Shibuya & Harajuku

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Shibuya – The Best Area To Stay In Tokyo For Nightlife

To sum up Shibuya and Harajuku, you will find action and lots to do 24/7! You will not have a single dull moment in Shibuya. Like Shinjuku (see above), the Shibuya area is packed with excellent shops, plenty of things to see and do, fantastic restaurants, cinemas, bars, and a vibrant nightlife.

Shibuya is a great area to stay in for tourists and first-time visitors to Tokyo, with plenty of things to keep you busy. A visit to Tokyo’s most spectacular shrine, Meiji-Jingu Shrine, and a walk through the enormous Yoyogi-Koen Park easily rank among the highlights of any visit to Tokyo.

What sets central Shibuya apart from Shinjuku is that Shibuya, especially Harajuku, attracts a younger crowd. This is where the teens of Tokyo gather and hang out with their bright futuristic clothes and colorful hair. They typically meet up at Hachiko Plaza, named after the famous Hachiko dog, which Japan loves, whose statue is right in front of the Shibuya train station.

If you are traveling with teenagers, they will love this area. They will find fun and cool nick-nacks like unique clothes, accessories, vintage stores, fancy candy, and ice cream in all imaginable weird flavors and colors.

Shibuya Station & Shibuya Crossing – The Heart Of Shibuya

Shibuya Crossing, opposite the Shibuya Station, is the heart of this area. This crossing is famous for being the world’s busiest street crossing and leads to the walking street Centre-Gai, Shibuya`s main artery. Along Centre-Gai, you will find an absolutely amazing amount of shops, bars, cafes, and restaurants.

Shibuya Station is one of the major transportation hubs in Tokyo, making the area a convenient base for exploring Tokyo and beyond.

The station is on the central Yamanote subway Line (Tokyo Loop Line), which circles through the most visited areas of Tokyo.  In addition, the JR train routes also stop here, as do the NEX train from Narita Airport and the airport limousine bus service.

Harajuku – The Center of Youth Culture

Harajuku is a small part of the Shibuya area and is famous for being the center of Tokyo’s goth/ zombie/ emo-like subculture.

Youths from all over Japan come to Harajuku to shop for clothes and accessories in the dozens of small specialty stores that line the narrow Takeshita street. If you are a young traveler or traveling with teenagers, then Harajuku is an area you should definitely explore.

Harajuku is a fun place for people-watching and vintage clothes shopping. With excellent second-hand shops, street vendors selling colorful treats, and youths dressed up in the craziest, cutest costumes.

This is the home of Kawaii, the strange and very Japanese phenomenon of cuteness. You really need to see it to believe it.

Omotesando – The Posh Shopping Mekka Of Tokyo

The wide boulevard-like street Omotesando, sometimes referred to as Tokyo’s answer to the Champs Elysées in Paris, is the main artery of the Shibuya-Harajuku area. It is packed with chic, modern designer boutiques and international fashion brands.

And what’s extra cool is that famous architects designed the buildings to match the stores. So make sure to pay attention to the architecture of the buildings and not only what’s inside.

Omotesando Street is a fun place to shop or at least window-shopping, as most shops are expensive high-end brands, like Prada and Gucci. But it’s not all about fashion boutiques; this area also has lots of excellent cafes and restaurants. You will also find an Apple flagship store in Omotesando.

Things To Do In Shibuya & Harajuku

• Shibuya Sky Open-air Observation Deck
  Shibuya’s newest and hottest attraction is the open-air observation deck Shibuya Sky at the top of the chic shopping mall Shibuya Scramble Square (229 m high on the 47th floor). The view of Tokyo is breathtaking!
• Meiji-Jingu Shrine
  The Meiji-Jingu Shrine, Tokyo`s grandest shrine, dates back to 1920 and is dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. It is a must-see when in Tokyo. Bonus: the entrance is free! Yay!
• Yoyogi-Koen Park
  Yoyogi-Koen is an enormous and charming park and the perfect place to go for a walk or run, play frisbee, have a picnic, or just relax on a sunny day. At weekends you will find many entertainers performing in the park, playing instruments or dancing.
• Love Hotel Hill
  If you follow Centre-Gai Street, you will get to the Love Hotel Hill (its official name is Dogenzaka). This area is full of nightclubs and love hotels. If trying out a Love Hotel is on your “things to try” list, the Love Hotel Hill area of Shibuya is the perfect place to head to.
• Tokyo Photographic Art Museum – TOP Museum
  The TOP Museum is Tokyo’s best photography museum. It houses exhibitions of both international and Japanese photographers. It’s well worth a visit if you are into photography.
• Cat Street
  One of our absolute favorite streets in Tokyo is Kyu-Shibuya-gawa Yuhodoro, popularly called “Cat Street.” It connects Shibuya and Shinjuku and has an entirely different and more relaxed hipster kind of atmosphere than the crowded and busy Harajuku and Takeshita-Dori Street. The cozy Cat Street is lined with excellent fashion shops, second-hand clothes, boutique restaurants, and independent cafes. And the sidestreets are well worth exploring, too.
  Try a burger at The Great Burger, our favorite Tokyo burger joint. Or visit Pizza Kevelos Harajuku for excellent Italian-style wood-fired pizza, The Little Bakery for bread, donuts, and pastries (we love their cinnamon rolls!), The Roastery by Nozy Coffee for fantastic coffee, and The Matcha Tokyo Cafe for tasty matcha tea and matcha treats!
• Amazing Shopping
  Shibuya has fantastic shopping malls like Shibuya Hikarie, with 16 floors of shops and restaurants. On the 11th floor, the free-to-access Sky Lobby has excellent views over Shibuya. A fun restaurant here is d47 (8th floor), which serves 47 unique dishes, one from each prefecture in Japan – a great way to experience Japanese food. The new Shibuya PARCO mall is where the hip and trendy go shopping. It is packed with the latest and hippest clothes and accessories from the hottest designers, both Japanese and worldwide. As well as a very popular Nintendo store and a Pokemon Center. Miyashita Park is a newly opened shopping complex with a fancy Ghibli store called GBL, restaurants, cafes, and a hotel. Miyashita mall also has a The Matcha Tokyo Cafe, which I always head to when I’m close to Miyashita. Make sure to grab a drink at the cool Starbucks on the rooftop garden, as well, which looks like a petrol station (designed by streetwear icon Hiroshi Fujiwara).
• Museum of Yebisu Beer
  If you are into beer (who isn’t…), then a visit to Yebisu Beer Museum by one of Japan’s biggest and beer companies, Sapporo, which has been brewing beer since 1876. During the free tour, you get to see the taproom, and taste the different beer. The museum also has a great gift shop.
• Japan Folk Crafts Museum
  At the Japan Folk Crafts Museum, you can enjoy 17000 examples of Japanese handmade craftwork objects. They have five exhibitions a year. Check their webpage to see what is on the schedule when you are in Tokyo.
• Art Museums & Galleries
  Shibuya/ Harajuku has several excellent art museums and galleries, like Ukiyo-e Ota Memorial Art Museum, Design Festa, Watari Museum of Contemporary Art (Watari-Um), Nezu Museum.

Where To Stay In Shibuya

Top End:

Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel
We stayed at this 5-star hotel in December 2019 and had a fantastic stay! The hotel is conveniently located next to Shibuya Station and overlooks the famous Shibuya Crossing. We loved our spacious and elegant room with huge, very comfortable beds. All rooms are located on the 19th floor and above, so all have breathtaking views of Tokyo. You can even see Mt Fuji on a clear day! We could even enjoy the spectacular Tokyo city view from the bathroom lying in the bathtub.

The huge indoor pool and fitness center were fantastic. Stupidly, however, they charge extra for the use of the pool (except between 06:00/6 a.m. and 07:00/7 a.m., when it’s free for hotel guests).

The top-floor bar, the Garden Lounge, and the Jazz Club on the 40th floor offer spectacular city views, especially impressive after dark. The hotel has no less than eight restaurants(!) serving Japanese, Chinese, and French cuisine. After a long day of sightseeing in Tokyo, it was fantastic to unwind and relax in the sauna and hot tub/ Onsen. We had to check out the lovely pastry shop in the lobby, and the cakes were amazing!

Mid-range:

Shibuya Stream Excel Hotel Tokyu
This new modern hotel has big rooms with huge floor-to-ceiling windows and excellent views of Tokyo. Watching the action on the streets of Shibuya is great fun. The location is convenient and central, close to Shibuya Crossing and only 800 m from Shibuya Station, yet it is quiet at night.

The staff is welcoming and helpful, and the automated check-in system makes the arrival quick and painless. Each floor has a different theme, with beautifully designed and decorated rooms. We had to try the hotel restaurant’s Wagyu beef burger, which was delicious! The hotel is inside the Shibuya Stream skyscraper building (floors 9-13), with four floors of shops, cafes, and restaurants like Starbucks, The Great Burger, and Dean & Deluca. So you won’t have to go far for food/drinks. We can highly recommend this comfortable 4-star hotel!

Tokyu Stay Shibuya
Tokyu Stay Shibuya is a nice, no-frills mid-range hotel with spacious rooms (especially the twin rooms), a small kitchenette, and a washer/dryer. The rooms are more like self-contained apartments with everything you need for short- and long-term stays.

We loved having our own little kitchen where we could make breakfast. The hotel is located on a quiet street, a 10-minute walk from Shibuya Station, and near many restaurants. The supermarket (open 24/7) just across from the hotel was convenient. The staff is accommodating, although not everyone speaks English very well. The free Wi-fi is fast, which was a big plus for us. The hotel also has single rooms if you are a solo traveler.