Loft is attached to a few other malls, including Movida, which houses American fashion label Opening Ceremony, and a branch of Muji on the ground floor. After a nice lunch of Vietnamese sandwiches and pink lemonade in the basement cafe we have a poke around Opening Ceremony - it's lovely, each floor differently themed and beautifully designed, but a bit expensive. We exit onto the street and find a small branch of Graniph, the design t-shirt shop, but it's too small to have any good stuff. Then we walk up to Tokyu Hands, another department store that sells everything from plumbing supplies to pet outfits, knitting yarn and suitcases. Have a quick look around but getting pretty tired by this point; have a quick coffee then head to Harajuku.
 Harajuku at dusk |  Harajuku shops |
The main street into Harajuku is lined with cool shops; I buy a T-shirt in the much larger and better-stocked Graniph store and two pairs of jeans in the Uniqlo UT concept store, which is stylishly white with LED lights. At the main crossing is La Foret, a gorgeous mall full of boutiques from Japanese and international designers (there's even a Topshop with somewhat inflated prices).
 Bead shop display inside La Foret |  Knitwear on display in La Foret |
Also on this road is the American store Forever 21 but it's totally packed with girls and hard to navigate. At the crossing intersection we find Kiddyland, a huge toy shop, each floor dedicated to a different character - Hello Kitty, Snoopy, Studio Ghibli, etc - tons of cute stuff.
 Entrance to Kiddyland |  Hello Kitty floor of Kiddyland |
We veer off the main street onto a back alley and find lots more cool shops, more street labels and some vintage. Have a quick beer in a nice little bar then find a great place for dinner - Cafe Ratia, which claims to be health food but the deep-fried tofu and chicken didn't seem that healthy - really tasty and good value, though, with lovely balsamic-glazed veggies and good bruschetta for a starters.
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