The Other Side Of Shibuya At Night

After a quick drinking session with my coworkers last Wednesday, I found myself photo-walking around Miyashita Park in Shibuya. No, I wasn't drunk, I figured I could exercise for a bit before getting late-night dinner and heading home.

Wednesdays are usually the day I go to the office so sometimes, when I'm lazy to cook dinner when I'm so tired from working in the office, I can't really cook dinner at home so I order takeout from Panda Express in Shibuya. Who doesn't love their orange chicken?! Panda Express is located inside Miyashita Park.

So yes, here I was, in the "park". Miyashita Park is not really the park that you're expecting. It's a mall. I guess I'll talk more about this building in another post because today, I'll be sharing with you the photos I took while walking around the building.

If you think of Shibuya, you'll think of the Shibuya crossing or the famous Hachiko statue but this wasn't it. I was on the other side, opposite the JR train tracks.

It's 8:30 PM and this side wasn't hectic. It didn't surprise me a bit, the crowd was on the other side, and the cars..? Well, I guess they'll avoid Shibuya at all costs. Oh no wait, some of them were also on the other side.

I was on the 2nd floor of Miyashita Park and this end was connected to the footbridge. You can even search for it on Google Maps with its name: 宮下第二歩道橋 (Miyashita Dai Ni Hodo Bridge). It's my first time knowing of this footbridge here because I don't usually reach this area.

I was alone on the footbridge and was really enjoying the views of Shibuya from here. It's not the same views as you would get on the other side. On the other side, which you'll often see on the internet, social media, tv, etc, it's loaded with people and lively stores open til late to serve the sleepless Shibuya. Here on this side, it's quiet, solemn, kinda lifeless, quite the opposite.

After absorbing the silence, I was intrigued by a store on the ground floor so I went to check it. I'll share about that store next time. I continued walking, this time, still on the ground level, until I realized I should head back inside. The escalator wasn't actually inside, it was just outside, on the street, on the side, of course. 😁

I wanted to play around with my phone camera on this fence I stumbled upon on the 3rd floor, just outside the food court area but my phone camera's acting up. It couldn't get the focus on the fence.

Before it becomes 9 PM, I should get the takeout or else I wouldn't get good ones so I gave up on the fence and went inside the food court. Luckily there was still a lot on the menu of Panda Express, including my favorite Orange Chicken. I ordered fast and went down the escalator to the 2nd floor, where the first footbridge is.

This is the footbridge I always use when going home, except when I use the elevator. From here, there's a clearer view of the Shibuya Scramble Square Building so I figured I should take photos from here too. But alas, there was a guy with his tripod and powerful camera equipment in the center of the bridge so I couldn't take the best angles. 😕

Even when I've been here many times, I haven't really taken a lot of photos. Sometimes there's no access from Miyashita Park to this footbridge or it's already closed, past its schedule. Sometimes there will be a shooting of a film or drama on this footbridge. Sometimes I just don't feel like walking here. 😌 So today felt like this is the day.

I didn't stay for too long because I got tired already from wandering and taking photos. Holding the takeout while taking photos with my phone was quite a hassle so after a few shots, I decided to call it quits.

What do you think? Will you come to this side of Shibuya? Or do you prefer the lively side?

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Don't forget to check out the #WednesdayWalk community by @tattoodjay. Happy Wednesday and happy walking!

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Thanks for reading!
See you around! じゃあ、またね！

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^{All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.}