A new hub for creating and experiencing culture: Harajuku’s latest landmark, “Harakado,” is now open! Here is a look inside from the exclusive preview event. 📸

On April 17, Tokyu Plaza Harajuku “Harakado” opened in the Harajuku/Jingumae area!

Harakado has become a hot topic as Harajuku’s newest spot. You may have heard the name or passed by the building yourself.

Many of you are likely wondering, “What kind of facility is it exactly?”

SUNNY SIDE UP, which has an extensive track record in PR for commercial facilities, is in charge of the PR for the opening period, handling everything from the management of the preview event to media relations. In this article, we will introduce the concept of Harakado and the details of each floor along with scenes from the preview!

A Place to Create and Experience New Harajuku Culture

Harakado has opened in Harajuku—a district that has consistently birthed various cultures and trends—as a “place to create and experience new Harajuku culture that stimulates the sensibilities of diverse people.”

A collection of 75 unique stores from the basement floor to the rooftop terrace offers new encounters and experiences.

Aiming to be a “creative facility” rather than a mere commercial one, it features a platform to nurture, support, and co-create with creators, as well as three types of new experiential media that maximize the value of physical space. What kind of content is in store? Let’s take a closer look. 💡

7th Floor: Rooftop Terrace

On the 7th-floor rooftop terrace, a lush garden space works in tandem with a POP UP SPACE capable of serving food and beverages, hosting collaboration events with various companies and brands.

You can also look out over Tokyu Plaza Omotesando “Omokado” across the Jingumae intersection. 👀

5th & 6th Floors: HARAJUKU KITCHEN & TERRACE

The 5th and 6th floors are lined with a diverse array of restaurants.

The 5th floor features restaurants you’ll want to visit daily and izakayas with a back-alley atmosphere, such as “PRETTY PORK FACTORY & KATSU Pre-Po,” produced by “Tokyo Niku Shabuya,” where you can taste branded pork selected from over 150 varieties, and “Shikin Hanten,” a long-established Harajuku Chinese restaurant founded in 1966.

The 6th floor also boasts a wide variety of cuisines, including authentic Neapolitan pizza, Mexican grill using avocado, falafel, banh mi, and Italian gelato. It is seamlessly connected to the 7th-floor rooftop terrace, so you can take out your food and enjoy it on the rooftop. 🍽️

There are also plenty of natural spaces where you can enjoy your takeout food. 🍃

Whether you want to savor your meal quietly in a small group or share food and drinks with a large group, you can spend your time exactly as you wish.

4th Floor Harappa

This floor aims to be a place where everyone, regardless of nationality, gender, or age, can experience new entertainment without borders.

For the first phase, the entire floor is titled “Harappa” (Open Field), featuring projects themed around “Nature Chill-out” x “Harajuku Experience.” Visitors can enjoy content that evokes nature and sustainability, including installations reminiscent of gathering around a bonfire.

The large red object in the center of the floor is “The Sun’s Bonfire.”

As a work representing the sun that illuminates the earth, nurtures greenery, and generates energy for our lives, sitting around it provides a sense of warmth and peace of mind.

Despite being in the heart of the city, you can relax in this spacious area of approximately 1,030 square meters. 🌱

3rd Floor Creators’ Platform

The 3rd floor plays a central role as Harakado’s hub for cultural creation and dissemination. As a “Creators’ Platform,” many creators and creative companies have established shops and offices here.

The membership-based creative lounge “BABY THE COFFEE BREW CLUB” features a theater and pop-up space. It feels like a place where unexpected culture will be born and shared through the encounters of diverse creators.

The 3rd floor also features an exciting lineup not found in conventional commercial facilities, such as “STUDIO SUPER CHEESE,” a studio where you can enjoy kaku-uchi (standing drinks), “STEAM STUDIO,” specializing in social creative work, and “J-WAVE ARRTSIDE CAST,” a new type of studio combining a podcast studio and art gallery operated by the radio station J-WAVE.

There are also spots where the general public can enjoy taking photos, so why not stop by while you’re out shopping? 👀

B1F to 2F: Co-creation with Partner Companies

The basement 1st floor to the 2nd floor are lined with unique shops filled with the “fun” that defines Harakado.

The magazine archive library “COVER” on the 2nd floor, which can also be reached via stairs from the 3rd floor, houses approximately 3,000 magazines ranging from the 1960s to the present. It is open to everyone for free browsing, making it a highly recommended meeting spot.

The lineup includes an apparel brand created through a collaboration between the membership-based bar “CASBA” and creators, a craft chocolate shop making its first appearance from Hiroshima, and a circular flower shop that sells flowers that would otherwise be discarded by turning them into new items.

It is a collection of shops that truly make you wonder, “What kind of store is this?”

Additionally, on the basement 1st floor, “Kosugiyu Harajuku” has opened, where the long-established Koenji sento (public bathhouse) “Kosugiyu” proposes a lifestyle centered around the public bath in front of the Jingumae intersection.

The post-bath area, known as “Chikaichi,” provides new experiences born from synergies with various companies and brands.

New Creations and Experiences at Harakado!

Many people must have been looking forward to seeing what kind of building would emerge while watching the construction in Harajuku. In fact, a creative facility where new experiences can be had on every floor from the basement to the rooftop has been created.

Just looking at the floor concepts and the shop lineup is enough to get anyone excited. 💐

With various collaboration projects and events planned for the future, there will be new discoveries no matter how many times you visit. Harakado is sure to be the next big spotlight destination. Please come and experience it for yourself! 🏃️

Official Website: https://harakado.tokyu-plaza.com/