Shibuya

Shibuya is one of Tokyo's most fashionable neighbourhoods. With large shopping centres and innumerable fashionable clothes shops mean that Shibuya competes with Harajuku for the title of "most fashionable neighbourhood"

To see the neighbourhood at its best, you should come by night and wander through the busiest and best-lit streets. The most famous street is Center Gai. 

The Hachiko Statue

Leaving the Shibuya station by the "Hachiko" station you'll arrive at the square where the statue of the dog Hachiko can be found.

The statue was erected in 1934, in the presence of the dog itself, to commemorate his loyalty. Hachiko was a dog who, after the death of his owner in 1925, kept returning to the station every evening to wait for the return of his human from university, just as he did during his life.

The body of the dog itself is stuffed and on display at the National Science Museum.

The Shibuya Crossroads

If there's one image already well known by the majority of travellers to Japan, it's the Shibuya Crossroads, or to give it its correct name, the Hachiko crossroads.

The intersection at Shibuya is comprised of five crisscrossed zebra crossings, which means every time the cars stop, and the man turns green, a human wave invades the asphalt, making this the busiest crossing in the world.

One of the best places to drink in this spectacle is from the big window of the Starbucks, just in front of the crossroads.

Shopping Centres

Whether or not you're interested in shopping, no visit to Shibuya would be complete without checking out some of the shopping centres.

The most famous in this neighbourhood is Shibuya 109, a massive building which has become known as a meeting place for young women.