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Shibuya

A Party Town
shibuya 109

Shibuya is the name of one of Japan’s wards, and as such includes Harajuku, Ebisu and a number of other neighborhoods. In common speech, however, Shibuya usually refers to the shopping and entertainment district just south of Harajuku, centered on Shibuya Station, one of Tokyo’s busiest.

Shibuya is famous as a breeding ground for countless youth fads and subcultures, and has been since the 1930’s. The Center Gai precinct is where it all happens for Tokyo’s youth. Center Gai street itself, as well as the warren of smaller streets leading off of it, is packed sky high with shops, restaurants, bars and karaoke boxes that come and go like the wind, reflecting the constantly changing tastes and fickle allegiances of their young customers.

The two biggest players in the area are the competing department-store companies Tokyu and Seibu. Tokyu, famous for its Tokyu Hands store containing eight floors of an almost unbelievable diversity of goods, also owns the Shibuya 109 Building. 109 is a pun on the company’s name, since 10-9 can be pronounced To-kyu. Shibuya 109 contains over 100 boutiques on its ten floors, almost all aimed at young women. The shopping complex is insanely popular, and has spawned a number of young fashion sub-cultures, including the famous “kogyaru” craze of the 1990’s. The influence of Shibuya 109 extends well beyond Shibuya; Karl Lagerfeld and Paris Hilton, among others, stop by whenever they’re in Tokyo.

Other attractions of Shibuya include the Dogenzaka district, named after a bandit who retired to the neighborhood as a monk, and today a labyrinth of sloping, narrow streets and alleys full of bars, nightclubs, pachinko parlors and love hotels, as well as older houses and art galleries. Needless to say, this area is packed at night.

Shibuya is also home to several modest museums devoted to tobacco and salt, electrical power and Asian pottery. They’re not difficult to find, if you’re interested. If you’re hungry after checking out all the cigarettes and salt, mosey over to Mamido Burger. They actually sell sweets, but the Mamido Special is a souffle bun wrapped around a chocolate patty that looks just like a hamburger. They’re very popular right now.

dog

One more thing: next to Shibuya Station you’ll find the famous Hachiko statue. The statue was placed in memory of Hachiko, an Akita dog who accompanied his master to the station every morning and returned in the evening to walk home with him. After the old man died, Hachiko continued to come to the station at his appointed hour every day for ten years. It’s a story many people outside of Japan have heard, and though the statue itself is not especially impressive, animal-lovers and other soft-hearted types may want to stop by.

●SHIBUYA 109
>>Access
2-29-1 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

1 minute walk from Hachi-ko exit of JR Shibuya station

>>Open Hours
Shops:10:00 - 21:00
Restaurants:11:00 - 22:30

>>Holiday
January 1st

●Mamido Burger
>>Access
2-3-1 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

1 minute walk from Hachi-ko exit of JR Shibuya station

>>Open Hours
10:00 - 22:30

>>Holiday
January 1st

>>Map
Shibuya area map>>Click here to veiw
Central Tokyo & JR Yamanote line map>>Click here to veiw

-Matt Mangham