[2] Shopping and dining options include many small, youth-oriented, independent boutiques and cafés, but the neighborhood also attracts many larger international chain stores with high-end luxury merchandisers extensively represented along Omotesando.

It was said that in the Gosannen War, Minamoto no Yoshiie mustered his soldiers in this area and the hill here is called Seizoroi-saka (current Jingūmae 2 chōme).

It is said that as the Igagoe reward for delivering Ieyasu Tokugawa safely from Sakai to Mikawa in the 1582 Honno-ji Incident, Onden-mura (隠田村) together with Harajuku-mura (原宿村) were given to the Iga ninja in 1590.

Shops that appealed to the US soldiers and their families, such as Kiddyland, Oriental Bazaar, and the Fuji Tori, opened along Omotesando during this period.

In 1964, swimming, diving, and basketball events for the Tokyo Olympics were held at nearby Yoyogi National Gymnasium.

This produced a surge in people gathering close to entrances of Yoyogi Park to watch rock 'n' rollers and other new bands performing impromptu open-air gigs.

During the early morning of January 1, 2019, a 21-year-old man named Kazuhiro Kusakabe drove his Kei car into the crowd of pedestrians celebrating New Year's Day on Takeshita Street.

The man claimed his actions were a terrorist attack, and later stated that his intention was to retaliate against the usage of the death penalty.

Jingu Bashi, the pedestrian bridge between Harajuku Station and the entrance to the Meiji Shrine, used to act as a gathering place on Sundays to showcase some of the more theatrical styles.