Having spent an afternoon walking around Shibuya station I know what sort of a tangled mess it is.. 😁 Like all of the large stations I visited (admittedly, only three so far including Shinjuku and Akihabara) it's a maze of train lines, underground malls and shops and passages, with tons of exits. Shibuya was the worst - I took a train from near the Ghibli clock (can't remember the line) but it ended up in what looked like a newly built, temporary unfinished platform above ground. Google Maps showed that the Hachikou statue was nearby, so was the scramble crossing, but it took me about 25 minutes to get out to street level, after getting lost inside a couple of large shops. Don't remember everything I did there - I do remember visiting the Hachikou statue, the Daiso (what a weird Daiso), looking for animal face silicone oven mitts (I never found any, despite looking at maybe 7 or 8 Daisos all over Tokyo and Kamakura, had to buy them when I got back home), the Bic Camera (saw an orange Pentax K30 body that I wanted, only to find it was only a shell, for display.. 😁 ) and eating at the Kura Sushi. Here is where I learned that just because Google Maps says something is there doesn't mean it's THERE - it might be three floors up.
Incidentally, the Ginza line was having some sort of event, where they decorated the insides of the carriages to look like something out of the 1940s or 50s, with wood paneling and vintage lights. I can't remember if I took it TO Shibuya or to AWAY from Shibuya. I will have to say... Google Maps was a godsend, as far as finding out which train (or even bus!) to take, and when. Turned it into a no-brainer. My expectations of Shibuya were based on a few episodes of Idol Tenshi Youkoso Yohko.. it was nothing like that.. 😂 Or at least it was nothing like that near the station.
Sensory overload - I suppose there were also the idol singers doing performances on the street beside the station... 😁 A couple of them tried to explain something to me about voting for someone but I couldn't figure out what it was about.. 😂 23:09 - there's actually graffiti.. Hmm! I don't remember seeing any homeless people but there were signs of them around the station. Bedding, cardboard, etc. What IS up those stairs and through the door that that man went into?
Hi John, I moved from a small city (about 15000 residents) in Sweden to Shibuya in April 1998, right after I turned 30. I stayed there for 2-years, had about 5 min walk to Shibuya station from my apartment. I must say, I would not trade Shibuya for anything else in Tokyo, I just love Shibuya so be nice when you talk about it 🙂. I was visiting the Tokyo area earlier this year and a lot had changed since I was living there, especially in Shibuya but Shibuya still feels like home to me 🙂. Anyway keep up the good work with your channel, one of my favorit channels for Tokyo or Japan in general. BR, Per
2027 is soon. You should see a public road or highway construction project in the US, guaranteed decades of work before it's finished, and when it is, the demand it was supposed to meet is now beyond what it was originally projected for. Japan does it right.
John, thanks for the walk around. We had a great walk through the streets NW of the station up past IKEA, Blue Bottle Cafe then onto Yoyogi Park and some of the Tokyo Toilets Projects. PS Great film Perfect Days. Cheers Graham
The tall building you are pointing to is Shibuya Scramble Square. Shibuya Stream building is hidden behind that. Fun fact, Google Japan corporate offices are located in Shibuya Stream and there’s a giant Google logo at the very top corner of the building.
Thanks John, my wife and love a Ramen store just up the road a bit to the right of 109 building. It has Gluten free noodles and Kaarage that are really ❤delicious. Shinbusakiya
Shibuya might be overrated but it holds a special place in my heart. Before going to Japan, I visited Japan through google cardboard. Shibuya was one of the locations in Japan I would visit.
It was in the lonely planet back in 1997 before I went. Hachiko Scramble looked so amazingly … Asian! All the kanji and neon. It’s so different now. But after 26 years here, I’ve found too many other places to replace that Shibuya in my heart feeling 😂 but it is definitely a major attraction of Tokyo!
We stayed at the Excel in Shibuya Stream for a week last year & even with the construction found it a great base to cover the whole city. Took us just a day to get the hang of the walkways & traffic flow - now we know the little Vietnamese kitchen to hit when we get off the train, which Starbucks are easier to use, secret entrances & overlooks, etc. Rooftop Miyashita Park is a great addition, especially for travelers with kids. The convenience and speed of Shibuya coming out of Haneda is also a big plus; it’s our default stay location.
I got to visit Tokyo twice last year in 2023, and both times I found Shibuya to be disappointing / overrated. I remember getting to the famous Shibuya scramble crossing and thinking "Wait, that's it??" And yes I found the construction to be confusing, and got lost a couple times trying to exit the station. Next trip I will probably skip it entirely and explore different parts of Tokyo I haven't seen before (let alone different parts of Japan. So many places I haven't been, need to get out of the city!)
@@onlyinjapanGO Fortunately we didn't stay in Shibuya, just visited (normal touristy first time in Japan things like Nintendo Store, Hachiko statue etc.) Hotels were extra expensive there so that's partially why as well. Funnily enough, Times Square never appealed to me either, so that's probably why Shibuya didn't really vibe with me. Maybe worth checking out again in 2027 after the construction? We'll see.
The one thing that I miss from being in the Shibuya scramble area is the old-school green train car that was the tourist information center for Shibuya. It was such an iconic feature for the area.
18:02 I remember the first time I stepped onto Shibuya Scramble. I literally froze for 20 minutes, looking at all the lights, taking in all the sounds, blown away by everything going on. This is when it all hit. This is JAPAN! 😌
i go to the shibuya station area fairly often but i remember the first time it was incredibly overwhelming because there are so many huge buildings and i have no idea what each of them are. shibuya hikarie, shibuya scramble, shibuya stream, etc. i still get confused to this day. one dya i need to go and check out the buildings properly. ill also check out the view at the hikarie 8th floor.
The old bus station in front of the new Shibuya department stores, refusing to move, makes people logistics a nightmare. I still prefer Shibuya over Asakusa though, as Asakusa is often worse for crowds these days. I also like Daikanyama, Dogenzaka, Yoyogi Uehara etc for their quieter atmosphere.
Do you ever go to the yokosuka or somewhere like that or people go to near the navy bases or military bases shopping and stuff always in Tokyo do you go other places
Tokyo will lose a lot of it's charm and character with all these huge re-development, especially those Mori ones, all of them look the same, all those glass boxes are so ugly.
Having spent an afternoon walking around Shibuya station I know what sort of a tangled mess it is.. 😁 Like all of the large stations I visited (admittedly, only three so far including Shinjuku and Akihabara) it's a maze of train lines, underground malls and shops and passages, with tons of exits. Shibuya was the worst - I took a train from near the Ghibli clock (can't remember the line) but it ended up in what looked like a newly built, temporary unfinished platform above ground. Google Maps showed that the Hachikou statue was nearby, so was the scramble crossing, but it took me about 25 minutes to get out to street level, after getting lost inside a couple of large shops. Don't remember everything I did there - I do remember visiting the Hachikou statue, the Daiso (what a weird Daiso), looking for animal face silicone oven mitts (I never found any, despite looking at maybe 7 or 8 Daisos all over Tokyo and Kamakura, had to buy them when I got back home), the Bic Camera (saw an orange Pentax K30 body that I wanted, only to find it was only a shell, for display.. 😁 ) and eating at the Kura Sushi. Here is where I learned that just because Google Maps says something is there doesn't mean it's THERE - it might be three floors up.
Incidentally, the Ginza line was having some sort of event, where they decorated the insides of the carriages to look like something out of the 1940s or 50s, with wood paneling and vintage lights. I can't remember if I took it TO Shibuya or to AWAY from Shibuya. I will have to say... Google Maps was a godsend, as far as finding out which train (or even bus!) to take, and when. Turned it into a no-brainer. My expectations of Shibuya were based on a few episodes of Idol Tenshi Youkoso Yohko.. it was nothing like that.. 😂 Or at least it was nothing like that near the station.
Sensory overload - I suppose there were also the idol singers doing performances on the street beside the station... 😁 A couple of them tried to explain something to me about voting for someone but I couldn't figure out what it was about.. 😂 23:09 - there's actually graffiti.. Hmm! I don't remember seeing any homeless people but there were signs of them around the station. Bedding, cardboard, etc. What IS up those stairs and through the door that that man went into?
Hi John,
I moved from a small city (about 15000 residents) in Sweden to Shibuya in April 1998, right after I turned 30. I stayed there for 2-years, had about 5 min walk to Shibuya station from my apartment. I must say, I would not trade Shibuya for anything else in Tokyo, I just love Shibuya so be nice when you talk about it 🙂. I was visiting the Tokyo area earlier this year and a lot had changed since I was living there, especially in Shibuya but Shibuya still feels like home to me 🙂. Anyway keep up the good work with your channel, one of my favorit channels for Tokyo or Japan in general.
BR,
Per
2027 is soon. You should see a public road or highway construction project in the US, guaranteed decades of work before it's finished, and when it is, the demand it was supposed to meet is now beyond what it was originally projected for. Japan does it right.
It is impressive in that light, things do get done!
John, thanks for the walk around. We had a great walk through the streets NW of the station up past IKEA, Blue Bottle Cafe then onto Yoyogi Park and some of the Tokyo Toilets Projects. PS Great film Perfect Days. Cheers Graham
The tall building you are pointing to is Shibuya Scramble Square. Shibuya Stream building is hidden behind that. Fun fact, Google Japan corporate offices are located in Shibuya Stream and there’s a giant Google logo at the very top corner of the building.
Thanks John, my wife and love a Ramen store just up the road a bit to the right of 109 building. It has Gluten free noodles and Kaarage that are really ❤delicious. Shinbusakiya
I know the one, I may have recommended that to you guys! 😀
I’ll go check it out!
Yes! I agree John. Better to stay in Ueno - Asakusa - Asakusabashi areas. I skipped Shibuya entirely this year. Visited in May & Nov. Aloha!
Ueno is next to be rebuilt
Worth a visit, no need to stay here esp your second visit unless you’re an urban dweller lover and I’d understand that :)
Well John, Have a great rest of your day and see you on the other side. Thanks for updating Shibuya.
Thanks for sharing it. ✌️
Shibuya might be overrated but it holds a special place in my heart. Before going to Japan, I visited Japan through google cardboard. Shibuya was one of the locations in Japan I would visit.
It was in the lonely planet back in 1997 before I went. Hachiko Scramble looked so amazingly … Asian! All the kanji and neon. It’s so different now. But after 26 years here, I’ve found too many other places to replace that Shibuya in my heart feeling 😂 but it is definitely a major attraction of Tokyo!
I still miss the green train car as the info booth
We stayed at the Excel in Shibuya Stream for a week last year & even with the construction found it a great base to cover the whole city. Took us just a day to get the hang of the walkways & traffic flow - now we know the little Vietnamese kitchen to hit when we get off the train, which Starbucks are easier to use, secret entrances & overlooks, etc. Rooftop Miyashita Park is a great addition, especially for travelers with kids. The convenience and speed of Shibuya coming out of Haneda is also a big plus; it’s our default stay location.
I AGREE!!!!!
It took me longer now to get to the New South Exit
We had a great time walking around and doing some shopping in the new area
😊
I got to visit Tokyo twice last year in 2023, and both times I found Shibuya to be disappointing / overrated. I remember getting to the famous Shibuya scramble crossing and thinking "Wait, that's it??" And yes I found the construction to be confusing, and got lost a couple times trying to exit the station.
Next trip I will probably skip it entirely and explore different parts of Tokyo I haven't seen before (let alone different parts of Japan. So many places I haven't been, need to get out of the city!)
Sensory overload is the attraction … perhaps a reason to stay somewhere else? Times Square of Japan.
@@onlyinjapanGO Fortunately we didn't stay in Shibuya, just visited (normal touristy first time in Japan things like Nintendo Store, Hachiko statue etc.) Hotels were extra expensive there so that's partially why as well.
Funnily enough, Times Square never appealed to me either, so that's probably why Shibuya didn't really vibe with me. Maybe worth checking out again in 2027 after the construction? We'll see.
The one thing that I miss from being in the Shibuya scramble area is the old-school green train car that was the tourist information center for Shibuya. It was such an iconic feature for the area.
Yokohama Station looked like that for over four years. Suddenly walking out and seeing the pipe staging gone was almost a shock.
Woah! I know it ,, I’ve got to go for a visit to see it done
18:02 I remember the first time I stepped onto Shibuya Scramble. I literally froze for 20 minutes, looking at all the lights, taking in all the sounds, blown away by everything going on. This is when it all hit. This is JAPAN! 😌
i go to the shibuya station area fairly often but i remember the first time it was incredibly overwhelming because there are so many huge buildings and i have no idea what each of them are. shibuya hikarie, shibuya scramble, shibuya stream, etc. i still get confused to this day. one dya i need to go and check out the buildings properly. ill also check out the view at the hikarie 8th floor.
4:54 Reminds me of the Washington DC station
Great video John, where is the house you show at the minute 24:18?
Thank you 😉
Next to Miyashita Park, Nonbei Yokocho.
@ thank you John 😉
The old bus station in front of the new Shibuya department stores, refusing to move, makes people logistics a nightmare. I still prefer Shibuya over Asakusa though, as Asakusa is often worse for crowds these days. I also like Daikanyama, Dogenzaka, Yoyogi Uehara etc for their quieter atmosphere.
That’s true except - they tend to go away by 5pm because more people stay - in Shibuya 😂 the 11:00 to 16:00 period is usually full of tour bus groups.
You don't out grow Shibuya ❤.
Yeah, you do 😝 but physically, it is getting taller than me.
Very interesting! Looks so mild there in December. Does that mean a colder Spring? In Toronto, we have highs of around 1 degree Celsius now. 🥶
Right now, yes - usually the cold turns in by Dec 10th. Very short days now, sunset before 5pm. Just a kind of freakish warmth now.
Dang! I went there for dinner tonight. If I had gone earlier, I could have had my first ever John sighting 😭
I enjoyed your live stream enjoy exploring the area John and the coffee if you drink some
Do you ever go to the yokosuka or somewhere like that or people go to near the navy bases or military bases shopping and stuff always in Tokyo do you go other places
25:15 i live in shibuya!!
See! There ARE residents here 😂
have you seen shinagawa station lately? It is a total mess
That station def needs an upgrade! No, not recently. Time to go and get lost again 😂
Tokyo will lose a lot of it's charm and character with all these huge re-development, especially those Mori ones, all of them look the same, all those glass boxes are so ugly.
Mondern day construction made it this way
get mayo drink
I did, two days ago here 🤢 still trying to forget it.