Shibuya

I am sorry to say this, but I only finished doing research for this page by the time we actually arrived in Shibuya. That said, this way at the very least I will be able to report on Shibuya using both prior research and my actual experience when I arrived there!

Shibuya is one of twenty-three wards in Tokyo. If you want to picture what going there is like, you could visualize the common movie-depiction of Tokyo: massive billboards and screens, huge pedestrian crossings, fashionable shops, and wonderful places to eat. It is a major commercial and business center and is specifically a hub for youth fashion and culture. It is known for being the starting location of many of Japan's fashion trends. Interestingly, most of the large department/fashion stores in the area belong to one of two competing conglomerates: Tokyu or Seibu.

The area we specifically visited in Shibuya was one centered around the Hachiko statue and scramble crossing. The Hachiko statue, one of an Akita dog born in 1923, has significant historical significance and is also a popular meeting place. Hachiko, who belonged to a professor of the University of Tokyo named Ueno, would always wait for Ueno at Shibuya station at the end of each day to greet the professor when he returned home from work. The pair continued this for a year, but then the professor died while giving a lecture and never returned to the train station. Each day after that, for the next nine years, nine months, and fifteen days, Hachiko came to the station each day precisely when the train his master used to ride came in to wait for his master. The dog soon grew to become a legendary symbol of the revered tradition of familial loyalty in Japan.

The scramble crossing is a massive intersection in which people cross the street in all directions while the cars coming from each direction are held. It was exciting to be able to walk right through the middle of the street in such a busy area!

Shibuya naturally has a long history as well. It gains its name from the fact that it was the site of the Shibuya-family castle from the eleventh century through the Edo period (1603-1868). When the Yamanote Line opened in 1885, Shibuya grew to become a major railway terminal and then eventually a major commercial and business hub. During the late 1990s, Shibuya also became the center of the IT industry in Japan.

In conclusion, Shibuya is an exciting place to visit if one wants to experience the modern and commercial nature of Tokyo. It is easy to navigate with only English as businesses want foreign customers, and there is delicious food! My group went to a wonderful little ramen shop for lunch, and I finally got to try authentic Japanese ramen!