Over the past few years, Shibuya has undergone significant redevelopment, with new attractions and facilities popping up one after another! One such spot is the Sakuragaoka area. Located just in front of Shibuya Station, this spot was previously a bit difficult to get to. But now, Sakuragaoka boasts a new commercial hotspot: Shibuya Sakura Stage, directly connected to the station, meaning super convenient access to all the latest trends and cultural experiences the area has to offer!

So what exactly is inside Shibuya Sakura Stage? What kinds of shops and activities can you find there? Miyu Shimada, a writer for Live Japan and an active tour guide, both in Japan and abroad, introduces some unique experiences only available at Shibuya Sakura Stage, and shares her top recommendations that international visitors will love!

Opened on July 25, 2024, Shibuya Sakura Stage is a newly developed, large-scale complex in the Sakuragaoka area, just south of Shibuya Station. This multi-purpose facility includes residential, office, and commercial spaces. The commercial area, spanning from the B2F to the 5F, is divided into the Shibuya Side and the Sakura Side. The latter features a variety of cultural shops and eateries, all designed to "enhance convenience for those who work, play, and live in Shibuya."

A major development in the Shibuya area with the opening of Shibuya Sakura Stage is improved access to the Sakuragaoka area. Previously, Sakuragaoka was separated by national roads and railroad tracks, making it difficult to reach despite its proximity to the station. Visitors had to navigate pedestrian decks and elevated walkways, which required going up and down lots of stairs.

However, with the opening of Shibuya Sakura Stage, a new JR south ticket gate also opened on July 21, offering direct access to the station. There's also a new passageway now connecting to Shibuya Stream (which opened September 2018) on the opposite side of the tracks, further enhancing accessibility.

Shibuya is widely recognized as the birthplace of Japanese trends and culture. Leveraging this prime location, the area showcases Japan's world-class cultural content.

One highlight is Sanrio (3F), a pioneer in kawaii culture with fans all around the world. The store offers a range of goods featuring beloved characters like Hello Kitty and My Melody, who just celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2024, coinciding with the store's July grand opening.

CharaColle (3F) specializes in trendy character goods with a rotating selection that changes every two weeks to a month, ensuring you'll always be able to find the latest seasonal merch. From July 25 to August 28, the shop is hosting a Tamagotchi POP UP, celebrating the iconic character that sparked a major craze in Japan in the 1990s and remains internationally popular to this day. The shop will feature exclusive Tamagotchi goods, as well as pre-sales of Tamagotchi Connection (3,960 yen including tax), scheduled to go on sale on August 3.

KATE is a well-known makeup brand from Kanebo Cosmetics, a leading Japanese cosmetics manufacturer. Highly popular across all age groups, KATE is a familiar sight in Japanese drugstores and specialty home goods stores.

KATE has opened its first global flagship store, KATE TOKYO, right here on Shibuya Sakura Stage (3F). It is the only place in the world that offers the entire lineup of KATE products! In addition to that extensive lineup, they offer a variety of makeup experiences featuring cutting-edge technology that can only be found here.

Visitors can also use the iCON BOX, an AI-powered vending machine that analyzes your facial features with a single photo and suggests four eye shadow colors specifically tailored to you. These original recommended shades can even be personalized and purchased from the vending machine, making them a perfect, one-of-a-kind souvenir from Japan!

What you see here isn't your average product shelf—it's a digital one. By holding your smartphone over the disk-shaped part, you can virtually explore their makeup selection. It’s an engaging experience where you can uncover new aspects of your personal style while enjoying makeup in a fun and exciting way.

Cheat Tokyo (2F) offers a variety of food and general goods, featuring products made from local specialties and traditional techniques from across Japan.

All products are carefully selected and reflect the passion and craftsmanship of their producers. You can find rare items that are difficult to come by outside their regions, showcasing the unique charms of their respective areas and made in alignment with the SDGs, all right in the heart of Shibuya, Tokyo.

This is the ideal spot for those seeking unique goods not often found in other Japanese stores, showcasing the dedication of the craftsmen, made with exceptional care and attention to detail. It’s also a great place to find some souvenirs!

While the Shibuya Tsutaya facing the famous scramble is the most well-known, the newly-opened Tsutaya Book Store is the largest bookstore in the Shibuya area. Stocking around 160,000 books, it offers a wide selection, especially in the art genre, along with a comprehensive lineup of comics, making it a must-visit for culture enthusiasts.

Another highlight is the Sukinova section, available in only 10 Tsutaya stores nationwide (as of July 2024). Here at Tsutaya Book Store, you can find original Tsutaya goods, including collabs with popular characters and games.

The store features a spacious share lounge with 180 seats, designed for visitors to sit down and read the books from the shop. This open space combines the coziness of a cafe with the functionality of a workspace, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of an airport lounge.

The lounge offers a variety of seating for different needs: large tables for group gatherings, sofas for a cozy, cafe vibe, individual seats with partitions for focused work, semi-private rooms for online meetings, and conference rooms for large group discussions.

The share lounge is freely accessible with no cost or monthly contract, operating on a drop-in basis starting at 1,650 yen per hour. (Discounts available during OPEN Commemorative Campaign, until August 31, 2024). They offer a wide selection of beverages, including tea, coffee, juice, and even soups. There's also small snacks, ice cream, and an all-you-can-drink-and-eat plan, with some plans that include alcohol. There's also a children's rate, making this new lounge a great spot for families as well as those just looking for a comfortable place to get some work done.

The entire fourth floor of the Shibuya Side is dedicated to Sakuyon, a space that blends food and culture. Here you’ll find FOOD MET, a food hall inspired by a traditional Japanese shopping street, featuring 17 shops across three areas.

Japan has a popular custom known as "hashigo-zake," (literally "liquor ladder," similar to a pub crawl) where people hop between several different spots enjoying small dishes and drinks at each one, rather than eating a full meal in one place. Shibuya Sakura Stage's food area embraces this tradition with many spots designed for a multiple stops for drinks, offering smaller portions and affordable prices. It’s cool and casual, making it easy for anyone to come and enjoy sushi, tempura, yakiniku, and izakaya, even those dining solo. Below are five of the most highly recommended spots.

YAKINIKU78 offers classic Japanese-style yakiniku with carefully selected high-quality beef. While specializing in yakiniku, they also offers a variety of à la carte dishes that pair perfectly with beer and wine, making it the perfect choice for one of the stops on your restaurant-hopping journey.

The best part of Japanese yakiniku is being able to cook your own meat on the special grill right at your table, the result being delicious, tender meat with just the right amount of fat, grilled to perfection. Lunch starts at just 1,300 yen (just under $10), which makes it a great spot for an affordable meal!

The counter seats are also right in front of the fridge, allowing you to watch as the meat is chopped into chunks, giving you a behind-the-scenes look at the kitchen in action!

Among the many types of alcohol available, one of the rarest is the domestically produced Tora makgeolli. It has a dry, crisp taste with a subtle sweetness, making it a perfect match for Japanese-style meals.

Sushi Soul is a sushi restaurant where you can enjoy sushi, tempura, and wine, designed to be visited as one of several stops during your pub crawl, and includes not only standard nigiri-zushi, but also original rolls and creative snacks that go well with alcohol, especially wine.

Despite its authentic atmosphere, Sushi Soul maintains a casual vibe with dishes priced between 300 and 500 yen. You can even watch the chefs prepare them right before your eyes at the counter.

This is an innovative style of maki-zushi in which the ingredients are not rolled into the rice, allowing diners to clearly see what it is that they’re eating. The presentation of the sushi is visually appealing, with small portions that makes it easy to eat in a single bite.

They also offer a wide selection of white, orange, and rosé wines from French, Italian, and Japanese brands, all of which perfectly pair with sushi and tempura. For lunch, you can enjoy rice bowls and chirashi sushi, making this spot a great dining option at any time of day!

The appeal of Japanese izakayas lies in their variety of dishes, from appetizers to main courses and desserts, and of course drinks, all at reasonable prices. And for a casual Japanese-style dining experience, a standing izakaya style is the way to go! At JUICCCY, you can enjoy inexpensive and delicious pork dishes. The two co-owners, hailing from Chiba Prefecture, started this restaurant with a mission to give back to the local community, using ingredients primarily sourced from Chiba.

The shop is reasonably priced, with most dishes ranging from 500 to 800 yen, the only exception being the bottled sake (the only items above 1,000 yen). Despite this affordability, JUICCCY serves lots of creative dishes featuring Hayashi SPF pork, a premium brand from Chiba Prefecture known for exceptional quality and favored by highly-popular tonkatsu shops.

In fact, I am such a huge fan of Hayashi SPF pork that I specifically seek it out at the restaurants I visit! This pork also goes great with sake, boasting the perfect balance of sweet, tender, and juicy fat.

The next shops we’ll introduce are in Shibuya Sakuragaoka Beer Hall, located in Food Met, which offer original craft beers and quick, satisfying meals.

With a food court-style setup, you can order from any of the eight restaurants, and enjoy your meals at the communal table space.

Shibuya Brewery is a beer restaurant where you can savor craft beer and delicious foods that pair perfectly with your drink.

You can also enjoy locally brewed Shibuya beer, freshly made on site and only available here.

The fries are deep-fried and also go great with beer. They’re made with three distinct types of Hokkaido potatoes, each variety offering its own distinct flavor, making them a fantastic complement to your drink.

While pizza is typically considered an Italian food, this restaurant does things a bit differently. Ciel Pizza, brought to you by the chef of Michelin one-star French restaurant LATURE, presents pizzas with a Japanese twist, emphasizing local ingredients and Japanese food culture. The dough is made of rice flour and Japanese ingredients, resulting in a "Japanese pizza" that's truly one-of-a-kind!

The menu items, with names like Ocean Sea Breeze and Four Drum Beats, reflect a Japanese flair, each with its own interesting background and inspiration. The rice flour dough has a light, chewy texture that makes the pizza not only delicious but easy to eat.

The takeout style makes for casual and convenient dining, allowing visitors to easily sample a variety of foods and share them with friends. The Shibuya Sakuragaoka Beer Hall shops feature a diverse range of dishes, so feel free to try a little bit of everything, and enjoy the excitement of the spot’s upbeat atmosphere!

Shibuya Sakura Stage is a place where you can immerse yourself in the latest Japanese trends, culture, and culinary innovations. True to its name, the essence of cherry blossoms is evident in every corner of the facility, from the logo's color to the interior design. This space blends nature with urban living, with a green plaza for relaxation and socializing, a terrace for leisurely strolls, and cherry blossom viewing in the spring. The venue hosts a variety of events throughout the year, making it a great spot to visit in any season!

It’s conveniently connected to the sheltered ticket gates, making it easily accessible regardless of weather. This spot is set to become a key destination in Shibuya for cutting-edge shopping, entertainment, and cultural experiences. And as a food enthusiast, I’m excited to return to try even more drinks and snacks!

With its continued evolution, Shibuya Sakura Stage is definitely worth a visit. So on your next trip to Tokyo, be sure to stop by and explore this new, ultra-modern Shibuya hot-spot!


English translation by: Krys Suzuki