Full Of Life At (and near) Shibuya Crossing

If you like cities and people, Shibuya Crossing certainly should get your attention and a visit if you haven't been there already (and even for me, who's been there countless times.  Even the brand new visitors would know of this, the world famous intersection where people meet from seemingly all directions on their paths for a moment, until it clears and then vehicles traverse through.

One could spend some time observing the flow of life, and at night the show of lights, at the crossing.  At any given time of day you'll see tourists and locals alike recording the unique vibe and flow of the crossing on their phones or other recording devices.

Though it isn't the true center of Tokyo, it may very well be the gravitational center.  Everything seems to emanate outward from this quirky intersection in Tokyo.  Walk in any direction from the crossing and you'll find building of interest, start to encounter other well known districts/cities (Harajuku, Shinjuku and the like), and find restaurants, establishments, experiences (most notably in my memory the Samurai Studio), and all of that which makes Tokyo the place of interest it is.

The Hachioji statue, with its touching story of the themed Akita dog waiting for its owner at the station, lends significance to the immediate area on top of its status as a meeting place in Shibuya for many locals and tourists alike.  At any given moment, you’ll see lines of both waiting for their turn to snap a photo with the beloved, legendary dog’s statue.

Most recently, while celebrating my birthday (yay me) with my friends, we wandered a bit around the area and encountered a great place to look down and take photos of the crossing.  No, not the Starbucks (which seems pretty near impossible to get a window seat at), but much more easy and realistic is the Magnet Shibuya 109 Men's building, just a bit northeast of the crossing.  Inside of the building you'll find some interesting shops and restaurants, but the highlight is Shibuya Crossing View, found at the top of the building.  The view from the rooftop, which is free and accessible to everyone, is amazing.

And, for a modest fee of 500 yen, a camera from higher above can be controlled by your smart phone, and you can snap the ultimate selfies with the crossing, high up above everyone else!

After we had our fill of amazement and photos, we proceeded to that great American restaurant for adults... Hooters!  Which is just a short walk away from Shibuya Crossing, and that walk will no doubt provide some more scenery of interest, from various shops and restaurants, arcades, etc.

And once we had our adult drinks and quesadillas and wings, we moved on to dance the rest of the active night away at one of the clubs in the neighborhood, GasPanic.  Fun, relatively inexpensive (compared to the bigger clubs) but oh so crowded.  Like Shibuya in general.

Our impromptu itinerary on this occasion might not be to everyone's tastes, but hopefully it gives you a flavor of what's around there and hints at even more if you wander... Shibuya Crossing takes in so many people with a direction in mind, but sometimes just going with the flow brings you the best experience.

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