Today I’m showing you the spectacular Shibuya Crossing, a famous intersection outside the Shibuya Subway Station of downtown Tokyo. This crossway is famous for being the busiest intersection in the world with around ten lanes of automobile traffic and five major crosswalks all converging at once! When all the lights turn red around 2,500 people cross simultaneously! At rush hours, mornings and evenings, this number rises and the number of pedestrians crossing could fill a whole stadium! This experience is known as the “Shibuya Scramble”.
Shibuya Crossing is one of the biggest tourist attractions to check off your list in Tokyo and the best part about it is that it’s totally free making it a great all-day activity for budget travelers. This attraction, although technically just a crosswalk, offers many fun activities of people watching, fashion observing, vlogging and an endless supply of subjects for photographers. In fact, when my man and I went here a professional photographer came up to us and asked if he could take our picture - we said yeah and this led to an impromptu free photoshoot session in one of Tokyo’s most famous spots! Here’s a couple of the pics the man graciously emailed us afterwards. So one tip I have for you for Shibuya Crossing is if someone asks to take a picture of you, say yes! Here’s another tip for you…
Get the best view of the whole street from above! The footage I’m showing you now is from a Starbucks located on the second floor of the prominent “Steye-yah” TSUTAYA building complex. Here you can enjoy a coffee while watching the madness. But beware seating is limited and cramped so you’ll have people waiting in line for your seat! Other good places to view the “scramble” are at Mag’s Park which is a free viewing area in the Magnet shopping complex building and Locks-e-tan (L’OCCITANE) Cafe located above the Locks-e-tan fragrance store.
Would you dare cross Shibuya crossing in the “scramble” or would you rather watch the madness away from the crowd while sipping a latte. Let me know by commenting on the YouTube video! Looking for more Tokyo travel inspiration? Then check out my whole Tokyo video playlist!
