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As opposed to the business and high-brow areas of central
and east Tokyo, the busiest centers of youth culture and entertainment
are located along the western part of the Yamanote Line between
Ebisu to the south and Ikebukuro to the
north. Ebisu was a sleepy if well-to-do area until the
arrival of Ebisu Garden Place and the expansion of Ebisu
station in the 90s. Ebisu Garden Place has several
department stores, a major hotel, cinemas, restaurants and is
generally a pleasant place to spend a few hours.
The next two stops on the Yamanote Line are the youth meccas of Shibuya
and Harajuku. Twenty years or so ago, Shibuya was just another dingy city
neighborhood. Today, thanks largely to the thriving sub-economy
that is fuelled by the under-20's, the area is bustling on any
day of the week. In front of the Hachiko exit of the
JR station stands a small bronze statue of the faithful
canine in whose furry honor the exit is named. The late pooch
continued for years to wait at the station for his master's return
from work each day despite the fact that the said master was six
feet under. This kind of blind loyalty and faithfulness to one's
master is supposed to be an example to us all. The statue remains
the city's most popular place for being stood up. Shibuya has
a good selection of department stores for the younger set, such
as Parco, Marui and 109 and countless boutiques, restaurants, bars and game
centers. Head from Hachiko across the famous "scramble" intersection
and you'll be at the entrance to "Center Gai", one of the busiest shopping
streets.
A young girl at Meiji Shrine |
Shinjuku |
Just up the line are the two faces of Harajuku. On the west side
of the tracks is the large Yoyogi Park, in the center of which is Meiji-Jingu shrine. This shrine receives millions of visitors over the New
Year period alone and is also the site of initiation ceremonies
for newly-crowned Sumo Grand Champions among other events. It
is surrounded by heavily wooded land and is a cool oasis in the
summer heat. Entrance is free. To the east of the Yamanote Line
is the fashionable, cafe and tree-lined Omotesando street
and the teeny-bopper Yamashita-Dori, where a twenty-year old feels ancient. Around halfway along
Omotesando, you can find Kiddyland, a huge multi-storey
toy store, and Oriental Bazaar, where you will find a great selection of quintessentially Japanese
gifts.
A couple of stops up the line is the busiest station in the world.
To the west of Shinjuku station lie the Tokyo City Hall
and several other impressive skyscrapers, mostly hotels and insurance
company headquarters. Several have restaurants and allow free
access to observation decks on their upper floors. The potentially
attractive Shinjuku Central Park seems to be home to a considerable
number of Tokyo's wino population and is usually semi-deserted.
On the other side of the station, the main attractions are the
Kabukicho entertainment district to the north, the Takashimaya
Times Square mall near the south exit and the beautiful Shinjuku
Gyoen park. Kabukicho has dozens of cinemas and theaters, some good
restaurants and a lot of seedy 'sex shops'. Some guidebooks describe
it as dangerous and, given the number of less-than-reputable places,
there is a certain low-level Yakuza presence. But the bad reputation
is pretty much out of date and these days it's just about as safe
as any other part of the city. Shinjuku Gyoen is a large park
with an English Garden, French Garden and Japanese Garden as well
as a hothouse. There is an entry charge but the park is worth
it.
Artist painting cherry blossoms in Shinjuku Gyoen |
Tokyo Tower |
Further north is Ikebukuro, a kind of poor cousin of Shinjuku.
The area has been 'upgraded' in recent years and is even home
to the main Seibu department store, Tokyo's biggest. But perhaps
because it's further from the center of the city, Ikebukuro lacks
the young chic of Shibuya or the energy of Shinjuku. Also, again
perhaps because of its relative proximity to the neighboring Saitama
Prefecture (snobbishly thought of as countryside, in the worst
sense), it seems to lack the urban sophistication of its neighbors
to the south. Typically, the Sunshine Building, 60 floors of offices, shops and restaurants and once the tallest
building in Asia, is no longer of much interest to visitors. At
the Ikebukuro Engeijo theater, you can enjoy (if you speak the language fluently!)
the traditional Japanese forms of comedy Rakugo and Manzai.
Returning south and inside the Yamanote loop, are the Akasaka and Roppongi areas. This part of Tokyo is home to most of the embassies and
a good number of the expatriates who work there and in the more
lucrative end of the salary scale. Akasaka has many fine hotels,
nightspots and restaurants and is where a lot of the behind-the-scenes
political and financial wheeling-and-dealing is done. Roppongi
is often, and quite fairly, described as a 'Jungle in Tokyo'.
It's where a lot of the foreign population go to let their hair
down, dance and drink till dawn on the weekends and generally
live up to the image Japanese people have of 'crazy gaijin'. There
are a lot of good bars , clubs and eating places and many places
offer happy hour prices and ladies nights. A short distance to
the south is the world famous (not) 333m Tokyo Tower, which is illuminated at night and has an over-priced observation
deck and aquarium.
Tokyo's Main Districts:
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