Urahara

Urahara is part of Harajuku that literally translates as “back gate” or “wrong side”. Made up of the back alleys and streets hidden behind Harajuku where fashion boutiques line the streets and Gyaru teenagers spend their time, Ura-hara is home to a collection of creativity and artistry, street musicians, murals, and a number of back alley shops.

Getting to Ura-Hara

The technical entrance to Ura-hara begins at the graffiti wall art on the Kyu Shibuya-gawa promenade. Located on Cat Street, this mural has art work by Satoshi Rocca, one of Harajuku’s early trend-setters and artists in the 1980s. The region, still described by its inhabitants as purely bohemian survives despite the flashy trends of its upscale neighbor.

Attractions

In Urahara, visitors will find a collection of designers and artists such as No Dead Artist, Junkyard and Scare setting up shops and small sidewalk stands to sell their wares and clothing they have designed. Clothing lines, while as trendy and highly regarded as the Harajuku counterparts are commonly seen here with the likes of Candy Stripper, Nowhere, and the Clockwork Gallery. Combining the graffiti style art of the area with pip scultures and galleries of art and clothing, Urahara is a combination of bohemian roots and modern fashion sense, described by some as a 1980s style East Village art scene.

The artists of Urahara are largely unknown, but the growing international attention to their work and the number of well known artists and designers who have come out of the Urahara backstreets has started to create a great deal of interest in the region by international art connosieurs and buyers.

External Links

• Feature Story on Urahara Street Art