On the corner of a main intersection in Tokyo’s trendiest district, there used to be a building called Harajuku Central Apartment. Built in 1958, it was often considered the place where young creatives gathered when they needed a spark of inspiration, especially in the 1960s and 1970s.
The building housed offices for a number of now-famous creators, but there was also a café called Leon on the first floor – a meeting place for creatives including Rei Kawakubo, a fashion designer who founded Comme des Garcons, and Kansai Yamamoto, another fashion influencer designer. designer, film director Juzo Itami and advertising writer Shigesato Itoi.
Many of them rose to fame networking at the Central Apartment, which was demolished in 1996. As such, the building is often credited with largely helping to establish Harajuku’s reputation as a leading center for creatives.
