Tokyo/Shibuya

From MaxTravelz

Shibuya (渋谷; ) is a shopping and eating district popular with a lot of young Tokyoites. It's within walking distance from two other large shopping districts - Omotesando and Harajuku - as well as being quite close to Yoyogi Park and the Meiji Jingu shrine.

Shibuya deserves a prize as the district with more two-storey televisions than any other area in the world.

Contents 1 Understand 2 Get In 2.1 By train 3 See 3.1 Museums 4 Do 5 Buy 5.1 Cartoons 5.2 Fashion 5.3 Music 5.4 Other 6 Eat 7 Drink 7.1 Izakaya 7.2 Nightclubs 8 Sleep 9 Get out

Understand

Most of the action in Shibuya is in the hectic blocks to the northwest of the JR station. The best place to get oriented is the Hachikō (ハチ公) exit, which opens onto the five-way "scramble crossing" under the giant video screen. From left to right at the edges of the square are...

1. Keio Inokashira line station
2. Dōgenzaka (道玄坂) slope
3. 109 building
4. Bunkamura-dōri (文化村通り) street
5. Center-gai (センター街 Sentaa-gai) street
6. Q-FRONT building featuring a large Starbucks and the monstrous video screen
7. Koen-dōri (公園通り) street
   1. Inokashira-dōri (井の頭通り), branching to the left after the Seibu Department Store
8. 109-2 building
9. JR line tracks to Harajuku.

The area to the south of the station is bounded by a highway, so there's not much more than bus terminals (on both sides) and the Tokyu Plaza department store.

The two major roads heading east from the station continue to Aoyama and Roppongi.

Get In

By train

Shibuya's station is a notoriously convoluted web of passageways. Follow the signage and you should find your way out (or in).

• JR Yamanote, Saikyo Line
• Tokyu Toyoko, Den-en-toshi Line
• Keio Inokashira Line
• Tokyo Metro Ginza Line (G01), Hanzomon Line (Z01)

The Tokyu Toyoko line is the cheapest and most convenient way to visit Yokohama.

See

• Hachikō (ハチ公). A famous statue of a dog who famously came to the station every day to wait for his master — for years after his heart attack and passing away. It is also the name of one of the many exits from Shibuya Station and the prime meeting place before a night out. Just hanging out near Hachiko for a while will give you some great people-watching opportunities.
• Center Gai (センター街 Sentaa-gai). The narrow street leading away from the station to the left of the giant video screen, it's famous as the birthplace of many of Japan's youth fashion trends. Center Gai is jam-packed with clothing stores, music stores, and video game arcades. This is a great place to stroll and feel the Shibuya vibe.
• Bunkamura, Bunkamura-dori. A complex featuring an excellent art museum, in addition to theaters for film and stage plays. On the basement floor there's an art and design bookstore as well as a branch of Paris' famous Les Deux Magots café.

Museums

Shibuya has a small collection of famously offbeat museums.

• Tobacco and Salt Museum (たばこと塩の博物館 Tabako to Shio no Hakubutsukan), Jinnan 1-1 6-8 (on Koen-dori), . This peculiar institution owes its existence to Japan's peculiar government monopoly on these two substances. The website advises that "dangerous substances are not permitted within the museum".

• TEPCO Electric Energy Museum (電力館 Denryokukan), Jinnan 1-12-10 (on Koen-dori), . A giant multi-story propaganda exercise courtesy of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), primarily devoted to extolling the virtues of nuclear energy. Well done if often more than slightly cheesy exhibits, many of them hands-on, and a great place for kids. Free admission, open from 10 AM to 6 PM daily except Wednesday.

Do

There are movie theaters and electronics stores nearby.

Buy

Shibuya has lots and lots of interesting shopping opportunities. It's the home of the huge Tokyu conglomerate (railways, department stores, hotels, housing developments), and thus practically every major store in the area has Tokyu in its name.

Cartoons

• Mandarake. BEAM B2F, Udagawa 31-2, . Massive shop devoted to manga, anime, figurines and collectible offshoots, with staff all dressed up as cartoon characters. Worth a visit for the sheer bizarre spectacle.
• NHK Studio Park. Jinnan 2-2-1 (end of Koen-dori), . Studio sightseeing operation run by Japan's state broadcaster NHK, home to a gift shop selling the widest collection of Domo-kun figures on the planet.

Fashion

Shibuya is the center of Japanese youth culture and it shows.

• 0101 (Marui).
• 109 Building (Ichi-maru-kyu).

Music

Shibuya has copious music shopping opportunities, but expect some sticker shock as Japanese CDs often clock in at ¥3000+; imports are usually cheaper! In addition to the superstores below, also check out the miniature alternative ghetto (Jinnan 11 and nearby, just past Tokyu Hands), full of tiny specialist record shops.

• Disk Union. Antenna 21, Udagawa 30-7 (Center-gai), . Used and new record dealer with floors each specializing in punk, rock, jazz and dance music.
• HMV. Udagawa 24-1 (off Inogashira-dori), . Six floors of music from all around the world.
• RECOfan. BEAM 4F, Udagawa 31-2, (and other outlets incl. one on Center-gai). Good shopping for second-hand music in this cavernous hall: all records are categorized and alphabetized for quick browsing, and prices start at ¥100.
• Tower Records. Jinnan 1-22-14 (Koen-dori), . For a while the largest record store in the world, now merely mind-bogglingly huge. Good selection of English books and magazines on the top floor.
• For musical equipment, there's a good cluster of shops just southwest of the JR station. (Take the pedestrian overpass to cross the highway.)

Other

• Book 1st. (Bunkamura-dori), . One of Tokyo's largest bookstores. Carries a good range of foreign language magazines, add to a huge array of venues to eat and drink.
• Tokyu Hands. (end of Center-gai), . A department store specializing in all sorts of home decorations and D.I.Y. gear (with a heavy emphasis on the all sorts, this place is much more interesting than it sounds!).

Eat

You can't turn around without spotting a handful of restaurants here-- from 100 yen noodles to top notch gourmet food.

• Midori Sushi, 03-5459-0002, in the Shibuya Mark City building is a good balance between quality and price. You may have to wait in line unless you go just before meal times. The take-out is excellent if you are too hungry or impatient.
• Kujiraya , Dogenzaka 2-29-22 (Bunkamura-dori, just past 109), 03-3461-9145. The specialty here is whale meat dishes. Don't forget to pick up a pro-whaling propaganda pamphlet on your way out. Lunch sets from ¥1300, dinner ¥2000 up.
• Kyotako (right next to Tokyu Hands) is a famous store for takoyaki octopus balls.
• Murghi, Dogenzaka 2-19-2, 03-3461-8809, closed Fridays and Thurs. eve. Founded in 1951, when the owner decided to serve the kind of curry he had enjoyed in Burma before World War II.
• Tokyu Department Store (right on top of the train station) has a superb food section in the basement with enough free samples to make a full lunch, if you don't mind not having a place to sit.
• Gonpachi 3-6 Maruyama-cho Shibuya-ku (halfway between Shibuya station and Inokashira Line's Shinsen station), 03-5784-2011. Main restaurant 11:30 AM to 3:30 AM, sushi bar 11:30 AM to 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM to 2:00 AM. . Trendy eatery specializing in soba, with a separate sushi bar in the back.
• Kua'aina 1-10-4 Shibuya (off of Omotesando), 03-3409-3200, 10 AM-11PM. . Hawaiian hambergers, order-at-the counter from a picture menu with English. Meal sets are available for ¥1030-920, higher after 5PM.

Drink

Shibuya is a major center for nightclubs, music, and dancing.

• Magically shielded from decades of commercial development, Nonbei-yokochō (のんべい横丁) is a narrow alley running alongside the east side of the Yamanote tracks just north of the station. It's packed with traditional yakitori taverns as well as some modern, extremely tiny bars. The district was formed in 1955, and a few of the shops have been operating since then.

Izakaya

There are plenty of cheap and cheerful chain izakayas (Japanese pubs) scattered about Shibuya. Look for for the Watami and Uotami chains.

• Tengu 25-3 Udagawa-cho (B1; in an alley between Center-gai and Inokashira-dori) Open 5:00 PM to midnight. Tengu is a part of a popular izakaya chain, which stands out from the rest mainly because they have an English menu.

• Kaji Maru 28-1 Udagawa-cho (on a cross street between Bunkamura-dori and Center-gai, 2F), 03-3463-1717. Open M-Th 6PM-3AM, F-Sa 6PM-5AM, Su 6PM-12AM. Kaji Maru is an atmospheric and smallish Asian-fusion izakaya one floor above the hubbub of Shibuya. An English menu is available. Individual plates run ¥580 to 700. Draft beer ¥500, table charge ¥300.

• The Lock Up 33-1 Udagawa-cho (just off Center-gai, Shibuya Grand Tokyo Bldg. B2F), 03-5728-7731. Open M-Th 5PM-1AM, F-Sa 5PM-5AM, Su 5AM-12AM. Even if you have no plans to eat, check out the approach to this theme izakaya, a long hallway more like a haunted house than the entrance to a restaurant. Inside you'll find a dungeon theme eatery featuring test tube cocktails, food with brutal names, uniformed mini-skirt-staff, handcuffs and prison breaks. Plates range ¥400-¥820, draft beer ¥500.

• Hatago 2-28-5 Dogenzaka (B1; along Dogenzaka street, about 200m beyond the 109 Building). This is a stylish and somewhat upscale izakaya that accommodates foreign customers with a handwritten English menu. Try the baked miso eggplant, ¥650. Draft beer ¥630, table charge ¥250; expect to pay around ¥3000 per person for a reasonable meal including drinks.

Nightclubs

• Womb in Dogenzaka is one of Tokyo's newest, hottest and largest clubs, designed by the people behind New York's Twilo. Entrance is fairly steep at ¥3500 with 2 drinks.
• Club Pure on Senta-Gai is a tiny little club usually offering ¥2500 nomihoudai (all you can drink) on the weekends. Popular with foreigners and with "Gaijin Hunters."
• Club Harlem is large 2 floor all hip-hop club located in Shibuya. Few foreign patrons.
• Club Asia , situated in between dozens of love hotels is popular for trance music all night long. This club isn't very popular with foreign patrons.
• Gas Panic

Sleep

• Tokyu Excel Hotel is a popular high-end hotel in the Mark City building.
• Tokyu Stay Shibuya 8-14 Shinsen-cho. 03-3477-1091, fax 03-3477-1092. Singles start at ¥9450, doubles at ¥17,850 per night. Slight discounts are offered for extended stays. Part of the Tokyu Stay chain, this hotel is popular with business travelers. Small kitchenettes, washer/dryers, and free LAN access in all rooms makes these a good value.
• Tokyu Stay Shibuya Shin-Minamiguchi 3-26-21 Shibuya. 03-5466-0109, fax 03-5466-1091. This is another outlet of the same chain.
• The hillside to the left of Dogenzaka is also known as Love Hotel Hill and indeed contains dozens of love hotels.
• Japan Youth Hostels has a branch in Yoyogi .

Get out

• Ebisu, the next stop south on the JR Yamanote Line, is a quieter and more sophisticated version of the Shibuya scene.
• Shimokitazawa, just two stops down the Keio Inokashira line, offers trendy shops, restaurants and watering holes in a slightly less frenetic atmosphere.
• Kichijoji, at the other end of the Inokashira Line, has more of the same plus a park famed for its cherry blossoms.