Julie Miller watches Tokyo teenagers dress up as Little Bo Peep and takes her daughter shopping for half-price Alice in Wonderland pinafores.

Japan is a parallel universe of the wackiest kind, a place where the toilets are intelligent, cars look like running shoes and vending machines distribute not only hot coffee, but also soggy chips and even bras and panties.

To see Tokyo at its most bizarre, head to Harajuku, heartland of teenage misfits. Every Sunday, groups of outrageously-clad cosplay-zoku (costume-play gang) – mostly outcast teenage girls – gather on the bridge near the entrance to the Meiji Shrine to primp, preen and generally just hang out. Attitude is rife; they are likely to sulkily turn their backs on your request for a photo, then cheerfully pose for their own cheesy shots, a clear indication they are here for their own social benefit and not as a tourist attraction.

But gawk the tourists do – and with good reason. Little Bo Peep appears to be the role model de jour – flouncy skirts, frilly pink hats, layers of petticoats and bloomers, all mixed and matched with sky-high platform shoes and bleached blonde hair. Maids are also in vogue, as are anime superheroes, Lolita Goths and hospital patients donning fake blood, bandages and eye patches.

Across the road, Harajuku’s main pedestrian thoroughfare, Takeshita-dori, is a teenage shopoholic’s dream, lined with shops selling everything from fluffy earrings to retro American fashions. On a sunny Sunday afternoon, Taskeshita Street surges with humanity; tourists, touts handing out flyers, strolling couples and Harajuku girls on a mission, tottering along on oversized heels and dragging Elmo suitcases on wheels (perhaps containing extra clothing for when they return home as their more conservative alter-egos.)

The shopping here is fun and inexpensive – after purchasing a pair of black suede heels for around $20, my daughter discovered a shop called Body Line, selling classic and beautifully-made Harajuku fashions for half price – Alice in Wonderland pinafores, Santa’s Little Helper outfits and frou frou skirts. She emerged three dresses and one ‘ice princess’ winter coat later, fully equipped to embark on her own career as a teenage weirdo. Inspiration, Nippon-style.

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