Passersby admire the creative window of a store in Ginza.
wedding fashion
Guests at a traditional Shinto wedding display expensive and sophisticated garments and bags.
street makeup
A woman improvises makeup on a street in Shibuya.
Prada by Herzog & De Meuron
An employee descends a staircase in the elegant building of the Prada store in the Ayama district.
Lolita
Lolita exhibits, in Harajuku, a look that is much appreciated by a layer of Japanese cosplay fans.
for cinderellas
Exquisite shoe showcase in the Omotesando district.
endless tokyo
Panoramic view of a seemingly endless Tokyo.
In ultra-populous and hyper-coded Japan, there is always room for more sophistication and creativity. Whether national or imported, it is in the capital that they begin to parade the new Japanese looks.

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.

couple, shop windows, ginza, Fashion, Tokyo, Japan

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.

harajuku, t-shirt, tin, Fashion, Tokyo, Japan

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.

Nissan, car, Fashion, Tokyo, Japan

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, Fashion, Tokyo, Japan

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.

Prada, Ayama, Work, Fashion, Tokyo, Japan

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.

gothic, young, portrait, Fashion, Tokyo, Japan

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, portrait, Fashion, Tokyo, Japan

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.

sandals, shoes, showcase, Fashion, Tokyo, Japan

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.

Tokyo, Japan

The Endless Night of the Rising Sun Capital

Say that Tokyo do not sleep is an understatement. In one of the largest and most sophisticated cities on the face of the Earth, twilight marks only the renewal of the frenetic daily life. And there are millions of souls that either find no place in the sun, or make more sense in the “dark” and obscure turns that follow.
Tokyo, Japan

A Matchmaking Sanctuary

Tokyo's Meiji Temple was erected to honor the deified spirits of one of the most influential couples in Japanese history. Over time, it specialized in celebrating traditional weddings.
Tokyo, Japan

Japanese Style Passaport-Type Photography

In the late 80s, two Japanese multinationals already saw conventional photo booths as museum pieces. They turned them into revolutionary machines and Japan surrendered to the Purikura phenomenon.
Tokyo, Japan

The Emperor Without Empire

After the capitulation in World War II, Japan underwent a constitution that ended one of the longest empires in history. The Japanese emperor is, today, the only monarch to reign without empire.
Japan

The Beverage Machines Empire

There are more than 5 million ultra-tech light boxes spread across the country and many more exuberant cans and bottles of appealing drinks. The Japanese have long since stopped resisting them.
Tokyo, Japan

Pachinko: The Video - Addiction That Depresses Japan

It started as a toy, but the Japanese appetite for profit quickly turned pachinko into a national obsession. Today, there are 30 million Japanese surrendered to these alienating gaming machines.
Tokyo, Japan

Disposable Purrs

Tokyo is the largest of the metropolises but, in its tiny apartments, there is no place for pets. Japanese entrepreneurs detected the gap and launched "catteries" in which the feline affections are paid by the hour.
Tokyo, Japan

The Fish Market That Lost its Freshness

In a year, each Japanese eats more than their weight in fish and shellfish. Since 1935, a considerable part was processed and sold in the largest fish market in the world. Tsukiji was terminated in October 2018, and replaced by Toyosu's.
Helsinki, Finland

The Design that Came from the Cold

With much of the territory above the Arctic Circle, Finns respond to the climate with efficient solutions and an obsession with art, aesthetics and modernism inspired by neighboring Scandinavia.
Jabula Beach, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa
Safari
Saint Lucia, South Africa

An Africa as Wild as Zulu

On the eminence of the coast of Mozambique, the province of KwaZulu-Natal is home to an unexpected South Africa. Deserted beaches full of dunes, vast estuarine swamps and hills covered with fog fill this wild land also bathed by the Indian Ocean. It is shared by the subjects of the always proud Zulu nation and one of the most prolific and diverse fauna on the African continent.
Braga or Braka or Brakra in Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 6th – Braga, Nepal

The Ancient Nepal of Braga

Four days of walking later, we slept at 3.519 meters from Braga (Braka). Upon arrival, only the name is familiar to us. Faced with the mystical charm of the town, arranged around one of the oldest and most revered Buddhist monasteries on the Annapurna circuit, we continued our journey there. acclimatization with ascent to Ice Lake (4620m).
Visitors at Talisay Ruins, Negros Island, Philippines
Architecture & Design
Talisay City, Philippines

Monument to a Luso-Philippine Love

At the end of the 11th century, Mariano Lacson, a Filipino farmer, and Maria Braga, a Portuguese woman from Macau, fell in love and got married. During the pregnancy of what would be her 2th child, Maria succumbed to a fall. Destroyed, Mariano built a mansion in his honor. In the midst of World War II, the mansion was set on fire, but the elegant ruins that endured perpetuate their tragic relationship.
Adventure
Boat Trips

For Those Becoming Internet Sick

Hop on and let yourself go on unmissable boat trips like the Philippine archipelago of Bacuit and the frozen sea of ​​the Finnish Gulf of Bothnia.
Camel Racing, Desert Festival, Sam Sam Dunes, Rajasthan, India
Ceremonies and Festivities
Jaisalmer, India

There's a Feast in the Thar Desert

As soon as the short winter breaks, Jaisalmer indulges in parades, camel races, and turban and mustache competitions. Its walls, alleys and surrounding dunes take on more color than ever. During the three days of the event, natives and outsiders watch, dazzled, as the vast and inhospitable Thar finally shines through.
Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
Cities
Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

The Legacy of an Historic Shuttle

The founding of Colónia do Sacramento by the Portuguese generated recurrent conflicts with their spanish rivals. Until 1828, this fortified square, now sedative, changed sides again and again.
young saleswoman, nation, bread, uzbekistan
Meal
Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan, The Nation That Does Not Lack Bread

Few countries employ cereals like Uzbekistan. In this republic of Central Asia, bread plays a vital and social role. The Uzbeks produce it and consume it with devotion and in abundance.
Vairocana Buddha, Todai ji Temple, Nara, Japan
Culture
Nara, Japan

The Colossal Cradle of the Japanese Buddhism

Nara has long since ceased to be the capital and its Todai-ji temple has been demoted. But the Great Hall remains the largest ancient wooden building in the world. And it houses the greatest bronze Vairocana Buddha.
Swimming, Western Australia, Aussie Style, Sun rising in the eyes
Sport
Busselton, Australia

2000 meters in Aussie Style

In 1853, Busselton was equipped with one of the longest pontoons in the world. World. When the structure collapsed, the residents decided to turn the problem around. Since 1996 they have been doing it every year. Swimming.
Martian Scenery of the White Desert, Egypt
Traveling
White Desert, Egypt

The Egyptian Shortcut to Mars

At a time when conquering the solar system's neighbor has become an obsession, an eastern section of the Sahara Desert is home to a vast related landscape. Instead of the estimated 150 to 300 days to reach Mars, we took off from Cairo and, in just over three hours, we took our first steps into the Oasis of Bahariya. All around, almost everything makes us feel about the longed-for Red Planet.
Coin return
Ethnic
Dawki, India

Dawki, Dawki, Bangladesh on sight

We descended from the high and mountainous lands of Meghalaya to the flats to the south and below. There, the translucent and green stream of the Dawki forms the border between India and Bangladesh. In a damp heat that we haven't felt for a long time, the river also attracts hundreds of Indians and Bangladeshis in a picturesque escape.
sunlight photography, sun, lights
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Natural Light (Part 2)

One Sun, So Many Lights

Most travel photos are taken in sunlight. Sunlight and weather form a capricious interaction. Learn how to predict, detect and use at its best.
Christiansted, Saint Croix, US Virgin Islands, Steeple Building
History
Christiansted, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands

The Capital of the Afro-Danish-American Antilles

In 1733, Denmark bought the island of Saint Croix from France, annexed it to its West Indies where, based at Christiansted, it profited from the labor of slaves brought from the Gold Coast. The abolition of slavery made colonies unviable. And a historic-tropical bargain that the United States preserves.
Friends in Little Venice, Mykonos
Islands
Mykonos, Greece

The Greek Island Where the World Celebrates Summer

During the 1960th century Mykonos was once just a poor island, but by XNUMX Cycladic winds of change transformed it. First, at the main gay shelter in the Mediterranean. Then, at the crowded, cosmopolitan and bohemian vanity fair that we find when we visit.
St. Trinity Church, Kazbegi, Georgia, Caucasus
Winter White
Kazbegi, Georgia

God in the Caucasus Heights

In the 4000th century, Orthodox religious took their inspiration from a hermitage that a monk had erected at an altitude of 5047 m and perched a church between the summit of Mount Kazbek (XNUMXm) and the village at the foot. More and more visitors flock to these mystical stops on the edge of Russia. Like them, to get there, we submit to the whims of the reckless Georgia Military Road.
Kukenam reward
Literature
Mount Roraima, Venezuela

Time Travel to the Lost World of Mount Roraima

Persist on top of Mte. Roraima extraterrestrial scenarios that have withstood millions of years of erosion. Conan Doyle created, in "The Lost World", a fiction inspired by the place but never set foot on it.
Peasant woman, Majuli, Assam, India
Nature
Majuli Island, India

An Island in Countdown

Majuli is the largest river island in India and would still be one of the largest on Earth were it not for the erosion of the river Bramaputra that has been making it diminish for centuries. If, as feared, it is submerged within twenty years, more than an island, a truly mystical cultural and landscape stronghold of the Subcontinent will disappear.
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
Lion, Elephants, PN Hwange, Zimbabwe
Natural Parks
PN Hwange, Zimbabwe

The Legacy of the Late Cecil Lion

On July 1, 2015, Walter Palmer, a dentist and trophy hunter from Minnesota killed Cecil, Zimbabwe's most famous lion. The slaughter generated a viral wave of outrage. As we saw in PN Hwange, nearly two years later, Cecil's descendants thrive.
Moscow, Kremlin, Red Square, Russia, Moscow River
UNESCO World Heritage
Moscow, Russia

The Supreme Fortress of Russia

There were many kremlins built, over time, in the vastness of the country of the tsars. None stands out, as monumental as that of the capital Moscow, a historic center of despotism and arrogance that, from Ivan the Terrible to Vladimir Putin, for better or worse, dictated Russia's destiny.
aggie gray, Samoa, South Pacific, Marlon Brando Fale
Characters
Apia, Western Samoa

The Host of the South Pacific

She sold burguês to GI's in World War II and opened a hotel that hosted Marlon Brando and Gary Cooper. Aggie Gray passed away in 2. Her legacy lives on in the South Pacific.
Drums and Tattoos
Beaches
Tahiti, French Polynesia

Tahiti Beyond the Cliché

Neighbors Bora Bora and Maupiti have superior scenery but Tahiti has long been known as paradise and there is more life on the largest and most populous island of French Polynesia, its ancient cultural heart.
One against all, Sera Monastery, Sacred Debate, Tibet
Religion
Lhasa, Tibet

Sera, the Monastery of the Sacred Debate

In few places in the world a dialect is used as vehemently as in the monastery of Sera. There, hundreds of monks, in Tibetan, engage in intense and raucous debates about the teachings of the Buddha.
Executives sleep subway seat, sleep, sleep, subway, train, Tokyo, Japan
On Rails
Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo's Hypno-Passengers

Japan is served by millions of executives slaughtered with infernal work rates and sparse vacations. Every minute of respite on the way to work or home serves them for their inemuri, napping in public.
Sentosa Island, Singapore, Family on Sentosa Artificial Beach
Society
Sentosa, Singapore

Singapore's Fun Island

It was a stronghold where the Japanese murdered Allied prisoners and welcomed troops who pursued Indonesian saboteurs. Today, the island of Sentosa fights the monotony that gripped the country.
Daily life
Arduous Professions

the bread the devil kneaded

Work is essential to most lives. But, certain jobs impose a degree of effort, monotony or danger that only a few chosen ones can measure up to.
female and cub, grizzly footsteps, katmai national park, alaska
Wildlife
PN Katmai, Alaska

In the Footsteps of the Grizzly Man

Timothy Treadwell spent summers on end with the bears of Katmai. Traveling through Alaska, we followed some of its trails, but unlike the species' crazy protector, we never went too far.
Bungee jumping, Queenstown, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown, the Queen of Extreme Sports

In the century. XVIII, the Kiwi government proclaimed a mining village on the South Island "fit for a queen".Today's extreme scenery and activities reinforce the majestic status of ever-challenging Queenstown.
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