50 things to do in Shibuya

It ranks among the busiest pedestrian crossings on Earth – yet you may feel a strange sense of solitude descend as you make your way through the crowds.

Faithful mutt Hachiko spent nine years waiting for his master outside Shibuya Station, and is commemorated in a memorial service every April 8 at this still-popular meeting spot.

Catch the best views of Tokyo at this 360° open-air observation deck at the rooftop of Shibuya Scramble Square. Shibuya Sky is approximately 230 metres above ground and is the highest point in the district of Shibuya. The ‘Sky Edge’, a corner where you can look down at the cityscape below without any obstruction, is a particularly good photo spot that provides a panoramic view of the city.

Considering ‘Donkey Kong’ came out nearly 40 years ago, it’s about time Japan finally got its own official Nintendo store. Located on Shibuya Parco’s Cyberspace floor, which is dedicated to otaku geeks, this outlet has everything a Nintendo fanboy or girl could ever dream of. Aside from the latest and most popular games, Nintendo Tokyo also offers a selection of merchandise you cannot find anywhere else.

Named after its founder, legendary bartender Shingo Gokan, The SG Club knows how to have fun with cocktails while still making seriously delicious drinks. This dual-bar venue made it on the World's 50 Best Bars list in 2023 – when you spend an evening here, you'll see why.

You can travel Japan in its entirety through your taste buds at this speciality restaurant in Shibuya Hikarie. The restaurant’s comprehensive menu features food and drink items from all 47 prefectures. You’ll want to check back frequently as the menu changes each month.

Established 40 years ago, the aptly named Grandfather’s started out with a playlist style that was uncommon at the time, blending together rock LPs one song at a time. After all these years, the interior is still well maintained, giving off a rich ambience that’s appropriate for such a venerable bar and that lends an extra level of charm to the music.

Just as its name suggests, Maguro To Shari (which translates as ‘tuna and rice’) serves only tuna sashimi rice bowls. The sashimi here comes directly from the fishermen, each hand-picked by professionals with the help of Sumiyoshi Fishery Group. This means you’re guaranteed to get fresh, premium quality fish at a reasonable cost.

The Pokémon Center Shibuya looks like the futuristic lab of the game’s Professor Willow. At the entrance, you’ll be greeted by a life-sized Mewtwo hibernating in a water tank, before you venture into a massive retail space filled with all your favourite Pokémon characters in every imaginable form.

Stepping through the low, marble-tiled entrance, the first thing you’ll notice is the gorgeous tableware displayed behind a long hardwood counter. That’s not to say that the surroundings here outshine the coffee – on the contrary, Satei Hato’s hand-drip offerings maintain the absolutely highest quality. Choose from up to eight varieties of charcoal-roasted beans and watch as the formally dressed staff prepare your treat with almost religious dedication.

Rojiura means ‘back alley’ and that’s where you’ll find this wonderfully casual restaurant – in a backstreet not far from Shibuya Station. The small eatery stocks a noteworthy selection of natural wine and is a great spot for a quick and easy weeknight dinner. The breakfast and brunch here is also noteworthy – be sure to order the indulgent French toast that’s served with thick slabs of bacon and fresh burrata.

The renovated Miyashita Park is another new addition to Shibuya’s ever-changing cityscape. Previously a public park located along the Yamanote line, this glitzy new three-storey building is home to a shopping mall, a variety of restaurants and cafés, hotel and spacious rooftop park.

This Udagawacho hotspot uses a rich, delicious gyokai tonkotsu broth made from simmering chicken, pork and seafood. The rich light-brown soup is packed with flavour and pairs well with the straight and firm noodles. The basic ramen starts at just ¥1,100, but for ¥1,450 you’ll get a bowl with all the trimmings including lightly seared chashu pork, menma bamboo shoots, a flavoured egg and green onions.

You don’t have to go all the way to Akihabara to get your otaku fix: this subterranean shop in central Shibuya is overflowing with manga, anime, collectable toys and more. Serious collectors should stay tuned to the shop’s socials for store events and auctions where you can get your hands on rare finds.

Like a craft beer bar on steroids, the awkwardly named Goodbeer Faucets has over 40 microbrews on tap, served in a slick chrome-and-concrete setting.

Shiroichi’s cones are something to marvel at. These soft serves are unusually long and thin, so you’ll want to devour yours quickly before it melts or topples over. That’s not hard to do, though – the fresh milk frozen treat is utterly irresistible.

Tokyo has no shortage of excellent traditional soba noodle restaurants. But for a creative and contemporary – yet entirely authentic – take on soba, visit Ryan in Shibuya. The soba menu ranges from plain chilled soba served with a rich dashi-based dipping sauce to more complex offerings like hot soba with anago (sea eel) and vegetable tempura.

From stationery to toilet-seat covers, this is the largest household goods store in Tokyo, packed with knick-knacks for the home. Particularly interesting is the party supplies section, which gives a unique glimpse into the Japanese sense of humour. It can be difficult to find your way around the multitude of floors, but getting a bit lost is part of the fun, right? 

This quiet little shrine marks the spot where the aristocratic Shibuya family, believed to have given the area its name, once lived. The shrine is designated as a tangible cultural property by Shibuya ward and is also home to a number of treasures including a pair of lion masks carved by craftsman Hidari Jingoro and a mikoshi (portable shrine), which is used during festivals.

Hidden among the cool restaurants of Shibuya Parco’s Chaos Kitchen, this shitamachi (downtown) izakaya-style restaurant serves only vegan dishes. The main dish is the mock karaage made with soy meat instead of chicken, which comes in five different flavours including grated radish, Chinese black vinegar, Sichuan style hot and spicy, sweet and sour, and teriyaki mayonnaise.

Located on the fifth floor of Shibuya Fukuras in Tokyu Plaza Shibuya, this cutting-edge café-lounge is not about spicy food; it’s name is derived from Pepper, the adorable semi-humanoid robot created by SoftBank Robotics. Just head to the counter where Pepper will take your order (in Japanese, English and Chinese), as well as recommend dishes based on your current mood.

An offshoot of Tokyo gallery Nanzuka Underground, 2G is located inside the trendy Parco shopping centre and is an art gallery and retail store offering cool collabs with some big name artists. Expect to find T-shirts and phone cases with prints by Hajime Sorayama, as well as collectables like Bearbricks and more. The gallery space in the back shows a rotation of exciting Japanese and international artists including installations by Tetsuya Nakamura and contemporary pieces by Daniel Arsham.

This hidden gem of a restaurant looks like it’s stuck in the ’70s, from its location in a forgotten back-alley building and old-school interior to its surprisingly low prices. It specialises in cutlets – meat and vegetables breaded with panko and deep fried. The popular set meal, which comes with a chicken cutlet, ham cutlet and croquette plus rice, miso soup and shredded cabbage, is only ¥800 – it’s arguably the best value meal in central Shibuya.

Located in the same building as Club Atom, Harlem has been the mecca of hip-hop culture in Japan since the mid 1990s. If you want to see B-boys and fly girls shakin’ it, as well as some of Japan’s up-and-coming MCs, this is the spot. The tunes are basically straight-up rap with a little R&B mixed in. DJ Hazime and other well-known Japanese spinners often play here.

The high-tech digital projector isn’t the only modern convenience at this planetarium: some of the seats also rotate individually, allowing you to behold the cosmos at your own leisure.

Looking for an omakase sushi meal that won’t break the bank? Edo-style sushi specialist Sushi Tokyo Ten has one of the best deals in town. Don’t be put off by its classy décor; dinner omakase is just ¥8,800 a person, but the lunch set is an even bigger steal, coming in at just ¥4,400 a person (weekdays only).

The tiered floor is a dead giveaway: WWW was an arthouse cinema before it found its current vocation as a gig spot. Sister venue WWW X upstairs boasts an even more powerful sound system.

Hidden in a basement away from the busy streets of Shibuya, Archive Store is a treasure trove for fans of coveted Japanese and international designers such as Comme des Garçons, Yohji Yamamoto, Martin Margiela and Raf Simons. The store is worth a visit in its own right for its edgy, hyper-modern interior fitted with mirrored walls and a mysterious, dimly lit atmosphere. 

Think of it as a 21st-century take on the capsule hotel: each guest stays in a tiny but comfy ‘smart pod’, complete with remotely adjustable lighting and recline, plus a projector for watching movies.

Seasonal cocktails are the speciality at Ishinohana, Shibuya's answer to the high-end cocktail bars of Ginza. At a basement location just a minute's walk from Shibuya Station, owner Shinobu Ishigaki wields an array of fresh fruit and vegetables when creating his distinctive drinks: a gin and tonic is enlivened with kumquat, a margherita gets an injection of housemade cassis confiture.

Womb is a top-flight club with a vast dancefloor, great lighting, a super-bass sound system and what claims to be ‘Asia’s largest mirror ball’. House, techno and drum ’n’ bass are the usual sounds here. Womb’s schedule is packed with foreign names, but DJ Aki (drum ’n’ bass) is one local hero who plays here.

A saving grace for fans of indoor recreation, EST Shibuya is a playground of ping pong tables, billiards and bowling alleys. There are four floors reserved for bowling alleys alone, where if you’re hungry you can order a snack from the touch panels available at every lane.