Shibuya Past And The Present

The scenery around Shibuya Station is changing rapidly with the progress of redevelopment. But, the high-rise building is relatively easy to figure out. In comparison, the underground huge maze is what troubles most people, even the locals. Once you get lost, you lose your sense of direction and have no idea where you are or where you are going. Since a total of four companies and nine lines serve the vertical space from the third floor above ground to the fifth floor below ground: the Ginza Line on the third floor, the Yamanote Line, Saikyo Line, Shonan Shinjuku Line, and Inokashira Line on the second floor, the Hanzomon and Denentoshi Line on the third underground floor, and the Toyoko Line and Fukutoshin Line on the fifth underground floor, Shibuya station is ridiculed as a maze or even a labyrinth.

People going in all different directions to transit trains and exit the station

Nonetheless, these seemingly complicated Shibuya stations still maintain some convenience with Tokyo Metro Ginza Line station relocated in early 2020 improving transfers to and from JR lines. The relocated Shibuya Station on Ginza Line now has elevators, toilets, and escalators inside a somewhat futuristic M-shaped roofed station with a clean, bright look. Previously, despite being a terminal station with over 20 million passengers per day, elevators, platform doors, and toilets have not yet been installed at the former Tokyo Metro Ginza Line. It was shady and somewhat gloomy. And because of the special structure integrated with a department store, transferring to other lines was complicated and inconvenient.

Before relocation, passengers had to go up this stairs to get on the train

Old platform for Ginza Line with exits directly entering the Tokyu Toyoko Department store.

Ginza Line new platform after relocation in 2020. It is now brighter and cleaner, twice as wide as before and has a M-shaped roof

And also in June of the same year, the Saikyo Line platform, which was previously far away, was moved 350 meters to the north, parallel to the JR Yamanote Line. Many used this line to board the Narita Express to come from Narita Airport. However, because of its location and confusing exits, so many visitors got off at South Exit thinking it is close to the famous statue of Hachiko (Hachi, the Akita dog) and got lost. The South Exit or the New South Exit and where the statue is a bit far. Previously, visitors had to cross over the trunk road from either the South or the New South exit to find the statue. Also, the travel time was about 12 minutes even during off-peak hours from Saikyo Line to transfer to other lines. However, after the Saikyo Line was moved more towards the north, travel time was incredibly reduced with less confusion and even the exits to the statue of Hachiko were connected.

Compared to the Hachiko side with the famous Shibuya scramble crossings, the west side is still relatively known only to those in the know. Especially the Shibuya Chuo-Dori Street area with the nostalgic streetscape of yakitori restaurants with hanging red lanterns makes this area attractive to relatively older generations. Though the name is similar to Center-gai Street, the hub for youth culture, the main difference between this area and the rest of Shibuya is that there are few stores for "young people". Here, chain fast food restaurants have disappeared, and instead, the old yakitori restaurants and izakaya (Japanese pubs) are lined up.

However, starting from the opening of Shibuya Mark City (shopping complex with offices) in 2000, the flow of people into the Shibuya Chuo-gai and Dogenzaka 1-chome area has changed dramatically. Nearly adjacent to the entrance of Shibuya Chuo-gai street, once stood Tokyu Plaza, a shopping complex loved by the locals but closed its doors after 49 years in March 2015. In December 2019, as part of the Shibuya redevelopment project, it was relocated inside a new complex building, Shibuya Fukuras. This Shibuya Fukuras is mostly used as an office, but Tokyu Plaza Shibuya is now relocated on the 2nd to 8th floors and on 17th and 18th floors with stores, cafes, clinics, etc. on each floor that caters to different themes of beauty, food, health, and lifestyle.

Tokyu Plaza closed its business after 49 years in March 2015

Shibuya Fukuras sitting at the same place once Tokyu Plaza stood.

Across from now Shibuya Fukuras, former Tokyu Plaza, on a tiny plot of land, stands a lonely Moyai Statue. Nothing special about this but as if to battle against the famous statue of Hachiko (Hachi, the Akita dog), this statue was once used as a meeting place. However, when the Tokyu Department Store closed its business in March 2020, it became even more deserted.

Behind the statue of Moyai once stood the Tokyu Department Store for 85 years. Now the building is waiting to be demolished.

Since the opening of Japan National Route 246 in 1964 with the Tokyo Olympics, the station and the Sakuragaoka district have been separated. Literally across this busy road on the left side of Shibuya Fukurus, the Sakuragaoka district can be said to be somewhat galapagosized.

Left side is the Sakuragaoka District while Shibuya Fukuras (shopping complex with offices) is on the right side. Both sides are divided by this road with the expressway above

Previously dotted with musical instrument stores, live music venues, and jazz cafes, tennis specialty stores, in addition to famous fishing tackle stores and a bookstore, the area went under a massive redevelopment by closing most of these long-running shops. The locals hope that this redevelopment will connect the hills around the Sakuragaoka district and Shibuya Station with barrier-free access to eliminate the difference in elevation of the terrain and the division of the area by railroads and trunk roads. By the end of 2023, this Sakuragaoka district is expected to have 2 high-rise buildings with one short one with offices, shops, a parking lot, and residences.

Famous bookstore stood at the corner but got demolished due to redevelopment (Photo Credit: shibuyaphoto.tokyo)

Redevelopment in progress. Once where the bookshop was, it is expected to have a high rise building, nearly the same height as Shibuya Stream sitting on the south side of Shibuya.

Going over to the south side of Shibuya through walking under the railway track from the Sakuragaoka district on the West Side, Shibuya Stream opened in September 2018. Before the opening, many tourists accidentally got off at Shibuya Station New South Exit because the platform for boarding and alighting point for the Narita Express was on this side of Shibuya. However, in 2020, the platform was moved 350 meters closer to the Yamanote Line making it easier and faster to travel around the area. Eventually, this New South Exit is expected to be abolished. That being said, the South side of Shibuya was relatively unvisited by many as there were no major places of interest for people to go.
However, the opening of Shibuya Stream along the banks of Shibuya River with trees planted on the entire footpath has made people come to this side of Shibuya. The area around Shibuya Stream aims to offer some greenery among the high-rise buildings, like an oasis for people to drop by to escape some energetic jumble of the city. Though the river still has little water flowing, eventually, the project aims to restore more clear water by developing a wall fountain.

2016 when Shibuya Stream was still in progress

Shibuya Stream with Shibuya Scramble Square on the front right

Once upon a time, walking across the trunk road from Shibuya Stream, Toyoko Line was located above ground. Now, it has relocated deep underground in the “maze." Ever since the relocation in March 2013, the interconnected train service has connected the Minatomirai Line, the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line, the Tobu Tojo Line, and the Seibu Yurakucho Line/Ikebukuro Line making it possible to travel between Yokohama and Shibuya and even towards the Saitama area in one line.

Old Toyoko Line located above ground. Now, relocated deep underground

On the former site of this platform, now stands the tallest building in Shibuya, the Shibuya Scramble Square. This is a 47-story high-rise shopping complex with offices and seven basement levels which opened on November 1, 2019, on the northern half of the former ground platform of the Toyoko Line. Only the East tower has opened, and the Main and the West Tower are expected to open by 2027.

Shibuya Scramble Square in process on the former site of Toyoko Line platform

Shibuya Scramble Square built on the former site of Toyoko Line platform

The main feature of this facility is the observation deck on the 45th floor and rooftop, called Shibuya Sky. Shibuya Sky is 230 meters above the ground, and features a 360-degree glass roof from which you can enjoy an unobstructed view of central Tokyo. Daytime is worth a visit too, but the nighttime is especially breathtaking.

One after another, the area around Shibuya Station is becoming more futuristic, with more and more skyscrapers being built. Some have an eye-catching exterior. The redevelopment of the area around Shibuya Station is proceeding on a scale that is said to occur only once in 50 or 100 years. Previously across the street from Shibuya Scramble Square, Tokyu Bunka Kaikan stood there from 1956 to 2003. It had eight floors above ground and one below, and when it first opened, it housed a planetarium, four movie theaters, a special shopping district that attracted old stores, a wedding hall, and a beauty salon. The Tokyu Bunka Kaikan, which screened many famous movies and became a place of history, was closed in 2003. After that, the building was redeveloped under the concept of "becoming a light that illuminates the future and changes the world from Shibuya," and the current shopping complex, "Hikarie" (means light/to shine in Japanese) was opened in 2012.

Tokyu Bunka Kaikan stood at former site of Hikarie until 2003

Hikarie (shopping complex with offices and theater)

Roughly starting with Hikarie (former Tokyu Bunka Kaikan) in 2012, in 2019, the tallest building Shibuya Scramble Square was constructed. Since then, a rush of construction has been ongoing. Located between Shibuya and Harajuku, a new cultural hot spot over by the north side of Shibuya, Miyashita Park, reopened as a three-story, multi-purpose complex in 2020. The new-and-improved Miyashita Park, which joins the city's makeover alongside giants like Shibuya Stream and Scramble Square, is more than simply a shopping mall. It's a brilliant, architectural masterpiece that flawlessly merges the past and modern while defining the future of city living. It has a new playground on its rooftop, equipped with commercial areas, parking lots, and lodging spaces all within the same compound. Oddly placed between the existing buildings, Its exterior resembles somewhat that of a spaceship, especially when seen from above.

Miyashita Park before renovation

Miyashita Park reopened as Rayard Miyashita Park with shopping malls, restaurant and hotel

Oddly placed between buildings, stands Rayard Miyashita Park resembling that of a spaceship

The statue of Hachi, the Akita dog, has been a symbol of Shibuya. The famous bronze statue of Hachiko is located right in front of Shibuya Station where the famous scramble crossing is located. Thought to be the only statue, now there are two statues of Hachiko in Shibuya. The second one is located on the rooftop of new-and-improved Miyashita Park, the Rayard Miyashita Park. Though the one within a stone's throw of Shibuya scramble crossings is the original, the new one on the rooftop is an installation by Yasuhiro Suzuki called Shibuya Compass/Hachiko Space which the statue of Hachi is placed inside a compass looking towards the sky as if it is about to howl.

Original statue of Hachi with scramble crossings in the back

New statue of Hachi, an installation by Yasuhiro Suzuki placed on the rooftop of Rayard Miyashita Park

Finally coming back to the main area of Shibuya, where the famous scramble crossing is located, the Dogenzaka 2 chome South district will undergo a massive renovation too. It's easy to spot the area when making the famous Shibuya 109 mall a landmark and the left-hand side is the Dogenzaka area. Many of the tenants there have become quite dilapidated and a large-scale redevelopment project to comprehensively review a total of seven buildings is planned.

The left side of Shibuya 109 Mall is the Dogenzaka area planned to change in the future

The hill going up towards the Dogenzaka street. Some buildings on this street are planned to be renovated

While on the Dogenzaka 2 chome district, Pan Pacific International Holdings (PPIH), which operates Don Quijote and other stores, plans to build a complex consisting of hotels, offices, and commercial facilities, and development work is currently underway. Currently across the construction site, there is a Mega Don Quijote.

Mega Don Quijote on the left with the construction site on the left

Tokyu Group has played a leading role in evolving Shibuya into a place where businesses, movies, fashion, and a variety of other forms of entertainment are concentrated, as it continues to create a lively atmosphere and transmit culture. One of its oldest department stores which is located in the far end of Shibuya, close to the exclusive residential area of Shoto, is closing its business in 2023. Currently, there is no update on what will be constructed after the department store closes.

Walking in a circle, we have seen that Shibuya has already gone through several large-scale developments, such as Shibuya Hikarie and Shibuya Stream. While most are to be done by 2027, there are some like the Dogenzaka redevelopment yet to start and be finished. The bustling city of Shibuya is something to keep an eye on as its changes are so drastic and interesting to see where the future of Shibuya goes.

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Update date：2024/04/27

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