Summary[edit source | editbeta]
While widely recognised as the district of Harajuku nowadays, it was formerly referred to as Onden, a low-lying area close to Meiji Street and Old Shibuya River (Onden River. Currently a promenade (Old Shibuya River promenade) also known now as ‘Cat Street.’) Up until 1965, the town name ‘Harajuku’ referred to the northern end of Omotesando, the tableland around Aoyama, currently known as Jingu-mae block 2, a large area of Jingu-mae block 3, and the tableland extending behind Togo Shrine in Jingu-mae block 1. On the other hand, the area from Harajuku station to the area surrounding Takeshita Street was called ‘Takeshita-cho’. After 1965, this whole area in the Japanese addressing system was unified to ‘Jingu-mae’ and the name ‘Harajuku’ was abolished.