Irashaimasen Hopper!
Welcome to Shibuya!
After my wanderlust In Asakusa, after the Geishas, and the journey back in time, it was time for something different. This something different was to be found in the center of the city, in Shibuya.
Here, you’ll find lights, traffic, crowds – many crowds – countless shops, restaurants, fast food joints, electronics stores, sex shops, clubs, bars, and kinky adult joints. You’ll see things that will amaze you, draw your attention, and maybe even seduce you.
Here beats the heart of Tokyo. Shibuya is one of the most walked parts of the city, an area that competes with Times Square, and not without good reason. You will most probably start your walk at Shibuya Crossing, a walkway nowhere close to what you may have seen before.
Wherever you search for info about the city, in whichever guide or article on the internet, you’ll come across this Crossing. Some will tell you to avoid it and some not to miss it. I crossed it, and I can tell you this: don’t even think about stopping to snap a shot. You will most probably be swept away by the waves of pedestrians. I am not kidding. I don’t think you’ll encounter this anywhere else in the world.
I have many keepsakes from Shibuya by night: the most special, most peculiar, most crazy, and most unusual. Those that have stuck in my head, caught my eye, and made me laugh. Shibuya certainly lifted my spirits. I felt the beat of the city, became one with the crowd, let myself go in the streets, played electronic video games, ate Japanese delicacies, walked in the red light districts, and went into kinky adult shops.
With an expected but incredible jet lag, I found myself having coffee at 11 at night, wandering around narrow pathways, and drinking cocktails in an Irish Pub at 3 in the morning. Shibuya did not let me rest – not that I wanted to.
The following drove me wild. Have a look.
1. The lights, the countless lights.
I told you they call Shibuya ‘Times Square.’ And not without good reason, I also added; countless lights, huge banners, advertisements, and non-stop video projections. Wherever you look, you’ll see motion and light. You walk, you look around, you pretend to read the signs, and you’re thinking “If New York is the city that never sleeps, what is Tokyo?”
Signs everywhere, signs impossible to decipher, and yet you feel like you’re in the center of the universe. This is the case with large cities, especially metropolitan ones like this one.
2. Dragon’s slippers Bear Paw Clogs
Don’t know exactly who buys them and why, don’t know what trend this is, but these clogs are everywhere. Hanging in each store, in every color of the rainbow, and people buy them like crazy. They’re not flip-flops, or a doctor’s mules. They’re the paws of the bear, the cat, the dog - of the madman, in other words. And they are made by Red Apple – another Apple company that seems to be light years ahead, in terms of design.
They are tech-freaks, even when it comes to feet.
3. Square-shaped watermelons
Special casings envelop the baby watermelon and give it its square shape or the shape of a heart. A special present for you, the lover of the unusual; for you who has space in your luggage for pleasure2 (squared - get it?) With no intent to ridicule or to be ironic, this is considered one of the coolest presents to buy in Japan; expensive and insane. It sure deserved a spot in this list.
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4. The Taxis
You won’t believe me, I know, but taxis in Tokyo have doilies on the seats, doilies on the windows, and doilies on the dashboard. Taxis are spotless, tidy and well decorated. The drivers are extremely polite, and the doilies are everywhere. Those doilies would make even my grandma jealous. I’ve been in many taxis in the world, and, to tell you the truth, I didn’t have high expectations of the ones in Tokyo. But I was mistaken. They definitely deserve an award.
5. The arcade video games
What is it you want? Street Fighter? Bubble? The entire SEGA collection, maybe? Well, you’re at the right place. Here, I relived my ‘80s childhood. Countless arcade games. Thousands of people playing. I never knew playing games was such an ageless activity. You can play sitting, standing, any way you fancy.
You fulfill all your suppressed desires, relive your childhood, or adolescence; you relive everything with just a coin. And it’s crazy!
6. The stylish Japanese
Tokyo is by far one of the most stylish cities I have ever visited. And yet there was something unusual about these Japanese fashionistas – something reminiscent of school, which I liked. Something of a mix & match, together with hipster, vintage, and disco elements, but also some Lady Gaga and a little Amélie thrown into it as well.
Unfortunately, my camera did not capture their trademark craze: the huge painted eyes, in the style of Sailor Moon, the manga character. Those giant eyes are stylish, a ‘must,’ the hottest trend, and no Lady girl can exist without them. As for the boys, the trend is the same one as in Italy: the finely shaped eyebrow. End of discussion.
Unfortunately, my camera did not capture their trademark craze: the huge painted eyes, in the style of Sailor Moon, the manga character. Those giant eyes are stylish, a ‘must,’ the hottest trend, and no Lady girl can exist without them. As for the boys, the trend is the same one as in Italy: the finely shaped eyebrow. End of discussion.
7. The super kinky scenes
Tokyo is a kinky city, and I like that they don’t act comme il faut. At first, it’s shocking how extreme their tastes may be, but it doesn’t take you more than an hour around the city to get used to the situation.
Adult corners, wild sex shops (better keep my lips sealed about what I saw in there), weird gadgets, mouse strings, strawberry jam girls, and anything you can think of. Your imagination has to travel far and reach other galaxies to even begin to understand the deal with Tokyo.
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I will tell you the craziest thing:
In Shibuya, in an Irish Pub, in the most dark and odd pathway in the city, I had one of the best cocktails ever. Don’t ask what I was doing at an Irish Pub in the heart of Tokyo. After craziness #7, I desperately wanted some Europe.
Yes, I got Europe-sick!
Have you ever been to Tokyo?
**Translation from Greek to English: Maria Coveou
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