On 7 September 2013, Control Bear STORE TOKYO opened on the basement floor of Laforet Harajuku — the character’s first dedicated concept store in Japan after years of pop-up-only merchandising. Hours, stock, and collabs below are a 2013 snapshot of that opening week, not a live shop guide.
What Control Bear was selling as a concept
Control Bear was created in 2008 by designer Chogo Uehara as a character for the T-shirt shop graniph. The signature image is deliberately off: a cute bear that holds — or appears to remove — its own head. That mix of soft toy cuteness and black humor is what made the character stick in Harajuku fashion circles more than a standard mascot would.
By 2013 the master license sat with Spiral Cute Inc. (also known for characters such as Nameko). Company messaging around the launch framed Control Bear as a “strong-willed bear that controls its own mind,” and positioned the Laforet room as a Tokyo base for wider Asian and international expansion after Paris select shop Colette had already carried the line and a Narita Airport pop-up had tested traveler traffic earlier that year.
Why Laforet Harajuku mattered
Laforet’s basement is a high-sensitivity retail layer: fashion-curious shoppers, limited drops, and character goods that need to look intentional rather than carnival. Opening a permanent concept store there moved Control Bear from temporary counters into a standing brand statement — seasonal merchandise, artist collaborations in Japan and overseas, and a place to premiere new media projects.
Launch coverage highlighted a pilot video project screened in-shop alongside the product floor — early evidence that Spiral Cute wanted the character treated as an art/fashion property, not only plush inventory.
Opening merchandise and the first fashion collab
Day-one assortment described in 2013 press included:
- Plush toys in about 20 colors
- T-shirts, tote bags, and iPhone cases
- A store-exclusive collaboration T-shirt with Tokyo fashion brand NOZOMI ISHIGURO — oversized silhouette, Ishiguro’s Control Bear illustration, LOVE lettering, and a specially designed product tag
That first fashion project was presented as the start of a longer collab pipeline, with later talk of overseas creators (coverage named Korean figure artist CoolRain) and possible store talks including Hong Kong.
How this fits the Shibuya–Harajuku map
Laforet sits on the Jingumae side of the ward’s fashion axis — one walk from Takeshita-dori denseness toward Cat Street and the Omotesando corridor. Scramble crowds and Harajuku retail spikes move on related clocks even when the destinations differ. If you watch basin energy on the Shibuya Crossing live camera, a Laforet character opening is part of the same weekend shopping surge that empties into Meiji-dori and Jingumae basements.
Flagship retail days add up fast — set expectations with our average trip to Japan cost breakdown.
Opening facts
- Store: Control Bear STORE TOKYO
- Opening date: 7 September 2013
- Venue: Laforet Harajuku B1F, 1-11-6 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
- Operator / master licensee (2013): Spiral Cute Inc.
- Character origin: Chogo Uehara / graniph, 2008
- Launch notes: seasonal + collab merch; NOZOMI ISHIGURO tee exclusive; in-store video pilot
Confirm current operation before planning a visit — concept stores of this era often closed or relocated.
