Shibuya Station 渋谷駅
Birth of a trendy town
Shibuya is the major station in the southwest of Tokyo, located between Harajuku and Ebisu on the Yamanote line, and surely one of the best known in the entire capital. It opens onto the district of the same name where young people come to shop and enjoy the nightlife in one of the many bars in the area.
The train station
The Shibuya railway station opened its doors at the end of the 19th century in 1885 on the Akabane-Shinagawa line, which in 1925 became the Yamanote line after various connection works.
The station is extremely busy since with 3.1 million passengers per day, it is the second busiest in Tokyo after Shinjuku station.
Shibuya is a huge hub in the south of the city, comprising no less than 9 lines operated by four different operators. In particular, travelers can:
- Go to Yokohama and many cities in Kanagawa Prefecture via the Shônan-Shinjuku, Tôkyu Tôyoko, Tokyu Den-en-Toshi lines.
- Visit the cities of Saitama prefecture by taking the Shonan-Shinjuku, and Saikyo lines.
- Go to the Kichijôji district using the Keiô-Inokashira line.
- Provide their various routes within Tokyo with the Yamanote, Fukutoshin, Hanzômon, and Ginza lines.
A little history
The station resonates in the Japanese imagination, particularly because of the story of the dog Hachikô. The latter used to accompany his master every morning to the station and to come and wait for him there in the evening.
When he died in 1925, Hachiko continued to come and wait for his master in front of the station every evening. This lasted until his death ten years later.
A bronze statue of Hachiko in front of the station's main entrance was inaugurated in 1934 and is now a meeting place for Tokyoites.
The station was also 1946 the scene of the confrontation known as the "Shibuya incident" during which nearly a thousand yakuza clashed with several hundred Taiwanese gang members. A clash of rival gangs against the backdrop of the heavy shortage that existed in post-war Japan.
- Read also: Top 5 Yamanote mascots
Iconic places
The station is surrounded by many iconic places. The first, and the most famous of them, is the Shibuya Crossing.
Opposite the station, the cars are stopped for 55 seconds at this huge pedestrian crossing to let the crowd pour into this large square illuminated by huge advertising screens.
At the intersection, the Shibuya 109 shopping center , with its tower and its 8 floors of stores dedicated to women's fashion, is a shopping mecca for young Japanese women. It is also the nerve center of the culture of the 1990s "gyaru", these tanned and discolored young girls with flashy style.
The Shibuya Stream building, which opened its doors last September, is directly connected to the station. Its 35 floors house cafes, restaurants, offices, and open spaces.
The tower has since its opening become a popular place in the district thanks to its opening on the Shibuya River and its terrace cafes which give a second life to the southern sector of Shibuya, traditionally less sought after than the rest of the district.
It is also in this tower that the Xiringuito Escriba restaurant, whose paella is more than famous in Barcelona, opened its first establishment in Japan.
Discover the Yamanote, Tokyo's iconic subway line:
- Tokyo station
- Nippori Station
- Uguisudani station
- Ueno Station
- Okachimachi Station
- Akihabara Station
- Kanda Station
- Yurakuchō Station
- Shimbashi Station
- Hamamatsucho Station
- Tamachi Station
- Ebisu Station
- Shibuya Station
- Harajuku Station
- Yoyogi Station
- Shinjuku Station
- Shin-Okubo Station
- Takadanobaba station
- Ikebukuro Station
- Otsuka Station
- Komagome Station
- Tabata station