Shibuya Sky: Tokyo Views, the Crossing & Ioniq 5 N

The day after Father’s Day in Tokyo — Senso-ji, Skytree, and the Sony haul. Kids were still recovering. We had two free days left before our late-night flight back to Manila, Philippines, and the only thing on the schedule today was Shibuya Sky.

Shibuya Sky, Tokyo

Shibuya Sky is the observation deck sitting on top of the Scramble Square tower in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. There’s an outdoor rooftop at the top and an indoor floor below it — and before you get to either, they run you through a check for prohibited items.

I found out the hard way. I had the cover for my DJI Osmo Pocket 3 with me, and they flagged it as a tripod attachment. They wouldn’t let it through. If you’re bringing any kind of camera stabilizer, mount, or tripod — even a small one — plan to check it into their lockers before going up. The locker area is right at the entrance and it’s easy to use.

Once you’re through, the indoor observation floor gives you the first look at the city through floor-to-ceiling glass. A Monday morning in June means thinner crowds than the weekend, and you could feel it — people spread out, actually moving around instead of queuing.

The Rooftop

The outdoor rooftop is the main event. The glass barriers are genuinely clean — you don’t have to fight glare or smudges when shooting, which is not something you can take for granted at observation decks. I could hold the Pocket 3 up and get clean shots without pressing the lens against the glass.

The whole city opens up from up here. You can pick out the Tokyo Tower to the northwest, and if you look straight down you can see Shibuya Crossing — on a Monday morning, it was noticeably quieter than the weekend frenzy we’d seen the day we arrived. Different view entirely.

There’s a net on part of the rooftop where you can lie down and look straight up at the sky — or straight down at the city below. Abby and I made full use of it.

There’s seating up here too, and at night they serve drinks. It would be a good spot with a beer and the city lit up below — we were there midday, so we skipped the drinks, but I noted it for the next visit.

13th Floor: Food Court

After the rooftop, we came down to the 13th floor, which is entirely restaurants. The options go wide: Japanese, Taiwanese, what looked like Mexican food, tempura, ramen, udon. It’s a legitimate food court — not just a snack bar attached to an observation deck.

I stuck with Japanese. The udon spot — Tsuru Ton Tan Udon Noodle Brasserie — caught my eye. I’ve had udon in the Philippines and back home in the US, but there’s something different about eating it in Tokyo, Japan. We sat down and ate.

Shibuya Crossing & Walking the Neighborhood

After lunch, we walked. We’d been in Shibuya, Tokyo for a few days at this point — enough to stop rushing between sights and just exist in the neighborhood. No more guided tours or booked activities. Just the streets.

Monday afternoon is a different Shibuya than Saturday night. The crossing was busy but moving — nothing like the New Year’s Eve energy of a weekend. Which was fine. It’s still one of the most alive intersections in the world regardless of what day it is.

A Note on Data in Japan

A quick aside: the Wi-Fi at our hotel in Shibuya was running 80–100 Mbps down. That’s fast enough that I kept exporting 4K video to upload during the trip.

My Google Fi cell data was a different story — slower, and it made uploading to Instagram and YouTube Shorts noticeably painful. It worked, just took longer than I wanted. Japan’s hotel and venue Wi-Fi is consistently good though, so if you’re relying on your data plan for uploads, lean on the hotel connection when you can.

Night Out in Shibuya

The boys were done for the day. Abby and I left them at the hotel and went back out on our own — the first time we’d had an evening without the kids in a while.

We started at the Starbucks near Shibuya Crossing in Shibuya, Tokyo. Half the people in there weren’t even drinking coffee — they were sitting by the window recording the crossing. Understandable.

Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, Live

On our way to find dinner, we walked past a Hyundai display. And there it was — an Ioniq 5 N, first time seeing one in person.

Matte blue finish, another one in red nearby. This is the performance version of the Ioniq 5: same EV platform, but Hyundai’s N division tuned it specifically for driving feel. In Japan of all places, where it’s displayed with anime-style digital screens behind it. Feels fitting.

I stood there longer than Abby was willing to wait.

Dinner

We found a sushi and beef place nearby. 7,200 Yen for two people, which wasn’t cheap but it was worth it. The sake list was excellent — I’ve been photographing every sake menu I find and showing it to anyone who’ll look. The restaurant also had a “Useful Japanese Phrases” placemat at the table, which I genuinely appreciated after a week of pointing and hoping for the best.

Late night, sprinkling rain, Shibuya still moving. Our flight back to Manila, Philippines was the next night — technically 1 AM the following morning. One more full day, then the airport.

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This is episode 6 of the Japan 2024 series. The trip started in Osaka — catch up from the beginning: Arriving in Osaka — Kansai Airport, Dotonbori & Kura Sushi.