All of this is gone, now. Shibuya station and its environments has undergone massive reconstruction that isn’t scheduled to end for years more. An entire wing of commuter train platforms was torn down and moved underground. There’s an ever-changing maze of temporary construction walls in part of the station, in which it is not only possible to get lost in, but very likely. They’re expanding a commercial/shopping/office complex where this used to be.
And don’t get me wrong; it’s nice. They’ve paid attention to foot traffic, which most of Tokyo is oddly indifferent to. Sidewalks aren’t reliably present, and bicycle riders move from street to sidewalk as the whim takes them. In the photo, in fact, you can see roughly how much sidewalk a lot of Tokyo has. So there are good points, certainly.
The downside is that the interesting texture of the city is pushed farther away from the stations. It’s frustrating to set off on an exploration and simply not catch an image that I like after walking for hours.
Commercial spaces can be lovely and soaring and inspiring and there are good pictures to be found there, but variety adds spice.
Rei Fletcher 