Center-gai is a major fashion, entertainment, and nightlife area in Shibuya ward. It begins at the Starbucks/Tsutaya (video and music rental store) across the street from the Hachiko exit of Shibuya station.
From there, it encompasses several large and small intersecting streets crammed with restaurants, arcade game centers, bars/izakaya, nightclubs, shopping malls, food markets, discount and souvenir shops, home and department stores, and much much more! Tokyo is impossible to navigate using street names alone, so I have taken the liberty to circle Center-gai for you on the map below.
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1. Shibuya Crossing
This one is pretty self-explanatory. As a matter of fact, most first-time visitors to Shibuya may have some difficulty getting to Center-Gai without crossing the gigantic intersection.
Shibuya crossing (or locally known as “The Scramble”) sees millions of pedestrians in just a single day. It is also said that in later hours of the night before last train, upwards of 1,000 people gather at the crosswalk and cross at a time! This also makes it a prime spot to display advertisements on huge screens and banners, making it the Times Square of Tokyo.
If you’ve seen the 2003 movie Lost in Translation, Scarlett Johansson’s character crosses the street on a rainy day, and a pink dinosaur trots across one of these screen in the background. Unfortunately for fans of the movie, this advertisement has gone extinct like the rest of the dinosaurs, but that only makes room for more Japanese idol groups to take their place. “Minna-san, konbanawa!” (“Good evening, everyone!”—said in a nasally, high-pitched idol voice.)
In recent times—now that everyone and their mother has a YouTube channel and/or their own personal media gallery on Instagram—it’s not uncommon to cross the street and see people have friends take pictures of them in the middle of the road.
And the antics don’t stop there.
I’ve seen a group of people dressed as Mario Bros. characters set a wide vertical pipe in the middle of the road and have Mario emerge out of it while someone filmed. I also know a guy who played hangover for his YouTube video by laying down in the center of the crossing with liquor bottles duck-taped to both of his hands while someone else filmed.
While I don’t recommend doing anything dangerous, when the green walk sign in lit up, and people are crossing, you’ve got about 30 seconds to get your token “I was here” shot.
2. Starbucks/Tsutaya
What’s more fun than crossing the busiest intersection in the world? Going up to the second floor of a nearby building and watching everyone cross again! And again, and again, until your heart is content.
This is where the film crew shot the famous Shibuya crossing scene in Lost in Translation. According to director Sophia Coppola, this was all shot guerrilla film-making style with no permission. A few of them went into the Starbucks, bought a coffee, and went up to the seating area on the second floor. From there, they got great shots of thousands of people gathering at the traffic lights and then pouring into the street when the light turned green. Good luck getting a window seat these days, though. Any trip to this Starbucks branch will have people lining up at times trying to squeeze a picture in between heads of the famous intersection. The trick is finding a comfortable way of holding your camera while fumbling around with that hot coffee!
3. Basketball Street
I don’t actually know why it’s called “basketball street.” There are no hoops, no jerseys, and certainly no basketballs. There are plenty of shoe stores, however, where can buy shoes for the use of playing basketball. You might even be able to find a sporting goods store that sells basketball stuff!
I think “Shibuya Strip” is a more fitting description for this shop-lined street that cuts right through the middle of Center-Gai. According to Mizu-Chan’s Gate to Japan, basketball street had some illegal buying and selling going on in the past, and locals, weary of the area, nicknamed it “kowai-gai” (“scary street”). In an attempt to alleviate the bad rap, the Association of Center-Gai Businesses pasted signs on street lamps and decided to call it “basketball street” from then on out. Apparently this was in relation to a nearby basketball court.
I have never seen nor heard of this basketball court, and we’re all quite certain it has nothing to do with the street other than to give it a more alluring name than kowai-gai.
Honestly, just taking a stroll down this street is the Cliff’s Notes version of Center-Gai—and Shibuya in general. The street is full of people, and at night they crowd around convenience stores, bars, and clubs. Some come to drink and be merry. Others come to just hang out. There’s enough spectacle on the street of performers, YouTubers, and drunk people to entertain you until your next venture. I recommend, for all of you original thinkers out there, bringing an actual basketball along. If anyone asks, just say, “Hey, it’s basketball street!”
4. Hub
Since 1980, the chain Hub has been Japan’s answer to British-style pubs. Your average Japanese bar or izakaya has a cover charge for entering, but Hub is well-known for it’s no-cover, come-and-go as you please, and sociable atmosphere. It also sports a menu of western-style drinks and food items. Shibuya alone has 4 Hubs now, and they are the go-to spots for casual drinking and making new friends.
Center-Gai Hub
If you’re out to party, this is the place to go. At the very beginning of Center-Gai, a mere 50 meters from Starbucks/Tustaya a staircase leads down into a cavern of debauchery. There’s dancing, there’s drinking… Just don’t waste all of your energy if you plan on staying out all night. Currently the largest Hub in Shibuya, this is the place to go if you’re a party animal.
Hub 2
Older expats may call this “old new Hub.” This is the newest of the 4 Hubs and is in the exact same place as the older Hub that served as a local hangout for decades. This one is a bit more laid back and much smaller than Center-Gai Hub. Recommended if you’re out with a small group of friends and don’t want to shout.
Dogenzaka Hub
This one is also small but friendly. Can get a bit crowded, though, and is a bit of a walk from the above 2 Hubs. Actually, it’s not even technically in Center-Gai, so forget I said anything.
Shibuya Hub
This is currently the oldest Hub in Shibuya…and furthest from the station. Ask around for home store Tokyu Hands, take a right, walk up the hill, and you’ll know why expats call it “Hill Hub.” This branch is less crowded than the others and holds a British rock night every Thursday.
5. 109 (ichi-maru-kyuu)
This is the flagship mall of Center-Gai. Sure, there are more upscale places selling expensive brand-name goods like Luis Vuitton and the like, but you don’t come to Center-Gai for Luis Vuitton. You’re young and on a budget. A shopping spree at 109 with it’s Japanese fast-fashion brands will have you turning heads all along the boulevard.
Erected in 1979 as a “Fashion Community” for women in their early 30’s, this competitor for the posh Seibu department stores staking their claim in the area did not achieve its purpose. It was, however, a striking piece of architecture only a minute or two’s walk from Shibuya station. Therefore, it was apprehended by the young gyaru culture and has been a stronghold for the youth of Japan ever since.
Some of the more well-known in Japan shops are WEGO, CECIL McBEE, EGOIST, one way, MOUSSY, and ESPERANZA, but odds are, if there’s a store in 109, it’s a pretty big deal. There’s also a fair amount of shops with strange names. Here’s my top 5 list of strangely named 109 shops:
- WC
If you’re British you’ll know that this stands for “water closet”—i.e. bathroom. - LADYMADE
- LIP SERVICE
- KOL ME BABY
“KOL” sounds like the Japanese pronunciation of “call.” I’m pretty sure that there’s supposed to be some kind of Japanese pun in there, but to 100% of the Roman alphabet users of the world, it just looks like Engrish. - baby Shoop
“KOL” me an old-timer, but when I think of “shoop,” I think of an old Salt-N-Pepa song. That could be the intention, considering the explanation of the shop. Taken directly from the 109 webpage: “The theme is BLACK FOR LIFE. Concept even epidemic in the world has changed. Unchanged is the Black Race Style.”
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