Shibuya 109

In the heart of Shibuya you will find the iconic 109 Building. For many 109 is the temple of Japanese teenage culture where each floor features small fashion oriented retails stores. Made famous in the 2000s for its heavy Kogal (kogyaru) subculture where Japanese schoolgirls would wear outfits based on their school uniforms featuring very short skirts, loose tube socks and heavy makeup and spray tans for some. Today Shibuya 109, while being a little bit more conservative, is still considered by many to be THE shopping mall that a teenage girl needs to visit once in her lifetime to get a closer look at Tokyo’s latest fashion trends. Also note that the name 109, owned by Tokyu corporation, is the result of a word play where the 10 stands for TO and 9 for KYU (in Japanese) as in the name of Tokyo, the company that owned the building.