The Shibuya Scramble

I was able to visit the famous intersection at Shibuya twice during our stay in Tokyo. Once at about 8 PM on Saturday night, on the way to dinner. And once about midnight on Friday night. One of these visits was exactly how I pictured the famous intersection that thousands of people cross the simultaneously, and one of them was the opposite. 

Shibuya was on the top of our list for places to see in Tokyo. We read about so many famous landmarks, restaurants, shops, and sights to see in Shibuya, including the Shibuya Scramble, the world’s busiest intersection. We were warned to NEVER stop in the intersection because the rush of people would knock you down. We were told to be prepared for one of the largest crowds we had ever seen. After receiving these types of warnings we assumed that we would know when we arrived at this crazy intersection. We also assumed that the hustle of the busiest city in the world would not slow down as early as midnight. Wrong and wrong.

Shibuya Scramble a la Google (what we were expecting): 

Shibuya Scramble a la Friday night (when we arrived): 

Crazy, right!? If New York is the city that never sleeps, Tokyo is the city that goes to bed early! At least we were able to get some good pictures out of it.

The next evening I passed through Shibuya on my way to dinner with a few of the other girls and we encountered the intersection around 8ish. Finally, here was the intersection I had heard and read so much about! 

Total chaos! People as far as you could see, coming from every direction, and going in every direction. Traffic stops so people cross from all 4 sides of the road at the same time. I flipped on my camera and recorded it as I crossed. You can watch below.