Position: [ 35°40N, 139°45E ]
Shibuya is the place of the most famous crossing of Tokyo. When coming out of the train station, it’s hard not to get overwhelmed by the (litterally) hundreds of people crossing the streets at the same time under neons and giant LCD screens. There is the face of modern Japan, full of shopping malls, karaoke bars, foreign cuisine restaurants and other love hotels.
And then, for my last night in Tokyo, my friend took me to another Shibuya.
Street of small restaurants
In the middle of the bust and activity of Shibuya, just a few streets away from the main crossing, lays a bubble of quietness made of small bars and tiny restaurants.
To be honest, stepping in this area feels a bit like going into another dimension. One thing that amazed me was the silence of this area. Especially given its location!
Restaurant front
Beside the quietness another shock comes from the laid back visual attitude of the places here. Here the only neons seem to be imports from the 1970s. There are restaurants where one would have no idea there is one.
From time to time, glimpsing through the windows, one would see a tenant at a bar, servicing 5 customers and having a chat with them.
Restaurant tenant
And we did the same. So here we were, in the intimate atmosphere on this tiny restaurant, enjoying the conversation with our host, awaiting for her to offer us whatever food she wanted to cook.
(Yes, we came in and asked her to cook whatever she had in mind, and that surely was delicious).
And I was tremendously grateful to my friend for taking me to such a place for my last day in Tokyo.
