TL,DR: This street, once a representation of a lot of what I love about the Japanese underground, Is now something I have grown to despise... I force myself to walk down it, so you don't have to. If you want to know more about why I feel this way: If there is one place that reminds me of the horrors of gentrifcation and the destruction of vibrant subcultures by corporations who use them to turn a quick profit, it is Takeshita street in Harajuku. When I came to Japan 15 years ago the end had already begun, but there were still many corners of the underground where I could meet and enjoy the company of likeminded people. But one by one, each of those stores closed down, to be replaced ny a corporat ebacked shill store peddling cheap, mass produced replicas of the styles that were ionce designed and made by real designers and creative artists, shifting the market from the people within the subcultures that created those original brands and styles to the herd of tourists seeking a quick fix of the crazy japan thrown out by the then growing influencer class and the attentions of pop culture icons in the west that wanted the image without understanding the reason that image was created in the first place. Now it's a hollowed out shell clinging to the remnants of the now dead corporate representation of what harajuku was, barely ticking along on with school kids who need cheap-sweatshop reproductions and what few tourists are allowed in to the counry at the moment. All thats left of the Harajuku that I remember and lived are maybe only 3 or 4 of the original stores still there because the own the properties they are in so they had no landlords to throw them out for a better corporate payday. I remember the stores that used to be there, the conversations I had in them with people, some of whom are still my friends, some of whome I lost contact with when harajuku died and some of whom are no longer with us. #fearofthedarc #harajuku #tokyo Please consider supporting if you've got some money to spare. I definitely could use the help in these inflated times: PAYPAL: https://paypal.me/DarcNoodles PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/DarcNoodles INSTAGRAM: - https://www.instagram.com/darcnoodles/ - https://www.instagram.com/darcjp666/ - https://www.instagram.com/driverportraits/ Follow me on Social: - https://www.facebook.com/DarcNoodles - https://twitter.com/darcnoodles ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAVaWRB8rfw

People-watching around Hakata Station in Fukuoka. It's all about the humanity. #fearofthedarc #randomjapan #fukuoka Music: Max Brhon - Humanity (NCS Release) - https://youtu.be/OJhqsUnKUWw - http://ncs.io/Humanity Camera: Fujifilm X-T3 Edited in DaVinci Resolve 16 beta INSTAGRAM: - https://www.instagram.com/darcnoodles/ - https://www.instagram.com/darcjp666/ - https://www.instagram.com/driverportraits/ Follow me on Social: - https://www.facebook.com/DarcNoodles - https://twitter.com/darcnoodles Good music from the land of the rising sun: https://youtu.be/CbI79e5iZKs ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNkskUr3fHw

I had a job in Osaka for Highlighting Japan recently and as part of it, I was treated to Okonomiyaki at a small restaurant called Houzenji San-Pei, in a small back alley behind Dotonbori, in Osaka. Music: Darc Urban Jungle by DJ Russel CrossFire: https://www.youtube.com/user/russell42mcneil Highlighting Japan: http://www.gov-online.go.jp/eng/publicity/book/hlj/ All About Media Group: http://allabout.co.jp/ ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxkcmqessg4

3 questions, 1 video: 1: Do you feel like Superman? by Konnichiwakichiwa on Instagram 2: Where r u from by Kathmandu on YouTube 3: Would you ever take Ayahuasca? by D3FS3 on YouTube Music: - Terminus by May - https://youtu.be/_N6Gqr9S8ek - provided by ArgoFox ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO36JhHibjU