Omotesandō

Omotesandō was originally created in the Taishō era (1912–1926) as the frontal (表, Omote) approach (参道, Sandō) to Meiji Shrine, which is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken.

[1][2] Omotesandō is known as one of the foremost 'architectural showcase' streets in the world, featuring a multitude of fashion flagship stores within a short distance of each other.

These include the Louis Vuitton store (Jun Aoki, 2002), Tod's (Toyo Ito, 2004), Dior (SANAA, 2004), Omotesandō Hills (Tadao Ando, 2005) and Gyre (MVRDV, 2007), amongst others.

The area features many international brand boutiques, such as Louis Vuitton, Alexander McQueen and Gucci, as well as fast fashion retailers such as Gap, Evisu, H&M and Zara.

Omotesandō's side streets, known as Ura-Harajuku, feature a range of smaller cafes, bars, restaurants, and boutique stores.