Quirky Tours Put Japanese Pop Culture on Display

Sofia Coppola got it right: To visit Japan is to enter a parallel universe where everything looks vaguely familiar, but where you can’t quite grasp the meaning of what’s going on. Westerners’ impressions of Japan generally seem to vacillate between confusion and enchantment, sort of the way children move through the world.

The New York Times today points to two new tours to Tokyo run by Pop Japan Travel that attempt to bridge the divide and give travelers an inside look at Japanese pop culture:

“The Fujoshi Paradise Yaoi Tour caters to fans of yaoi, a comic-book genre created mostly by women that depicts love between two men. Participants shop along Otome Road, where yaoi manga stores abound; visit yaoi-themed cafes; and talk with Makoto Tateno, a prominent yaoi artist.

“The Tokyo Darkside Goth-Loli Tour focuses on the fashion trend of combining Victorian and Rococo styles with 21st-century punk and girly girl movements, as above. The trip features shopping; a visit to Harajuku, a young and trend-setting neighborhood; and a meal at the Victorian-themed Christon Cafe.”

The New York Times: Two Tours Visit Untraditional Tokyo