The streets of Shibuya / Photographed by Wang Shuai
In the seventh episode of the sixth season of "Lonely Foodie", Goro goes to Shibuya and eats at the Nagasaki Restaurant, although the name is Nagasaki, but it is actually a Japanese Chinese cuisine. For Chinese cuisine, there has been a lot of talk before, and I will not mention it here, but more importantly, I want to talk about where he went, Shibuya.
Shibuya's impression of foreign tourists has always been a street for young people, a place where various nightclub clubs meet, just like the one that Goro visited in the series because of the renovation business. Plus a super-busy intersection that seems to be very topical among foreigners, and the bustling streets of Shibuya on Halloween.
Therefore, in general, it seems that Shibuya is also a key destination for foreign tourists in Tokyo, but after a customized itinerary, Abu Travel Notes found that this is not entirely the case.
Shibuya, a fashionable place, also has a traditional shrine, and Goro is hungry at the entrance of Tamazo Inari Shrine / Screenshot of "Lonely 6"
At least, of the many Trips to Tokyo we have arranged, not many people actually want to go to Shibuya when asking for advice from customized users.
In the Japanese's own city street popularity list, there is also an interesting phenomenon about Shibuya, that is, almost every decade, Shibuya's ranking has to fall down. In the 1990s, Shibuya, the second street in the popularity list after Ginza, is now falling out of the top ten, and even, on the list we have seen, it now ranks even lower than Shinagawa in the minds of tourists.
This did surprise us a little, but when we think about it later, it's understandable. If you travel to Tokyo and want to find nightclubs, fashion or exquisite lifestyle, most of them go to Roppongi, Omotesando, or Daikanyama.
Inside the D47 Museum of Omotesando / Photographed by Wang Shuai
Will Shibuya "sink" like this? Or, is Shibuya still attractive? Is there a new attraction for international travelers? In the view of Abu Travel Notes, in fact, there are still some drops of travel content worth saying around Shibuya.
Concerts, tide signs and Songtao surroundings
The first thing worth mentioning is that since the 1990s, the fashion sense of the Shibuya era has emerged, but in fact, a very important factor is music. Whether you enjoy pop music, or taste classical music, etc., you can connect with Shibuya.
It belongs to the downtown area of music, and it is still a characteristic of Shibuya to this day.
To this day, Shibuya is still an important venue for finding vinyl records, listening to concerts, and enjoying cultural and artistic events such as opera and modern dance.
In Shibuya Matsutao, there is a complex cultural facility called BUNKAMURA, which has a shoebox-shaped concert hall inside, and fans who like symphony music should be familiar with it, which is the permanent residence of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra Resident Bunkamura Symphony Hall/Official Announcement
The concert hall was built in 1989, when Shibuya was at its most popular, when Japan's bubble economy was at its peak.
In addition to going to concerts, there are also some small theaters near BUNKAMURA, and there are occasionally some photography exhibitions, theme exhibitions, and if you are interested in art exhibitions or concerts, you can also find your favorite bite here.
Abu Travel Notes has also arranged several symphony concerts for custom users here, as well as Winnie the Pooh's special exhibition itinerary; but then again, if the exhibition and concert are excluded, most of these custom users will not really arrange a trip to Shibuya.
However, there are still people who will go to Shibuya, and most of them are tide card senior players. In addition to wandering around Roppongi and Harajuku, they often run to Shibuya, the most famous Shibuya fashion landmark, the 109 Building, and the surrounding brand stores, and sometimes there are some new discoveries.
Fashion taste on the streets of Shibuya in 2019 / Photo by Wang Shuai
Add this place under Songtao again. Its location is not only the heart of Shibuya, but also the territory of the Tokugawa Mizoya and The Kishu Tokugawa families, and today's Matsutao Park there is once their residence.
Around Matsutao Park, there is also an old Tokyo Governor's Mansion, which means that it used to be the place where the mayor of Tokyo lived, so in the hearts of many elderly Tokyo citizens, the Matsutao area can be said to be a relatively traditional high-end residential area in Tokyo.
The atmosphere of life in the vicinity of Songtao is different from the current rise of Daikan-san or The Second Son Tamagawa, although it is in Shibuya, it does not have so many popular elements, on the contrary, it is more old-fashioned, and there is a kind of arrogance of quieting in the middle of the scene.
A 21st-century Shibuya landmark
In recent years, Shibuya should also feel that its status is declining, so it has been doing some new landmark construction.
Tokyu Shibuya Station "Jiju Ship" / Official Announcement Map
For example, Shibuya Station, as early as 2008, invited Tadao Ando, who is also very popular in China, to do the design, using the concrete material that Ahn is best at, and built a huge oval space under Shibuya Station, including the space of the second to fifth floors underground, and at the same time imported the natural wind on the ground, intending to achieve natural ventilation.
This is the concept of an underground spaceship that was rebuilt into Shibuya Station, which is a rare "eco-friendly station" in the world. But in these years of practical application, ventilation is ventilation, but too ventilated, it is said that there is almost no temperature difference between the inside and outside of the station in summer, and the refrigeration is ineffective; the elevator capacity is designed to be too small, and there is also a lot of controversy.
Of course, Shibuya did not give up, before the epidemic, at the end of 2019, a new landmark was opened above Shibuya Station, and the Abu Travel Handbook also mentioned it when writing about the urban renewal of Japan during the epidemic period (specific click: new landmarks in Japan during the epidemic period).
An infinity pool-like visually pleasing open-air observation deck called Shibuya SKY.
Infinity pool sense of the Shibuya SKY Observatory / official photo
At present, it is probably the most fashionable observation deck in All of Tokyo, at least more attractive than the original Roppongi Hills. Unfortunately, before I had a chance to experience it, the epidemic came.
Speaking of which, SHIBUYA SCRAMBLE SQUARE, the building where the Shibuya SKY Observatory is located, is itself a very fashionable commercial facility, and from B1-14F there are various popular overseas restaurants that have opened stores in Japan for the first time.
For example, MORI YOSHIDA PARIS, a French sweets shop that has been localized in Japan, a selection store for good design at the Japan Design Award, and a Nike concept store, basically the existence of this building is a declaration that Shibuya will become fashionable again.
Shibuya PARCO/official image, which broke the heart to enhance the offline retail experience
In addition, in today's emphasis on the aesthetics of life and the sense of design, "PARCO Department Store", which is synonymous with Shibuya fashion, has also introduced the art product selection shop of the famous Japanese art magazine "Art Hand post".
However, four years ago, Shibuya PARCO has actually opened a self-upgrading channel, in addition to Rei Kawakubo, Yohji Yamamoto, these Japanese first-line fashion brands have settled in, the mall has also introduced many pop-up stores of the new generation of Japanese designers, and the Nintendo Pokemon Pokémon Center, which is also popular outside of Japan.
Tokyu Pass from Shibuya
Remember the full name of Shibuya Station where the Tadaochi Ship of Ando is located? Tokyu Shibuya Station.
It suddenly occurred to me that the BUNKAMURA of Shibuya Matsutao, which I had just mentioned, was also developed by the Tokyu Group, and in fact, Tokyu's influence in Shibuya had been extending westward.
The Tokyu Toyoko Line, which runs from Shibuya, leads to the Freedom Hill, and the Tokyu Denjo City Line from Shibuya leads to the Niko-Tamagawa River. The line connecting the Hills of Freedom and the second son, Tamagawa, still belongs to the Oicho Line operated by the Tokyu Group.
Tokyu Triangle Route Pass/Official Map
The one-day rail transit between the triangles formed by these three lines can be packaged with a "Tokyu Triangle Pass" that can be hoped on and off at will for 410 yen, three routes, and can get on and off at will within a day.
Why is it cost-effective? The secret lies in the journey.
From Shibuya to The Hill of Freedom, you can also get off at Daikansan and Nakameguro, and go to Niko Tamaki, and then you will go to Sanxuan Tea House, which has been written before, and Sanxuan Tea House is a small station that is worth getting off or changing (specific click: Private streetcar from Sanxuan Tea House).
And this triangle route, in the spring, can especially be used as a very good niche walking route.
The little-known "Waiting Force Valley" on the Tokyu Triangle route is out of the station and down the stairs, as if another world/official announcement map
If you don't want to go far, it is good to see cherry blossoms around "Nakameguro- Daikanzan- Shibuya".
Abu Travel Notes Looking at the Travelogue of the Japanese, I saw that some people were very clever to avoid the flow of people, and went to meguro River in the early morning, and then went to a place called "Saigosan Park" around Mt. Daikan, which is a very niche cherry blossom viewing place, and the advantage is naturally that there are not many people.
Then you can continue walking to the aforementioned Matsutao Park, a niche park that avoids the crowds of cherry blossom viewing, and then to the nearby Komaba Campus of the University of Tokyo (specifically: a beautiful Japanese university that can be visited as a scenic spot), or a popular place for cherry blossom viewing that almost only locals know.
Meguro Sky Courtyard /Official Announcement
The strength of the Black Sky Courtyard is interpreted, and each tall building is a hill/official propaganda map
Finally, before night falls, before returning to the cherry blossom viewing night market in Megurogawa, you can also visit a magical green space that does not have to be on the ground - the Meguro Sky Courtyard.
What is the Tokyu Triangle Green Trail from Shibuya? Anyway, we suddenly liked the name "Tokyu".
By the way, the buyer shop of the travel magazine "D&DEPARTMENT PROJECT", which we also like, is also on this Tokyu Triangle route.