Shibuya station

Shibuya has welcomed trains since 1885, but the present-day station is the result of a succession of transformations carried out by JR East, Tokyu, Keio, and Tokyo Metro. The relief of the Shibuya valley has produced a spectacular arrangement: some subway lines arrive high above ground while others plunge deep beneath the district. The station serves the famous scramble crossing, the department stores, and the creative neighborhoods of southwestern Tokyo. Since the 2010s, a vast construction project has been relocating platforms, reconnecting levels, and opening up new pedestrian passages. Shibuya is therefore not merely a historic junction: it is also a station continually rebuilt around a city in motion.

The statue of Hachikō, in front of one of the exits, honors the dog that returned to wait for its late owner for nearly ten years. It has become one of the best-known meeting points in Tokyo.

Opening

1885

Topography

A station built inside a valley

Evolution

Major reconstruction under way