The Japanese Modified Mullet

If there's one thing the Japanese don't fool around about: it's the mullet. I've termed the haircut that beautiful young women in Ebisu, Shibuya, and Harajuku sport the "Japanese Modified Mullet". If they say this is a nation and culture that prides itself on conformity, then the mullet is one more nail in the coffin.

You get used to it.

I went exploring in a neighborhood called Harajuku. It is supposed to the wildest in terms of fashion -- and it is from what I have seen. Everything you had read and seen about Japanese fashion -- mohawks, mini-skirts, and 1970s punks -- is in this neighborhood. It is a mix of the East Village in New York City and Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco.

This photograph was hung outside a clothing store. Nice hair-do. I just might switch.

When you exit the JR (Japanese Railways) stop in Harajuku, you are squeezed down a long narrow hallway to exit the station. This is very different than most other stops. The spacing is unusually tight. As you reach the outdoors and cross the street you are faced with a tiny alley crammed with thousands (literally) of kids aged 12-16 dressed as 1960-1970's rocker punks. Many of them have crazy hair and spiked leather jackets. The stores hawk these kinds of clothes and random street (junk) food.

It rained the day I visited so the photographs are not very good. When I return during better weather, I will post another photo.