About Shibuya
The Shibuya district surrounds the Shibuya railway station which is one of the busiest stations in the world, an estimated 2.4 million people go thorough the turnstiles every weekday, but it is not the busiest in Tokyo, Shinjuku and Ikebukuro handle more.
Shibuya is a densely built mix of business and shopping with much of the retail consisting of fashion centres particularly for the young. Some of the popular stores include Shibuya 109, Tokyo’s first Tokyu Hands and Tokyo’s largest Takashimaya department store. The area also has a thriving entertainment scene with dozens if not hundreds of restaurants, cafes bars and clubs and of course the much loved karaoke and pachinko. Dogen-Zaka Road is the centre of the entertainment area and even has a range of love hotels.
Takeshita Street in Harajuku is a must for anyone who is interested in the weirder side of Japanese fashion. This long thin lane is crammed with thousands of shoppers and dozens of tiny fashion stores selling some of the more interesting youth culture costumes. Yoyogi Park is close, home to many of the 1964 Olympic sports facilities and a lovely park. There’s usually plenty of people watching and some interesting free entertainment to amuse you for hours.
For people interested in culture the Meiji Jingu Shrine is well worth a visit on Omotesando Avenue, a street that is home to many of Shibuya’s famous brand boutiques.
One of the most famous intersections int the world is located in Shibya and is known as Center Gai. The intersecton has been used extensively in advertising and more recently films, Lost in Translation and Fast and the Furious, Tokyo Drift are just a few which have made use of the spectacular neon and video screen clad intersection in their films. There is a small square in front of Shibuya Station that is know as Hachikō Square. Hachiko was a dog that returned to the same spot every day waiting for his master to return from work. The dog became a celebrity as the story of his faithfulness grew, he returned to the same spot every day for 11 years after his master’s death. Today the statue of Hachiko that sits in front of the station is a popular meeting spot and was featured in the TV show The Amazing Race.
The 4 roads of traffic stop while pedestrians cross the huge Center Gai intersection which is just as well as the blaring J-Pop coming from the video screens are sure to disorientate.
