← All articles · Japan · 2 June 2026

Tokyo, Japan: Shibuya, the crossing and everything behind it

Shibuya beyond the crossing: the streets that run uphill behind it, the screens, the crowds and the best places to watch the whole thing happen.

Everyone comes for the crossing. The part worth staying for is what runs uphill behind it.

Shibuya kept pulling us back, in the morning heat and again at eleven at night.

Dileep and Inga in sun hats and sunglasses standing either side of the bronze Hachiko dog statue outside Shibuya Station — Hachiko, outside the station. Getting a clear shot of him takes patience, which felt about right.

Inga holding a coffee in front of a painted ABC Mart shutter reading Shibuya Tokyo, covered in cartoon trainers, a JR train and a rooster — The ABC Mart shutter on Center-gai, which only turns into art after closing time.

Night selfie of Dileep and Inga at Shibuya Crossing with Inga's arm raised, neon signs and crowds filling the background — The crossing after dark, this time from inside the scrum rather than above it.

Inga working on a laptop at a window counter overlooking Shibuya Crossing at night, with a paper coffee cup beside her — The other use for that window seat. Best desk view of the trip, and not much work got done.

Dileep and Inga standing in front of a wall-sized manga mural in Shibuya covered in pink-haired characters, stars and city scenes — A manga mural big enough that we had to stand well back to fit in front of it.

Tokyo was also our launchpad for Kyoto, Osaka and beyond. Two visits in, we still haven’t scratched the surface, and we’ll be back; that much isn’t in question.