The Spectacle of Shibuya | Japan Travels

Shibuya Pedestrian, Tokyo

Shibuya is a popular shopping hub for many young Japanese men and women, and is also home to the famous Japanese Pedestrian Crossing. For anyone wanting the full Tokyo experience I reckon Shibuya is the place to be. Shibuya has a spectacular night life bustling with many things to see and do – basically embodying the ‘Tokyo’ in anyone’s imagination.

Obviously as shopaholics we chose to visit Shibuya’s nightlife over Akihabara’s even though both are equally as dazzling at night. Actually, if the choice came down to either spending the dark-ish hours suffocated by thousands of shopaholics as opposed to creepy café maids giving me hentai pamphlets then I would gladly choose Shibuya any day.

Hachiko. Still waiting...

As usual, we hopped on the JR Yamanote Line to get to Shibuya. I cannot emphasise enough how convenient the Yamanote Line is! As we left Shibuya Station we spotted Hachiko - still loyal beyond the grave. Grab a tissue if you want to read the story behind the little cutie. The magnitude of pedestrians walking on and around the crossing can be quite intimidating and Hachiko was pretty much the one landmark we took note of if we got separated somehow. But behold, there laid before us the most famous pedestrian crossing in the world!

Sorry for the blurry picture :P...

People recommend going to the nearby Starbucks to get a better view of the famous land mark but these days it's almost impossible. A lot of foot traffic in Starbucks had in the past been from visitors not interested in their coffee but the view they had on the crossing. Now Starbucks simply prohibit anyone from taking pictures at all which to say the least is pretty fair and sensible.

The Shibuya Crossing had actually been smaller than I imagined it to be. What was overwhelming though was the amount of people crossing over it. For someone coming from a city of just one million and who considers 4 people in a queue “crowded”, being able to witness thousands of people in such a compact space was pretty mind blowing. I took lots of pictures, created memories and just soaked up the whole atmosphere. I was in fricken Tokyo! *squeal*

Right. So after soaking it all in like a sponge, it was time for some serious shopping! We didn’t know where to go and frankly we were beginning to feel smothered, so we retreated in some back street alley somewhere flanked by plenty of gorgeous little shops. Everywhere we turned was just row upon row of shops and restaurants that getting "lost" in Shibuya meant nothing at all.

The shopping bags were beginning to pile up when we stumbled inside a store that sold jewelleries, accessories and fedoras. The shop owner was a charismatic Hawaiian-Japanese man who spoke perfect English and told us some pretty cool tips for our trip – like what to check out when we get to a certain place in Japan, and everywhere else for that matter. He was well travelled. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd been around the world five times. My friend was so enamoured by him that I was convinced she could have married him on the spot.

Smaller stores or Japanese owned outlets had plenty of cute things I could have snagged had it not been for their frustrating one-size fitting. I’m quite particular about how something fits on me so I do like having a range of sizes to choose from. It’s so disappointing to love a dress only to look unflattering because it didn’t fit right. Even some shoe stores only had three sizes: S, M and L.

So the day rolled on and it was time to get back to the hotel, much to our dissatisfaction. A few hours in Shibuya was definitely not enough for us to explore mainstream shops such as the tall buildings of Forever21, Bershka and H&M and also discover local fashion trends such as the ones they have inside the equally tall buildings of 109 (both Women's and Men's), OIOI and UNIQLO, so make sure to spend a whole day with a fat wallet. You're gonna need it. 

Peaces x :)