To those who are interested in youth culture, Tokyo is the best place to observe it, since in small towns it is not as noticeable. Even in Tokyo, there are places where youth culture is concentrated, including Shibuya, Takeshita-Dori in Harajuku, Akihabara, and Tokyo Dome City. In the daytime young people are busy with study and work, so it’s better to visit those districts in the evening.
Modern youth in many countries share similarities and are connected by social networks, however, there are still some differences in fashion tastes and popular entertainment. Image is very important for youth and what I noticed, first of all, was interesting street fashion and the love of Japanese youth for cosplay. Cosplay refers to wearing the costumes of popular anime and manga characters. A character’s costume is not just fashion like an actor, a person feels like a different self. It’s fine for young people who try to understand themselves and their places in the world. Walking on the streets of Shibuya or Akihabara at night it's like watching an improvised fashion show! In my country, young people dress in character costumes for special events like Halloween, but in Tokyo, I saw them walking on the streets as if they were wearing a casual outfit! Another trait of Japanese youth fashion is hair dyed in all different colors – blond, red, bright yellow, pink, blue, and more.
Many fashion shops are located in Shibuya and on Takeshita dori – a famous fashion street in Harajuku. There you can find all fashion styles and cosplay costumes. I like to stroll there and examine the fashion of the season, even if I don’t buy anything.
As I’ve mentioned in my publication about collectible dolls, many young people of Japan are great fans of computer games, manga and anime, without being interested in cosplay. On the contrary, they’re very modest and keep their passion private.
I noticed that young people like to spend time in numerous cafes in Tokyo. A popular form of entertainment is karaoke, however, I've never tried it. On a few occasions, I saw big crowds of J-Pop fans that gathered for special events with idols (a term used to refer to Japanese pop stars) where young people were dressed in the style of their idols. What was different at those events is that Japanese youth were quiet and patient, kept in line, and were respectful.
