If you plan on visiting Harujuku you will no do doubt be visiting its most iconic street: Takeshita. This a 350-meter street that’s located near the JR Harujuku Station which is jam packed with all different types of shops. With this being Harujuku, there’s a ton of small clothing shops and boutiques lining this street.
Expect there to be crowds here. This is afterall one of the most popular streets in Harujuku. This street is also home to many of the popular street foods in the area. I got to Takeshita fairly late in the evening after a long day of touristing and eating but still wanted to sample a couple of the well-known street food places.
Undoubtedly, a visit to Harujuku will correlate with shopping and perhaps a visit to Meiji Jingu. Street food is not likely the main reason you’ve decided to visit, so is it worth getting the food in the area, specifically on Takeshita?
Long! Longer!! Longest!!!
Long! Longer!! Longest!!! (LLL) has a few flashy items on their menu including, rainbow cotton candy, cheese hot dog, and strawberry tanghulu. They may best be known for their Tornado Potato though. They vary in sizes, as you’d imagine based off the name of the place, from 35 cm (600 yen, $4.23 USD), 42 cm (700 yen, $4.93) and 52 cm (800 yen, $5.64).
There’s three different seasonings you can get with the Tornado Potato. I had a hard time translating what the three were but one was definitely butter. The other two seasonings, the best I could make out were chicken and beef kabob (?). I went with the long (35 cm/ 600 yen, $4.23 USD) and got the butter and chicken seasonings.
This comes out piping hot and they really coat the potato well with seasoning. It definitely did taste buttery and savory with a hint of sweet. Even though this was the smallest size to get, it was still quite a lot of food!
If you’re a fan of these Tornado Potatoes it’s worth a try here since the seasonings here are certainly different than what you normally see.
Marion Crepes
Another food item that’s very popular on Takeshita Street is crepes. There’s three different places all within a close vicinity of one another so there’s plenty of choices to choose from. Marion Crepes may be the most famous and popular of them all.
Without a doubt they have a LOT of different selections to choose from here. I went with the more simple strawberry with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup (630 yen, $4.40 USD).
Despite all the fillings inside of it, the crepe was quite light and not very sweet at all. They do a good job of layering all the ice cream, whipped cream, straberries, and chocolate syrup so everything mixes reall well within the crepe. It’s definitely a tasty snack as you walk around Takeshita.
Final Opinion
Part of the fun of walking around on this famous street is grabbing some of the more iconic street foods you see people posting on Instagram. I grabbed a couple of food items here but there’s definitely a lot more to experience. The prices for the two items I got were both under $5 so they’re aren’t going to break the bank. It’s definitely worth grabbing some snacks while you’re here walking around and taking in all the sights that Takeshita Street in Harujuku have to offer. It’s all part of the experience!
