On a recent night out, I asked a new friend to meet us at a spot in Shibuya I’d wanted to check out.
Stepping out from the Yamanote on a Saturday at 6pm, I immediately regretted this decision.
The Shibuya around Shibuya Scramble is more of a mess than ever. It doesn’t help that Shibuya Station is under perpetual construction. Combine that with a record-setting number of tourists, and you get streets that are so crowded on a Saturday night that at times it feels as if you’re moving by friction as opposed to walking.
Of course, there’s a reliable way to avoid the mess of Shibuya: Don’t go to Shibuya! I generally tell folks who want a quiet place to get a meal or a drink to instead take the Yamanote one stop away to Ebisu, which is bustling but by no means overflowing with people. Ebisu has a well-deserved reputation as a culinary neighborhood, and you can find great cuisine there from the world over.
The other option is to go to Shibuya, but take just a few steps away from the madding crowd.
When most people think “Shibuya,” they’re usually thinking of the area around the Station – i.e, primarily Udagawacho and the street-facing side of Dōgenzaka – as well as Harajuku and, maybe, Yoyogi.
Shibuya is a sprawling ward of Tokyo with almost a quarter-million souls. Sadly, many people don’t go beyond Harajuku and the tight radius around Hachiko, Japan’s best dog. Given Shibuya’s rapid development, that means they’re mainly exposed to chain shops and, increasingly, the type of soulless department stores that you can find in any damn city.
Here’s a quick tour of some of the smaller, independent places to shop, eat, and drink in Shibuya away from the big-box stores. I’ll also tell you where you can find some quiet spots to relax right within the heart of Shibuya itself.
