/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

I just got back from being there for a month two weeks ago. I'm merely a jfash wearer, not lolita, but I still checked out the stores when I came across them. I thought they would only be on Takeshita-dori in Harajuku but it seemed like there was a Baby or AP on every mall I went into.
I wasn't wearing lolita and the shopgirls weren't rude to me or whatever. Not attentive but who cares.
Lots of japanese itas with no poof in Takeshita-dori so if you plan to wear it doesn't take much to not look awful. Paris Kids there is the best store for cute fun accessories I found. There are so many stores though so just put aside a day for Takeshita-dori if you're a heavy jfash shopper like me.

hidden gem stores:
>Village Vanguard, like Urban Outfitters but a million times better
>ThreeStar in Kyoto, fuckin amazing thrift store especially if you like mori-like or hipstery stuff
>Book Off Plus in Namba, the third floor has used clothes dirt-cheap. There's also Kinji in Amemuro there in Osaka but I like BookOffPlus better.

as for hidden gems in regards to site-seeing, check out Giou-ji if you plan to go to Arashiyama in Kyoto. Also Ueno Park in Tokyo. It's not really a hidden gem but I think it gets overlooked because "it's just a park".
Nara is def worth it. I thought you had to coax the deer out with food but they're actually just standing around in the crowds and used to a million hands touching them.

Also, idk about now but when I was there few natives were wearing shorts. No one walked around in tshirts and that kind of "comfy" clothes. The teenagers are different from eachother but college girls all wear the same white baggy blouse tucked in to a long flirt skirt or gouchos. The conformity in this collectivist society was real.
Also regarding clothes, public seating like benches are basically nonexistent so keep that in mind when you pick your outfits.