Shibuya is quite a lively area in Tokyo. It is the birth place of some of the Japanese sub-cultures, which being eccentric fascinate me. Shibuya is really the place where the young and fashionable hang-out. One of the buildings that best represents the area’s fashion focus is the Ichi-Maru-Kyuu or 109 Building. The company that owns the building is Tokyu and the name of the building can be said “to” for 10 and “kyu” for 9 creating Tokyu. It is kind of an amusing way to put your company name on a building, this show the playful creativity that seems to blossom in Japan.
Shibuya crossing a.k.a. "Hachiko crossing" and the 109 building
The 109 building is a fashion store aimed mostly at young women. It sits right near the Shibuya crossing which is a major intersection, it is the biggest ones I have ever seen. On a few of the building visible from within the intersection there are massive screens such as the one visible in the picture above. The crossing is nicknamed “Hachiko crossing”, this name comes from a real life story that happened in the area. There was a professor who had a dog which faithfully followed his master to Shibuya station every morning. When his master died, the dog would still go back to the station to wait for his beloved master. This story spread throughout Japan and the dog became a famous symbol of loyalty which is a very important value in Japanese society. The dog’s name was Hachiko and a statue of him still stands near the entrance to Shibuya station, now a popular meeting place.
Hachiko, the loyal dog
Beyond the Shibuya crossing there is Center-Gai, a narrow street that is well known for it’s clothing stores, music stores and arcades. I walked along this street and had one of the popular deserts that you can get from stands in Tokyo. This desert is crepes filled with a variety of different things such as wiped cream and cheesecake and is eaten much like an ice-cream cone. These crepes are quite good though pretty decadent, mine had quite a large piece of cheesecake in it. It is amazing to see just how many shops can fit on such a narrow road. Below is a picture of a small section of Center-Gai during the day.
A small section of Center-Gai
Center-Gai also has a few ramen shops along it’s length and I had a wonderful bowl of ramen in one of them. At the point where I was having dinner it was quite late and the area only seems to get busier the later it gets. Center-Gai looks completely different. The sheer amount of neon signs is staggering and it is almost as bright as day in some areas. I just love the view of a city at night, all the lights, all the activity. There is something mesmerizing about the colourful blinking lights that almost fill the sky. I always feel inspired when I see a city at night, it is like a city takes on a completely different look and that is very interesting. The picture below shows how busy Shibuya is, even a night.
Streets are busy especially at night in Shibuya
I think the next area I will write about will be Harajuku as it is very similar to Shibuya. This area feature many fashion stores as well as a very famous and historical shinto shrine. It is a strange mix of modern and traditional Japanese Culture.
