Photo: WordRidden
When arriving in Tokyo you sometimes feel as if you've parked your spaceship on another planet entirely.
The gargantuan outdoor plasma screens on the building facades, the huge neon signs that fill up the vacant space above the pavements, the thumping and ubiquitous music, and - of course - the inhabitants. The Japanese are so stylish, so perfectionist, yet so over the top that we keep bumping into lampposts when trying to walk and observe the strange creatures that pass by on the streets of the Japanese capital at the same time.
Copyright: Aske Munck
This is why in Tokyo it's imperative to quickly find the best spot from which to engage in some serious people watching - safely seated.
Such a place is Shibuya, an area which also houses one of Japan's most busy subway stations and which is also known as one of the country's foremost fashion centres for young hipsters. It's also one of the crowded places for a night on the town with plenty of cheap eats, bars and - of course - karaoke joints.
Copyright: Aske Munck
As soon as we step out the metro on an ordinary Monday afternoon we are awestruck by the sheer number of people in the street. A huge wave of people is moving across the streets in all directions and you're unable to pin point the source of this steady stream of people or exactly where they're going.
We seek shelter at a familiar face, Starbucks, across the street from the Hachiko exit. From the upstairs floor you can sit and contemplate the buzzing crowd from a safe distance with what is clearly the best viewpoint over the Shibuya crossing.
Copyright: Aske Munck
The crossing is reportedly the world's most busy scramble crossing, where vehicles in all directions are stopped at the same time to allow pedestrians to safely cross the street from all points simultaneously.
Like steadily flowing tides they are shored up, until they are suddenly released from all sides, instantly inundating the entire crossing at a tremendous speed, but always without any serious head-on collisions. And in style. From the so-called cos-play gothic lolitas wearing almost Victorian outfits combined with the ever popular childish look of porcelain dolls, to flamboyant men and women dressed in second-hand 80ies fashion and girls in bright our even fluorescent clothes, decorated from top to toe with cute jewellery and brightly shining accessories.
Copyright: Aske Munck
Some women even mix traditional Japanese clothing with more conventional Western clothes and sometimes a beautiful kimono wearing lady straddles by in her wooden sandals, chatting away on her cell phone.
We sip our American lattes and look at a company casting young women for a TV commercial and a camera crew doing interviews. They appear almost as small immobile stones in a flood of people, and like water people move around them and swirl on in the continuing stream of faces filling all corners of the gigantic crossing.
Definitely a place to visit when trying to get the hang of Planet Tokyo.
