“Ten Years of Shibuya — A Local Life Between Freedom and Chaos”

— Kensuke, 35. Advertising professional. Lives in Ebisu. Has walked through Shibuya almost every day for a decade.

Shibuya Is the Kind of City That Changes Just Enough to Feel Familiar Again

For most people, Shibuya is loud. It’s youth, lights, trends, construction, energy. But for Kensuke, it’s just the walk to work.

While Tokyo’s other major neighborhoods each have their label — Shinjuku is rush and concrete, Ginza is order and elegance, Ikebukuro is chaos and density — Shibuya is the only one that’s always in transition, and somehow that makes it feel stable.

8:45 AM — Morning Skaters and Coffee Laptops

In MIYASHITA PARK, skaters turn tricks under the morning sky. A foreign couple sips coffee. A woman takes a Zoom call. It shouldn’t work, but it does. That’s Shibuya.

12:10 PM — Spice and Graffiti in Oku-Shibuya

In a narrow alley, he finds a Sri Lankan curry spot. The smell, the jazz, the dim lights. A traveler says: “This doesn’t feel like the Shibuya I imagined.” Kensuke smiles. That’s the point.

3:30 PM — Sakuraoka’s Still Moments

At a modern café in Sakuragaoka, the clientele is mixed: designers, freelancers, retirees. Shibuya isn’t just for the young anymore — it’s for anyone who accepts not needing to be defined.

8:30 PM — Wandering Into Udagawa

Udagawacho is alive with vintage stores and gallery spaces. Kensuke stumbles into a small DJ event. String lights, music, people who don’t care what time it is. It’s messy. It’s perfect.

How Shibuya Feels Different From Everywhere Else

Shinjuku is speed. Shibuya is pace. Ginza is complete. Shibuya is becoming. Ikebukuro is utility. Shibuya is unnecessary joy.

How People See Kensuke

Co-workers: “Knows the best spots.” Friends: “Always stumbles into cool.” Kensuke: “I thought I’d get tired of this place. I didn’t.”

Your Turn

Shibuya doesn’t give you answers.
But walk a little slower, turn one street earlier,
and it just might show you who you are —

A version of Tokyo that lets you disappear, and still feel seen.