Travel topics
Shibuya
The center of youth fashion and culture
The main intersection in front of Shibuya Station is a famous photo spot among visitors. Traffic lights turning green signal people at the four corners to start crossing. The crowd fills up the intersection, diffuses at the centre, and separates into new four groups by the time the lights turn red again. All this happens without much bumping into one another. You should try it as well.
The large traffic and Shibuya are related in its history. Shibuya was a small village in Edo period, located at the Western edge of Central Tokyo. Because of this location, Shibuya Station on circular Yamate Line also became the terminal for a subway line to Ginza, a railway to Yokohama and many other railways. Shibuya developed with the railways and traffic.
The railway companies also made Shibuya a popular shopping town. A railway giant Tokyu Group first built a major department store here in 1934 which attracted many customers who used to only pass Shibuya to shop at Ginza. In 1968, its rival Seibu Railway Group opened Seibu Department Store. They also opened PARCO for younger customers in 1973. Tokyu Group fought back by opening Tokyu Hands in 1978.
Shibuya is a convenient place to access from all direction, and today it is the major hangout spots among youths. You can see youth and students in Shibuya experimenting with extreme fashion and cosmetics.
Handpicked links
Celurean, a luxury hotel in the area
Shibuya by Rough Guides
Birthplace of a million-and-one consumer crazes, where teens and twenty-somethings throng Centre Gai.
Girls wearing extremely dark make-up in Shibuya
Explains trends on group of girls painting their faces almost black in Shibuya.
Shibuya, Youth and the New Japan
In certain places, like Shibuya, you encounter public expressions of a generation trying to find its voice and identity.
Shops in Shibuya on a map
The designer-run website provies a map of Shibuya with clothes shops, bars, interior stores and restaurants.
Official site of Shibuya City Office
Guide for foreign residents in Shibuya. Also Hachiko Bus route and schedule.
History of Hachiko dog statue
Akita dog site featuring an Akita Dog named Samson. Dog training, care and nutrition.