Hang Out Like a Hipster

Walk the walk before you talk the talk.

Before you madly go scouring the country looking for hipsters (and really that's just a silly way to mess up your carefully deconstructed bangs)...

Here is a list of places where the hipsters of Japan abound and a brief explanation of each in terms of the types of hipsters that hang out there, why and for what reason.

Otanoshimi Ni!

While there are many interesting places to see in Japan both urban and rural if you are seeking hipsters Shibuya, Tokyo is where it's at!

For Japanese hipsters Tokyo is New York and Shibuya is their answer to the East Village.

Although colloquially it refers only to the direct area around Shibuya Station, the area is a ward (read: district)of Tokyo that includes the famous Centre Gai, Harajuku and Yoyogi Park.

Dr Brian Morris, Lecturer in Communications at RMIT University lived in Tokyo for 7 Months and was increasingly drawn to the Shibuya area for: "its crowds of trendsetting, keitai (mobile telephone)-toting youth, as well as fashion-conscious youth subcultures, who have in various highly visible ways claimed the area as their home over the past 30 or more years..." (See the link for his extended article on interpreting the digital environment of the Shibuya shopping districts large television screens above)

Shibuya Station: The Hachiko Exit crossing outside this famous station claims to be the busiest in the world. While hipsters prefer a slower walking pace, and the intersection would be difficult to navigate on your fixie take note; scenes from Lost In Translation by indie film darling Sofia Coppola were filmed on the crossing. Inside the station there is also ample opportunity for some people watching and practicing your disaffected "I'm just getting from A to B in an effortlessly hip fashion" face.

(Scarlett Johansson, practicing said face)

Centre Gai: This narrow street is the place to see or be seen right in the heart of Shibuya's main shopping strip (which just happens to be the main hub of Tokyo's fashion district). It houses stacks of alternative clothing and music stores perfect for the hipsters main needs. It also has a bit of an edge as the entry on user-generated-content travel site mapme describes an undercurrent of drugs, brothel recruiters and "less-than-savoury-characters" who trawl the Gai for trade...A perfectly dark undertone to attract the subversive types to what is essentially a commercial shopping strip.

Centre Gai (Japan's Answer to Centre Place and De Graves?)

Harajuku: This is the most famous of all Japanese trend setting hot spots. Though its infamy and attractiveness to tourists has lead to a slightly lowered status in the hipster crowd ("Harajuku has become more of a mosh pit than it used to be", CNN 2010) it is still the birthplace of most Japanese trends and good spot to show off your latest (vintage, experimental, indie, or ironic) threads.

Other styles of dress also on show here are:

Gothic Lolita, Decora, Kogal, Ganguro and Wamono.

Xexiun Liu discusses the overt displays of self expression through fashion in the Shibuya Ward in relation to the Ganguro style of dressing, but his insights can reveal the purpose or inspiration behind subcultures in Japan generally. Liu outlines 3 contributing factors in the formation of subculture

1. It "reflects the global influence of...culture and affects Japanese youth ideology".

2. "It is an explicit expression of self- identity of those who attempt to depart from traditional Japanese cultural values and social standards."

3. The "subculture is in conflict with mainstream Japanese culture, and although this subculture may not spread to the whole Japanese younger generation, it has socio-cultural and ideological significance in Japanese society".

(Vintage and Kogal style in Harajuku)

Yoyogi Park: The largest Park in Tokyo is a rad place to lounge around drinking Kirin's and soaking up a bit of sun, reading a zine (that you published yourself of course), attending the EcoLife fair or getting a wild groove on (perhaps not if the claim "The dance floor at a hipster party looks like it should be surrounded by quotation marks" is to be believed)to one of the many music festivals held here such as the OneLove Jamaica Festival.

(OneLove Jamaica at Yoyogi Park)

The best part of all these destinations is they're easily in reach of public transport on the JR Yamanote Train Line.

Any good hipster knows that being green is great (and we're not just talking about the rollies you make for OneLove).