Day 06 @ Tokyo – Shibuya Scramble Crossing and Shibuya Blue Cave Winter Illumination

The trains we’d been on during both our previous and this visit to Tokyo had passed by the famous Shibuya Scramble Crossing several times before, but we’d not actually been at the crossing itself until today. It’s indeed quite an organized chaos of pedestrians walking in every direction they wish as soon as the green pedestrian lights come on. Lots of people, while briskly walking through the crossing, are also taking pictures, selfies, and videos — all while trying not to collide with everyone else! Quite an experience, and out of necessity — since we were also heading to the nearby Tower Records for the daughter to look for a K-Pop album — and also because it’s just fun, we did the crossing several times. Yep, a cheap thrill, but it was exhilarating!

Apart from actually doing the crossing, there are many vantage points to view the organized chaos, including a particular Starbucks Coffee at Shibuya Tsutaya. We didn’t bother trying to squeeze into the outlet during the lunchtime crowd, so opted for the very free Shibuya Station bridge to Shibuya Mark City. There’s plenty of space on this second floor, even if the view isn’t as fantastic as the one you can get from the Starbucks outlet or other spots.
Lots of other people also crossing just to take pictures!
Paid homage to Hachiko, the very famous Akita dog remembered for his remarkable loyalty to his owner.
Late afternoon when the crowd at the crossing really swelled!

We continued walking toward Yoyogi Park in the late afternoon to catch the Shibuya Blue Cave Winter Illumination light-up.

Checking out the Christmas Market area before the illumination at Shibuya Blue Cave comes on.
The illumination comes on at 5PM and features 770,000 lights this year. I thought the illumination was OK, but it paled in comparison to the fantastic light-up we saw at Enoshima Island just the previous night.

That’s a wrap for Day 06. We’re headed to Mt. Takao tomorrow, which will quite possibly result in several posts covering different parts of the area!

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