50 things to do in Shibuya: best restaurants, cafés, shops, nightlife and more (2024)

Named after its founder, legendary bartender Shingo Gokan, The SG Club knows how to have fun with cocktails while stillmaking seriously delicious drinks. This dual-bar venue made it on the World's 50 Best Barslistin 2023 – when you spend an evening here, you'll see why.

Stepping through the low, marble-tiled entrance, the first thing you’ll notice is the gorgeous tableware displayed behind a long hardwood counter. That’s not to say that the surroundings here outshine the coffee – on the contrary, Satei Hato’s hand-drip offerings maintain the absolutely highest quality. Choose from up to eight varieties of charcoal-roasted beans and watch as the formally dressed staff prepare your treat with almost religious dedication.

The renovatedMiyashita Parkis another new addition to Shibuya’s ever-changing cityscape. Previously a public park located along the Yamanote line, this glitzy new three-storey building is home to a shopping mall, a variety ofrestaurantsand cafés, hotel and spacious rooftop park.

Shiroichi’s cones are something to marvel at. These soft serves are unusually long and thin, so you’ll want to devour yours quickly before it melts or topples over. That’s not hard to do, though – the fresh milk frozen treat is utterly irresistible.

Tokyo has no shortage of excellent traditional soba noodle restaurants. But for a creative and contemporary – yet entirely authentic – take on soba, visit Ryan in Shibuya.The soba menu ranges from plain chilled soba served with a rich dashi-based dipping sauce to more complex offerings like hot soba with anago (sea eel) and vegetable tempura.

From stationery to toilet-seat covers, this is the largest household goods store in Tokyo, packed with knick-knacks for the home. Particularly interesting is the party supplies section, which gives a unique glimpse into the Japanese sense of humour. It can be difficult to find your way around the multitude of floors, but getting a bit lost is part of the fun, right?

This quiet little shrine marks the spot where the aristocratic Shibuya family, believed to have given the area its name, once lived. The shrine is designated as a tangible cultural property by Shibuya ward and is also home to a number of treasures including a pair of lion masks carved by craftsman Hidari Jingoro and amikoshi(portable shrine), which is used during festivals.

Hidden among the cool restaurants ofShibuya Parco’s Chaos Kitchen, thisshitamachi(downtown) izakaya-style restaurant serves only vegan dishes. The main dish is the mock karaage made with soy meat instead of chicken, which comes in five different flavours including grated radish, Chinese black vinegar, Sichuan style hot and spicy, sweet and sour, and teriyaki mayonnaise.

Located on the fifth floor ofShibuya Fukurasin Tokyu Plaza Shibuya, this cutting-edge café-lounge is not about spicy food; it’s name is derived from Pepper, the adorable semi-humanoid robot created by SoftBank Robotics. Just head to the counter where Pepper will take your order (in Japanese, English and Chinese), as well as recommend dishes based on your current mood.

An offshoot of Tokyo gallery Nanzuka Underground, 2G is located inside the trendy Parco shopping centre and is an art gallery and retail store offering cool collabs with some big name artists. Expect to find T-shirts and phone cases with prints by Hajime Sorayama, as well as collectables like Bearbricks and more.The gallery space in the back shows a rotation of exciting Japanese and international artists including installations by Tetsuya Nakamura and contemporary pieces by Daniel Arsham.

This hidden gem of a restaurant looks like it’s stuck in the ’70s, from its location in a forgotten back-alley building and old-school interior to its surprisingly low prices. It specialises in cutlets – meat and vegetables breaded with panko and deep fried. The popular set meal, which comes with a chicken cutlet, ham cutlet and croquette plus rice, miso soup and shredded cabbage, is only ¥800 – it’s arguably the best value meal in central Shibuya.

Located in the same building as Club Atom, Harlem has been the mecca of hip-hop culture in Japan since the mid 1990s. If you want to see B-boys and fly girls shakin’ it, as well as some of Japan’s up-and-coming MCs, this is the spot. The tunes are basically straight-up rap with a little R&B mixed in. DJ Hazime and other well-known Japanese spinners often play here.

The high-tech digital projector isn’t the only modern convenience at this planetarium: some of the seats also rotate individually, allowing you to behold the cosmos at your own leisure.

Looking for an omakase sushi meal that won’t break the bank? Edo-style sushi specialist Sushi Tokyo Ten has one of the best deals in town. Don’t be put off by its classy décor; dinner omakase is just ¥8,800a person, but the lunch set is an even bigger steal, coming in at just ¥4,400a person (weekdays only).

The tiered floor is a dead giveaway: WWW was an arthouse cinema before it found its current vocation as a gig spot. Sister venue WWW X upstairs boasts an even more powerful sound system.

Hidden in a basement away from the busy streets of Shibuya, Archive Store is a treasure trove for fans of coveted Japanese and international designers such as Comme des Garçons, Yohji Yamamoto, Martin Margiela and Raf Simons. The store is worth a visit in its own right for its edgy, hyper-modern interior fitted with mirrored walls and a mysterious, dimly lit atmosphere.

Think of it as a 21st-century take on the capsule hotel: each guest stays in a tiny but comfy ‘smart pod’, complete with remotely adjustable lighting and recline, plus a projector for watching movies.

Seasonal cocktails are the speciality at Ishinohana, Shibuya's answer to the high-end cocktail bars of Ginza. At a basement location just a minute's walk from Shibuya Station, owner Shinobu Ishigaki wields an array of fresh fruit and vegetables when creating his distinctive drinks: a gin and tonic is enlivened with kumquat, a margherita gets an injection of housemade cassis confiture.

Womb is a top-flight club with a vast dancefloor, great lighting, a super-bass sound system and what claims to be ‘Asia’s largest mirror ball’. House, techno and drum ’n’ bass are the usual sounds here. Womb’s schedule is packed with foreign names, but DJ Aki (drum ’n’ bass) is one local hero who plays here.

A saving grace for fans of indoor recreation, EST Shibuya is a playground of ping pong tables, billiards and bowling alleys. There are four floors reserved for bowling alleys alone, where if you’re hungry you can order a snack from the touch panels available at every lane.

In a perfect world, all bookshops would be like this. Tokyo's Klein Dytham Architecture won an award at the World Architecture Festival for their work on Daikanyama T-Site, which is spread across three interlinked buildings adorned with lattices of interlocking Ts. That 'T' stands for rental chain Tsutaya, whose seemingly bottomless pockets helped fund the kind of book emporium that most capital cities can only dream of.

There are few things more satisfying than a fresh batch of takoyaki (octopus balls) after a long night of karaoke, best paired with a frothy cold beer. Tempu owner Masahide Sakuramoto is from Osaka, where the dish originates. He serves perfectly golden brown spheres fresh off the griddle in this brightly lit standing-only eatery where customers pour their own drinks and pass dishes to each other in cheerful comradery.

Ceramic artist Yumiko Iihoshi’s retail outlet carries her eponymous brand’s entire line, known for its simple yet classic design and impeccable blend of style and convenience.We also love how Iihoshi’s wares combine style and convenience – most of them can even be microwaved and are dishwasher safe.

Vegans rejoice! Although Japan’s famous fruit sandwiches might sound vegan-friendly, most use cream and sliced bread containing milk or eggs. But herbivores can tuck into these luxurious fruit sandwiches with egg- and dairy-free shokupan, filled with fruit and soy-based whipped cream.

Located on the fourth floor of a nondescript building in Ebisu, this spacious store houses everything from fashion, Chemex coffee equipment and door mats, to fine jewellery, antique glassware and other little trinkets. Clothing comes in the form of closet staples like simple T-shirts and hoodies, and even a selection of shoes.

This light and airy café space situated behind the bustling streets of Omotesando and Harajuku is a mashup of two Tokyo institutions: Coffee Wrights and Higuma Doughnuts. Serving, well, coffee and doughnuts, we can’t think of a better combination to lift our spirits. The venue also offers plenty of seating, with indoor benches and tables in the sunken café space, as well as outdoor benches stretching out from the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows.

At this hideaway wine bar, owner Toshiya Kawasaki takes the Japanese concept of a listening bar – where the proprietor plays their own collection of records on a high-end audio system – and combines it with his love of natural wine.