What is the Shibuya Crossing?
Quick answer
The Shibuya Crossing, officially the Shibuya Scramble Crossing, is a famous pedestrian intersection outside Shibuya Station in Tokyo, Japan. When the lights turn red for cars, all the walk signals turn green at once and people pour across from every direction, including diagonally.
How a scramble crossing works
| Phase | What happens |
|---|---|
| Vehicles’ turn | Cars and buses move while pedestrians wait at the edges |
| Scramble | All traffic stops; pedestrians cross in any direction, including diagonally |
| Time | Each pedestrian phase lasts about 45 seconds |
Despite the crowds, crossings are usually calm and orderly. Scramble crossings exist in other cities too, but Shibuya’s is by far the most famous.
Hachikō: the loyal dog
Next to the crossing, at the station’s Hachikō exit, stands a bronze statue of Hachikō, an Akita dog. In the 1920s, Hachikō met his owner, Professor Hidesaburō Ueno, at the station every day. After Ueno died suddenly in 1925, Hachikō kept coming to the station for nearly 10 years, until his own death in 1935. The statue is a popular meeting point, and his story inspired the film Hachi: A Dog’s Tale (2009).
Best views
| Spot | Why |
|---|---|
| Shibuya Sky | Open-air observation deck about 230 m up on Shibuya Scramble Square |
| Shibuya Station’s walkways | Windows overlooking the crossing |
| Nearby cafés | Upper-floor seats with views |
Shibuya in film and pop culture
The crossing appears in films such as Lost in Translation (2003) and Tokyo Drift (2006), and in countless music videos and games. Shibuya is also known for youth fashion, music and nightlife.
Busy Tokyo
Shibuya is one of the world’s busiest railway hubs, used by millions of passengers each day. The wider Tokyo area is the most populous metropolitan region in the world, with about 37 million people.
For the current time in Tokyo, see what time it is in Japan. For another famous Japanese tradition, see what origami is.
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