A visit to Tokyo would not be the same without crossing one of the busiest pedestrian crossings in the world – The Shibuya Scramble. The name that it has been given doesn’t give a true picture in my eyes as, yes, it is extremely busy but the chaos that surrounds you just seems more orderly than a scramble. It is likely you will first view the crossing from Shibuya Station and you must take the time to stop and watch the crossing in action from above as it does resemble a swarm of insects once the lights turn green. The crossing is a top Tokyo attraction and has featured in many films and music videos, my favourite being ‘Intergalactic’ by The Beastie Boys and if you haven’t already seen this video, stop reading this and watch it now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilnnMzK_m8w
After you’ve joined the rest of the crowds and giggled and whooped your way across the crossing, be sure to call off at the Hachiko Statue just outside the station. Hachiko was the name of an Akita dog who arrived at Shibuya Station everyday to meet his owner after work. After his owner sadly died, Hachiko continued to come back to the station everyday at the same time to meet his him which carried on for about 10 years. The story was legendary so the statue was built in Hachiko’s memory and there has since been a film made of the story.
So, without moving very far, we quickly fell in love with Shibuya. The shopping is amazing and Shibuya 109 sits just off the busy intersection which you can’t miss due to it’s towering presence. It is a huge department store and is the place to go for all cute and unusual fashion trends. Groups of friends go here for days out and when you see the size of it, you can understand how and why. For music fans, you are in luck with vinyl shops and HMV has a huge, impressive collection. We also spent a lot of time in Tower Records just listening to new albums and J-Pop on headphones. When in Japan…
As always, you have the usual bars, cafes, and countless food joints to visit (see the Japan food and drink page for any that stood out to us) as well as the ARCADES!!! Hours can be spent in Shibuya and we found ourselves always itching to return for more shopping, entertainment and the certain buzz that is hard to put into words!