What books are reliable on "Japanese subculture" (or you can deal with it separately, like AMG, Harajuku, etc.) I only found a few: http://www.amazon.com/Arcade-Mania-Turbo-charged-Japans-Centers/dp/4770030789/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-History-Video-Games-Pokemon/dp/0761536434/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_c http://www.theotakuencyclopedia.com/ http://www.amazon.com/Gothic-Lolita-Bible-Jodi-Bryson/dp/1427803471
They are most likely all crap. You'd probably do better to dig through back issues of Metropolis and message boards.
even if the books were any good they'd be out of date shortly after release. I've seen fashion in my town change twice. watching japan casually i've seen the fashion change about 20 times in that same 6 year period the gothic lolita bible is actually a good mag though. but its a very specific style with a very niche market
Yeah I was collecting those kinds of books (then I grab another the latest release of an academic J-pop culture book or something).