Tokyo’s Best View? Shibuya Sky Tour | Japan Vlog
shabuya Sky promises the best view in Tokyo but is it really worth the hype today I’m heading to the top of Shabuya’s tallest building right above the scramble to find out if this view lives up to the legend let’s go see Tokyo from the sky [Music] all right so navigating all right even when I’m filming myself I still walk like four times faster than the average Asian the American in me can’t slow walk all right and you can see the building in front of me where we want to go i think we got to go up one floor to Shabuya Sky let’s check out the map here’s a sign here shabuya Sky Observatory right so not going to go straight in because I think it said to go right oh yeah shabuya Sky Observatory 23 [Music] all right yeah here’s another sign shabuya Sky Observatory now my ticket is uh for 12 40 I think let me double check yeah 12:40 it’s 12:21 so get in there oh here it is so as you noticed tickets already sold out so interesting so you could enter here i feel like I’m a little bit early so I’m going to wait a little bit and take up these elevators see yeah 12:20 actually [Music] this line is actually getting pretty long so I’m just going to get in it now let’s get there a little bit early I guess all right we have sold out of tickets today it’s someone’s job just to hold a sign that says we have sold out of tickets today so definitely make sure and book yours in advance i did mine about 2 or 3 weeks ago but they go on sale like 30 days in advance so just set your calendar for when your trip starts uh in 30 days as we approach the legendary Shabuya Scramble there’s one building that dominates the skyline towering high above the chaos that’s Shabuya Scramble Square and tucked inside way at the top is one of the most breathtaking views in all of Tokyo Shabuya Sky this rooftop observatory sits right at the corner of the Shabuya crossing literally the same intersection as the famous Hachiko statue so while hundreds of people are crisscrossing the street below we’re heading up way up for a totally different perspective of the city let’s find All right before we go on let’s find the restroom restroom restroom this way oh restroom okay all right so there are many ways to get to the Shabuya Sky entrance but here’s one and it is 5 minutes for my tickets so let’s get going all right i booked my tickets on Cluke and let’s make sure I have them available and ready all right [Music] hello just one one yes thank you please take a trip on the rooftop it was windy oh okay thank you good advice [Music] all right have to lose the baseball cap otherwise it’s going to be windy but here’s the Oh yeah that is Here’s the scenery okay i don’t know why everybody’s taking pictures of this we’re going to the freaking roof [Music] [Applause] [Music] all right [Applause] [Music] they don’t mind [Music] talking about a no frills elevator oh take that back yeah [Music] all right here we are going up in really cool escalator nice i’m getting excited the greatest view 10 seconds 10 seconds [Music] 7 6 5 4 No bags no bags what’s that no camera only only camera okay okay no backpacks no hats tripods literally no backpacks either so everything has to go everything has got to go let’s see grab one here in the corner okay goodbye tripod all right I got three extra GoPro batteries in my pocket i’m holding the GoPro with my hand still got my microphone going and of course have the key so not going to forget that either uh the lockers are free but yeah no bags zero bags zero anything that could fly away apparently it’s a little windy yeah no selfie sticks no food not even nothing let’s see camera with no Let’s see cameras with no neck straps that cannot be pocketed oh all right hold on i got a neck strap always read the instructions i am a weirdo who has a neck strap for the GoPro oh no cameras without neck straps sorry can’t bring your GoPro oh nope i got one all right here we are neck strap all right lock the door let’s do this all right we don’t have anything else so I actually wouldn’t be able to bring my camera without a neck strap so now we got an extra out [Music] all right no take out the locks yeah so don’t take out your keys all right so I have no hat nothing in my hands i got my phone in my pocket all right got a pretty cool art gallery i don’t think there’s a time limit i did not ask oh wow look at this man wow wow all right wow look at this wow this is amazing all right i don’t know if you’re able to like backtrack or what the rules are but some of these people just like they’re chilling here so now we’re facing east so we got Tokyo Tower and Tokyo Skytree here yeah it’s a I don’t know if that’s fog or smog or what but it’s not the clearest of days but you could still see definitely not going to be seeing Mount Fuji today but yeah still good good clear day here [Music] all right [Music] there’s a mirror here you can check out my neck gear my microphone pockets and I got pockets filled with GoPro batteries all right do not touch the exhibits all right so many cool photos here man even have a cafe here all right we have a cafe here with and a bar full liquor bar here wow all right now looking across look we have helicopter pads look at all these green spaces on top of the roofs man it’s just stunning man this neck this neck mount it’s been the best $20 I’ve ever spent this thing’s endured Everest now Shabuya well I guess we haven’t we haven’t finished Shabuya yet wow all right i think once you’re done outside you can come back in all right yeah i feel like all this Okay I maybe did not all right mount Fuji we were there that’s us all right i feel like I guess I’ll haven’t been outside yet i don’t know if I went in the right order here but All right yeah all right let’s go outside all right [Music] thank you all right i did the boring part first all right it’s a little bright oh okay so this is the line for the iconic photo right there in the corner all right i’m going to I’m going to circle around that might be uh worth waiting in line looks like it goes by fast all right we got in the shade here take some photos all right so now get to the good part what’s that i don’t know i’ll look into it you can check out some of the stuff around it i don’t know what and I’m not sure if that’s exactly what that is but All right now we’re going up to second area i’ll check it outside are you interested in it yes i know all right man look at the view oh man I don’t know my bearings enough to know what park all right let’s see what park that is let’s look at Google Maps here ikea Yogi Park all right we show you IKEA’s there ikea uh yeah I think I looked it up is around there man all right so we were there this we were there this morning that park looks very different from above all right here we are man yeah sunglasses would have been smart today but did not bring them but that’s okay wow wow man look at this oh there’s another line here for this iconic photo very cool oh man a great photo spot oh there’s a Tokyo very cool wow man this is awesome all right look where we are all right now this this view yeah let’s see if I can creep over here where’s the scramble all right this view is not going to be as popular cuz you can’t see the scramble from this side all right so the scramble was the longer line all right let’s see what’s over here now we have a lounge all right beautiful building so this area is not facing the scramble but you still see beautiful Shabuya here wow just absolutely stunning wow stunning views here you can take a seat here and yeah there’s no time limit at all oh man this stuff man look how big Tokyo is man so there is plenty of space take photos plenty of time to take photos oh they even have stands for you to put your phone on okay all right there’s a stand there in case no one could take your photo all right let’s see what we got on this view wow man definitely no shade here Wow looks like Google’s got an office there so all these buildings have rooftops wow man just absolutely stunning all right now we got this green space here i go check that out Max but I still can’t get over the 360 view of Tokyo here it’s just absolutely stunning wow you think with a backpack the size of mine I would have remembered my sunglasses nope and that sun is bright all right put those in there with an great photos here oh man all right we’re getting closer to the scramble i can see the line for that for that photo oh man this is the iconic photo spot right here I think all right oh they have the Please watch your step you can just lay down and take a nap here is it comfy nice all right okay so on the other side when you don’t have those where you have those glass thing it really blocks the wind and actually it’s kind of really hot but without with the wind it feels really nice even though it’s sunny yeah oh looks like there’s a professional photographer here all right let’s see how much it is hello yes how much all right one digital copy 1300 oh okay just get my converter out here so it’s about like $8 US okay great do I buy now no no you just 30 minutes you can take on the photo oh okay well it’s your first after taking your photos by camera sensor you could take photos using smart oh okay yes your shooting time for about 30 seconds 30 seconds okay okay thank you great so uh does the photographer use my phone ah sorry staff cannot use your camera okay great thank you all right so you get so it’s free to take the photo so if you wanted to you could just wait in line and use your own photo and they won’t take it they won’t use your phone but you could get someone else to take a photo with your phone for free so um but if you want a digital copy it’s about uh $810 so definitely worth it um and your photo time is 30 seconds so just enough time to kind of get uh maybe one camera and one or two poses so let’s see i’m hoping this girl comes behind me she looks like she speaks English i might be able to get her to jump up and take a photo of you thank you i’ll take your photo thank you yeah you know what that means right you got take you You know what that means right you got to take one of me you Yeah because this is a bit difficult to make it you’re very oldfashioned with that wow is that kind of nostalgic or does it just look cooler or It’s a bit um you just Yeah like a retro vintage yeah retro yeah and the thing you have only 27 pictures yeah so it really makes you be more selective nice just the beds the pictures oh good very cool are you going to get the digital one too of course yeah just as a backup in case the in case I put my thumb over the camera yeah I think you cannot skip it so they will probably do it also if you want or if you don’t want they will do it oh whether you want it or not yeah and then after you can check if you Yeah interesting yeah yeah yeah um nice where are you from switzerland nice what’s your name elisa lisa elisa elisa alex nice to meet you yes all right here I am in line at the famous photo spot here at Shabuya Sky met a very nice person behind me that’s going to take a photo of me and I’m also going to do the professional photography it’s for about $10 so going to have both uh the professional and uh the unprofessional and uh but the main thing is uh I think this is the famous photo spot everyone’s in line i don’t think you can see the Shabuya crossing from below but anyway it’s uh I don’t know if this is fog or smog or probably both but I have a little bit of a little bit of haze but we’re not going to be seeing Mount Fuji today but still really really really beautiful scene shabuya Sky opened in late 2019 making it one of Tokyo’s newest and most dramatic observatories it sits at top of the Shabuya Scramble Square the tallest building in the area right above the iconic crossing at 230 meters high it offers a stunning open air 360 degree view of Tokyo with sites like Tokyo Tower Skytree and even Mount Fuji on a clear day more than just a view it’s part of a massive project to reimagine Shabuya as Tokyo’s modern vertical city of the future looks like they time you too so uh looks like the looks like the professionals first and then Yeah then they let you take some with your with your iPhone [Music] that’s just here on the top right and the stairs and nothing else down right because there I saw like three floors there were one two three but I guess the third one’s the inside one maybe yeah I actually think the one below might be a better photo spot because I think you could see the crossing whereas here you I think it’s down there yeah yeah i have to wait in that line next strange no connection over here oh really no connection maybe there’s just so many people yeah I guess all right here we’re about to go up you could see you got the professional here they they take a quick photo and then they let the person with the iPhone take photos next it’s recording now oh it’s mini how many people one person one okay thank you right big photo hot up here stinky American okay one two three good thank you thank you all right here I am wow all right is this the best view in all of Tokyo well maybe and this may be the top photo spot in all of Tokyo all right so we just took photo there our iconic photo now we’re going to go up in this really cool green space here oh wow looks like Wonder if this is a real helellipad i doubt it beautiful views people trying to take some unique photos here a lot of security around yeah this would have been worth every penny i mean a rooftop 360 all right here we are at the center of the rooftop on Shabuya Sky man a lot of security a lot of people just taking a rest enjoying the view man it’s just absolutely beautiful we got everything from man everyone just sitting to people taking photos and people trying to take some creative photos it’s just absolutely beautiful now where else can the city can you see 360 views of Tokyo on a rooftop wow it is absolutely Beautiful man stunning all right man wish I had time to lounge but we got lots and lots of other exciting things to look at so let’s see oh we got another photo line over here see what this Let’s see what this one looks like all right can I just say for the record uh from the rooftop on Shabuya sky you can’t really see Shabuya crossing so that’s something to take into account look at these views wow is this the best view in Tokyo maybe all right there’s the famous Shabuya i mean I can’t even see the Shabuya crossing from here all right here we are and still trying to see right here let’s wait for the Let’s wait for the intersection here all right here we are waiting we’re at the top of Shabuya Sky waiting for you can see the Shabuya crossing in the distance and we’re waiting for the light to stop and the crosswalk to happen it’s the world’s busiest intersection and there it goes look at them all right man they could they all look like ants from up here 45 floors up all right shibuya scramble wow all right and that is the end of the Shabuyu Sky experience man is it worth it to me absolutely no I don’t want you holding your hand i thought I might shabuy crossing that’s pretty cool a sucker for a keychain all right what else do they have don’t line here [Music] i don’t need a bag oh okay sorry or what you want all right so that is the photo counter if you want a photo and then here’s the line for the elevator back down that’s my opportunity i couldn’t get that cool [Music] all right and that is the exit for Shabuya Sky man what a great experience and now we go down so was it worth the hype honestly yeah the views are unreal the vibe is clean and seeing Tokyo from above just hits different if you’re coming to Tokyo Shabuya Sky is absolutely worth the money if you’ve liked this adventure hit subscribe for more travel moments like this and as always travel far [Music]
Shibuya Sky promises the best view in Tokyo and the Shibuya Scramble Crossing — but is it actually worth the hype, the ticket, and the crowds? Subscribe for a free travel tips newsletter and Google Maps links to my destinations! https://www.alextravelsfar.com/home/#jump
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⏰ TIME CODES:
00:00 – Intro
0:14 – Going to Shibuya Scramble Square
4:13 – Shibuya Sky Entrance
14:54 – Shibuya Sky Rooftop
28:05 – Taking photo in the iconic spot
34:40 – Souvenir shop
37:40 – Outro
đź“Ť ABOUT THIS VIDEO:
In this Japan vlog, I head to the top of the Shibuya Scramble Square building to visit one of the highest observation decks in the city. From the moment you leave the street chaos of Shibuya Crossing to the second you step onto the open-air rooftop, it’s a full-on shift in perspective — literally.
I’ll walk you through the experience, from navigating the entrance and elevator to taking in the panoramic skyline views and reflecting on what it feels like to see Tokyo from above. If you’re visiting Japan and wondering whether Shibuya Sky is a must-see or just an overpriced photo op, this video is for you.
This is part of my full Tokyo travel series — so be sure to check out my other vlogs for food, chaos, hidden rooftops, and wild vending machine adventures across the city.
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