Tucked next to a vinyl record store on a quiet street in Shibuya’s San-chome neighborhood, hordes of teen girls gather at a cafe after school to pore over gyaru (gal) fashion magazines, sip ramune cream sodas and take selfies on bedazzled flip phones.
The scene might seem out of the late 1990s or early 2000s, but this cafe, Retopo, only opened in November 2024 amid growing hype and nostalgia among a generation who didn’t experience the trends on their first go-round.
What was once a fascination with the Showa Era (1926-89) glitz of kissaten cafes and city pop has evolved into something glossier, more colorful and, interestingly, more recent — the Heisei Retro boom.
AloJapan.com