Tokyo/Shibuya

Shibuya (渋谷) is a shopping and eating district of Tokyo popular with a lot of young Tokyoites. It deserves a prize for having more two-story televisions than any other area in the world.

Harajuku and Ebisu areas in the ward have separate articles.

(For listings directly connected to Shinjuku station, see Shinjuku article.)

Understand
Most of the action is in the hectic blocks northwest of Shibuya railway station. The best place to get oriented is the Hachikō (ハチ公) exit, which opens onto Shibuya Crossing, the famous five-way pedestrian 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 monstrous video screen
 * 7) Kōen-dōri (公園通り) street
 * 8) Inokashira-dōri (井の頭通り), branching to the left after the Seibu Department Store
 * 9) MAGNET building
 * 10) 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 Tōkyū Plaza department store. Past the highway, some redevelopment is going on, including Shibuya Stream building and Sakura Stage complex (due open 2024). The two major roads heading east from the station continue to Aoyama and Roppongi.

Two large shopping districts in Shibuya have their own articles.
 * Harajuku with Omotesando street, Yoyogi Park and the Meiji Jingu shrine
 * The nightlife district of Ebisu in the south of Shibuya

Tourist information site
The local tourist association has a Japanese-only guide site, [https://play-shibuya.com/ Play! Diversity Shibuya], with integrated machine translation.

By plane
One-seat train service is available from Narita Airport to Shibuya on the Narita Express. Trains run every 30-60 minutes and make the run to Shibuya in 70 minutes at a cost of ¥3190. Alternatively you can take the Keisei Skyliner to Nippori station and change to the JR Yamanote Line (approx. 75 minutes, ¥2670).

Budget travelers can take a regular Keisei limited express from Narita Airport to Nippori and change to the Yamanote Line (approx. 110 minutes, ¥1230). In the evenings, faster Access Tokkyu trains from Narita Airport to Nippori shave 20 minutes off the overall travel time against an extra charge of ¥210.

Airport limousine buses run from Narita to the Shibuya Excel Hotel Tokyu and the Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel (90-120 min, ¥3100). Discount bus tickets for foreigners are available to the Tokyo City Air Terminal, or T-CAT (1 hour, ¥1900); from there, the Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Subway can bring you to Shibuya Station (20 min, ¥200).

From Haneda Airport, Shibuya can be reached by taking the Keikyu Airport Line to Shinagawa and changing to the JR Yamanote Line (approx. 35 minutes, ¥580). Limousine buses also run from Haneda to the hotels listed above (1 hour, ¥1030).

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 Line, Saikyo Line, Shonan-Shinjuku Line
 * Tokyu Tōyoko Line, Den-en-toshi Line
 * Keio Inokashira Line
 * Tokyo Metro Ginza Line Subway TokyoGinza.png(G01), Hanzomon Line Subway TokyoHanzomon.png (Z01), Fukutoshin Line Subway TokyoFukutoshin.png (F16)

You can also walk to Ebisu and Harajuku (where you could catch JR Yamanote Line trains), and Omotesando (where you could catch Tokyo Metro Lines).

The Tōkyū Tōyoko line is the cheapest and most convenient way to visit Yokohama. It is several stories underground where services continue on to the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line for points north.

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 (or Seibu the brave challenger). Tokyu department store closed in January 2023 for re-development of the area, though.

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

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 Hands), full of tiny specialist record shops.


 * For musical equipment, there's a good cluster of shops just southwest of the JR station. (Take the pedestrian overpass to cross the highway.)
 * For musical equipment, there's a good cluster of shops just southwest of the JR station. (Take the pedestrian overpass to cross the highway.)
 * For musical equipment, there's a good cluster of shops just southwest of the JR station. (Take the pedestrian overpass to cross the highway.)
 * For musical equipment, there's a good cluster of shops just southwest of the JR station. (Take the pedestrian overpass to cross the highway.)

Eat
You can't turn around without spotting a handful of restaurants here – from one coin (less than ¥500) noodles to top notch gourmet food.



Drink
Shibuya is a major center for nightclubs, music, and dancing. Also, Nonbei-yokochō (のんべい横丁, "drinker alley"), magically shielded from decades of commercial development, 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 izakaya (Japanese pubs) scattered about Shibuya. The Watami and Outami chains offers good, but not too inspiring, watering holes.



Sleep
Accommodation options in Shibuya are surprisingly limited. The hillside to the left of Dogenzaka is also known as Love Hotel Hill and indeed contains dozens of love hotels, although they're on the expensive side: figure on at least ¥10,000 for an overnight "stay".



Go next

 * Harajuku, reachable within 15 minutes by walking north along Meiji Street.
 * 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.