• 13:00: Meeting friends in front of the Hachiko statue or at TSUTAYA.
• 13:15: Having lunch ＠BLACK BROWN
• 14:15: Check the latest music at the record store, or going to a mini theatre.
• 16:30: It’s time to go to a café to talk about a movie, music, or life in general.

13:00: Meeting friends in front of the Hachiko statue or at TSUTAYA.

The crazy scramble crossing is famous in Shibuya and is usually interesting to new tourists. It’s so crowded and something I try to avoid because I feel faint in its large crowds of people! It’s actually a convenient place to meet up, transportation is good, and you don’t even have to plan ahead before coming to Shibuya. There are many things to do, so I completely understand why so many people come to Shibuya! If you meet up with your friends in front of the Hachiko statue, you may not be able to find them, because it is very crowded on weekends. If so, I meet up with my friends in front of the record shop Tsutaya, over the scramble crossing. If your friend(s) is a bit late, don’t worry, you can read magazines or listen to music until they arrive. You can even have a cup of coffee at Starbucks inside Tsutaya.

13:15: Having lunch ＠BLACK BROWN

My friend finally arrived. “Have you eaten lunch?”- “Not yet.” I recommend the Italian restaurant, Black Brown. There are lots of other cheap restaurants in Shibuya, and maybe most famous one is the Italian chain restaurant, Saizeriya. Black Brown is better for a relaxing conversation, because it’s less crowded. In addition to this, you can eat delicious, fresh pasta for around 500 yen. The atmosphere is calm and a bit retro. You can buy a meal ticket from the ticket machine before eating, so you can leave anytime you want after dining. The shop itself is located next to the large electronics shop, Labi, but you might find it a bit difficult to find because it’s underground.

14:15: Check the latest music at the record store, or going to a mini theatre.

After eating, we headed to Tower Records near the station. They have sofas inside the store, so you can take a time to read some cool magazines or listen to the latest music. It’s really fun to talk about your favorite artists with your friend! I usually hang out for an hour. As an alternative plan, I would recommend going to the mini theatre called, Uplink X. If you find a movie that you’ve been wanting to see, why not drop in?

16:30: It’s time to go to a café to talk about a movie, music, or life in general.

After talking about the latest music and being inspired by the movie that we just saw, we were ready to enjoy a snack. I recommend Café de Ningen-kankei Copain on Spain-zaka street. Their specialty is freshly baked hand made scones! They are around 100 yen and very delicious. Once we started talking about music, movie, and life, we got lost in time. It was getting dark and we knew it was time to go home. “We’ll see each other soon.”- “Bye”. I was energized by my friend and felt motivated.

You’ll see extravagantly lit neon lights, flashy advertisements, skyscrapers, and people rushing nowhere in Shibuya. You might feel lost at times, but for Tokyoites like us, this is a typical part of life in this busy, artificial-like, but amazing environment.