Urban Research: Shibuya vs. Marunouchi

29 May 2008 Category: Conscientious Design, Japan

Urban Research: Shibuya vs. Marunouchi

A well-known intersection in Shibuya at the 109 department store.

Last September we compared Sugamo and Harajuku and found so many interesting differences in the urban design for young people and the elderly. Today, PingMag takes a look at Shibuya, an area popular with young girls called “gals”, and Marunouchi, a business district where you can find many office ladies called “Marunouchi OL”.

Written by Ryoko
Translated by Kevin Mcgue

1. The Stations

Considering how many passengers pass through it, Shibuya station has rather narrow passageways and a lot of staircases. However, there are very big and colorful signs, providing direction, that can easily be seen even though the station is always very crowded.


The exit for the Hanzomon line at Shibuya station. This staircase gets extremely crowded at rush hour.

A passenger must walk many steps in the Shibuya subway station.

Information signs at Shibuya station – colored and not easy to miss!

At Tokyo station from the Marunouchi Subway line, the passageways are very open and wide, and the level surfaces are very easy to walk on. The lighting is rather subdued. It subtly cheers up the office workers, passing through on their way to work. The information signs are much smaller than those found at Shibuya station, but the designs are nice and stylish.

After recent remodeling, the interior of Tokyo station from the Marunouchi line looks a bit like the inside of a spaceship.

Information signs inside the station…

…are done in rather simple designs.

We were very surprised to find decorative plants in the station near the ticket gates. If these were in Shibuya station, they would be trampeled on by the crowds within five seconds. Inside the station, we found safety features, such as barriers at the edge of the platform, to prevent people from falling down to the tracks.


Decorative plants in the station. This is not something you see everywhere.

Safety barriers to prevent people from falling down onto the tracks.

2. The Towns

Advertising

If you take one step out of Shibuya station, you will be overwhelmed by countless advertisements, which include simple posters, commercials broadcast on gigantic TV screens overhead, ads placed in packets of tissue that are handed out around the station, and announcements pouring out of stores. Even if you step into the many narrow side streets of Shibuya, you cannot escape advertising.

Advertising is all around in Shibuya.

Huge ads that can be seen even from across the street.

Even small side streets are filled with advertising.

Shops are also covered with advertising.

Small packets of tissues, covered with ads, are handed out on the street.

In Marunouchi, there are very few ads, perhaps since there are so many office buildings. There are no announcements from shops blaring out, and there is a calm, quiet atmosphere. The many tall buildings give the area a bit of a New York feel, and looking around, you can easily forget what country you are in.


There are surprisingly few advertisements in Marunouchi.

The many skyscrapers make the area resemble New York.

Silence… An urban scene free of advertising.

Greenery and rest areas

Shibuya is an energetic place full of young people. There is probably no need for a place to sit down and rest, or much greenery to be found. However, recently more rooftop gardens are appearing in order to combat the heated island effect.


A smoking area near the station.

There is no greenery to be found on the street…

…but above the streets, rooftop gardens can be found. This is the one at the Shibuya Ward Office.

In Marunouchi, greenery is found everywhere. There are beautiful potted plants and flowers along the street, and nice areas surrounded by plants where people worn down from work can sit down and have a rest.


Lovely! Beautiful potted plants on the street in Marunouchi.

This one looks like a flower arrangement.

Where weary workers come to rest.

The Streets

Many slopes and Y intersections are a part of the neighbourhood makeup of Shibuya. But that is only a bit of what makes Shibuya so interesting. For example, the famous intersection that separates at the 109 department store provides a wedge between two sides of Shibuya. If you head right, you will find lots of art galleries, theaters, and cinemas. If you go left, there is nothing but love hotels and night clubs. Depending on which direction you go, what you will see is completely different within the many nuances of Shibuya.


In front of the 109 department store, the holy ground of Japanese youth fashion.

Bunkamura, the cultural center of Shibuya.

In Marunouchi, on the other hand, there are no slopes. The streets are wide and straight, so you can easily have a broad view. The many shops of shops on the streets of Shibuya are contrasted by the lack of commercial space in Marunouchi. The shops of Marunouchi are hidden within the large surrounding office buildings. This gave us the feeling that the area was off limits to anyone who is not an office worker, like us.


Wide, straight streets in Marunouchi.

Shops are in large buildings like this one.

3. Products

Since different kinds of people congregate in these areas, of course the products on sale are different as well. In Shibuya, we could buy fizzy drinks such as Coca Cola that are popular with young people, whereas in Marunouchi, we found tea and coffee. The convenience stores in Shibuya had a lot of fashion magazines for young women. Magazines for working women were stocked in Marunouchi.


A vending machine in Shibuya…

…and one in Marunouchi, filled with tea drinks.

Fashion magazines at a convenience store in Shibuya.

Magazines for working women in Marunouchi.

Did you find any interesting differences between Shibuya and Marunouchi? There are plans to open a new station in Shibuya in 2012, and development projects are already underway, so the area is likely to change a lot very soon. Please let us know what you think of these two towns!

6 Comments

  1. I love this city

    Posted by: Tomek on May 29th, 2008 at 7:05 pm

  2. After seeing few pics and reading article, my personal choice because of green, clean and more peaceful look is Marunouchi, however I prefer the Shibuya station. The 109 department store looks tempting also :)

    Posted by: Grzegorz on May 29th, 2008 at 8:06 pm

  3. Good read, i still prefer Shibuya. Purely because of the night life.

    Posted by: Luke on May 29th, 2008 at 9:28 pm

  4. maronouchi is key for a nice, crisp morning walk. shibuya is key for a summer evening beer/chu-hi and chips at the hachiko exit.

    end of story!

    Posted by: s.kokubo on May 29th, 2008 at 10:06 pm

  5. i went to both towns last summer on vacation

    And i had the luxury of staying in maronouch and that was quite amazing
    but shibuya was just a cool place to be day or night

    Posted by: Domonic on May 29th, 2008 at 10:13 pm

  6. I had my first visit to Tokyo a few weeks ago and it was everything I hoped for and more. These photos (and article) make it miss it so much, and I can’t wait to return.

    Posted by: Michaelography on May 30th, 2008 at 1:25 am

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