Tours in Shibuya

Stand at the Hachiko exit and do nothing for a minute. Watch the crowd at the scramble crossing fill up, hold, then spill out in every direction at once. Nobody collides. That small piece of choreography is Shibuya, and it is stranger and calmer than the photos make it look.

Most people cross it a few times, then look up. The Shibuya Crossing view from the station side gives you the full picture, and the big screens and shopfronts crowd in from every angle. Walk up the slope towards Center Gai and the pace changes. This is where younger Tokyo goes to shop, eat and loiter. Cut sideways and you reach the quieter back streets of Udagawacho and Shoto, where small cafes, record shops and bars sit behind unmarked doors. Meiji Shrine and Yoyogi Park are an easy walk away, and the shift from neon to trees takes about as long as a red light.

Shibuya is also a very good place to leave from. The station is a maze, but it puts you on lines that run out of the city and into hills within the hour. Our one tour here takes that idea seriously. You go with a former Chuo Line conductor, ride the train in comfort, and spend the day on Mt. Takao among cedar trees, a temple and a quiet path or two. If you like, you finish in a hot spring with a cold beer in the afternoon. It suits beginners, and sneakers are fine.

If something else is on your list, say the shrine paths, the food alleys or a particular building, ask. A local guide can build a day around it.