00:00:00 John Daub: Welcome to Shibuya Station. As the Yamanote Line checks out, we are here on a mission. How you doing everybody? Welcome to this beautiful area of Tokyo. This is an interesting live stream because I've been living in the city of Tokyo since 2004, which is quite a long time. In Japan, since 1998. And Shibuya is one of these places where everybody must come to at least once, especially if you're a tourist.

00:00:30 John Daub: On the other side of the station, they've been doing a renovation project for years. I think it was part of the big push to renew this area for the 2020 Olympics, which didn't take place. Here's the famous Shibuya Crossing right here. But I'm going to take you to an area that's even more exciting than this crossing. Yes, it's possible. The area is called Miyashita Park. It used to be a place where there was a lot of homelessness. They renewed it about 15 years ago and put in a skateboard park and a rock climbing area. Well, they got rid of that. They've been renovating it for the last few years, and now it's done.

00:01:11 John Daub: So I'm going to take you in there underneath the Yamanote Line right now. We're going to hang a left and go inside Miyashita Park, which is now kind of like a shopping center. I guess you got to see it yourself to believe it. Up there is the new Ginza Line station that stops right over the bus terminal on the backside. And the new Shibuya Stream, beautiful building that has this weird looking monitor that looks like an upside down Mount Fuji. They play some pretty interesting videos that only you could do on a TV that size and that shape. Hikari, which has been here for quite a while, is over there. But what we want to do is go here, Miyashita Park.

00:01:56 John Daub: Just a quick shout out. This here is Nonbei Yokocho (drinking alley). It's an area of Tokyo that had a lot of low buildings, very old. I'll tell you a little bit more as we continue this live stream about Nonbei Yokocho, but it's a place very dear to my heart. A lot of memories there, very small bars, a lot of Showa-era (1926-1989) stuff. Check it out. This used to be part of Nonbei Yokocho. They've widened it, seriously widened it, and now it's open.

00:02:35 John Daub: Look at the people making something delicious. Okay, let's go in here. That spaceship-looking covering, that round part of it, is the roof, and we're gonna be making our way up there maybe first and then work our way down. I'm gonna go to the other side of it. You see here on the bottom that there is a lot of restaurants and they're all outside, which is pretty good in the pandemic—you're not in a closed space. The restaurants look pretty good, and I think it's a throwback to preserve that feeling of eating in those small, really personable restaurants that was the mark of this area.

00:03:25 John Daub: Now these older buildings here are part of Nonbei Yokocho, the ones that are still remaining. I don't think they could get rid of these, and I hope they would never get rid of these. Inside here are very friendly owners that have been serving food to customers for sometimes over 50 years. They look like shacks because they were built after World War II and they've stayed that way. One of the reasons why they had these low-rise buildings here for such a long time is because it's over the Shibuya River, which is an awful place to build. You can't build skyscrapers until recently, when engineers found a way to get these heavier buildings on top of this low area—Shibuya being kind of a valley.

00:04:17 John Daub: Alright, let's go into this Miyashita Park. Konnichiwa (hello) everybody. Look at the information: Miyashita Park is open 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., and there's three floors and a roof. For those of you looking for the first time, you can also see they have a Shibuya City Notification Center for COVID-19 positive cases—that's a good thing. Pretty interesting, just click that QR code right there. Alright, up we go. Yamanote Line makes its way into the station as we make our way up. I'm kind of excited about this. I didn't know that it was completed until maybe about a week ago when people told me.

00:05:12 John Daub: This is our second livestream of the day. I was just at the transparent toilets, which is about a five-minute bicycle ride past NHK in the parks on the side of Yoyogi Park. That was a pretty neat experience—it was illuminating. Japan has the most beautiful toilets by far. I'm just in awe of how cool Japanese toilets are and how excited people can get for just toilets. Now this Miyashita Park used to go up about this height originally, and now you can see Nonbei Yokocho right there. Yeah, so you can enter through here and see this alley—they still keep those old buildings.

00:06:04 John Daub: I'm so happy they didn't tear down Nonbei Yokocho. If you do come to Shibuya, venture in here for dinner one night. It's a little bit pricey but so worth it—the experience. You're gonna make a lot of friends. Japanese businessmen go in there to say hi to people—it's kind of a neat experience. You will leave there with a lot of really cool pictures and memories of eating in there. I figure it's gonna cost maybe 30 bucks a person to go in there, but the owner—there's usually one lady who'll stand in the middle of a counter and serve you food that she's made, and it's been like this for four decades.

00:06:58 John Daub: Wow, this is so posh compared to what this used to be—a place where homeless people would sleep here. Now it's so different than before. Alright, let's go up one more floor. Now you can see all of the buildings here—that's the new Shibuya, that's the Shibuya Stream where Google's office is, and that's the hotel building, I believe. A lot of exciting changes to Shibuya. They kept this kind of netting-looking thing here to make it look kind of like a sports stadium, I guess.

00:07:53 John Daub: Alright, look at this—they have the skateboard park here, very cool. If you look behind me here, the elevators will bring you up to the roof, and we're a lot higher than I've ever been in this area. Miyashita Park was never this high—that's pretty cool. You can gather speed and then jump this thing—is it a half pipe? It's hard to tell. That's really cool. Oh, and they still have that rock climbing wall. The bouldering wall is a little bit of an amusement park-looking thing. It's 500 yen for two hours of climbing—that's not bad—and if you're an elementary school kid, it's half price.

00:10:22 John Daub: This speaker's telling us about the hot temperature—please be careful, that's nice. What this is—a beach volleyball? Beach volleyball in Shibuya—that's awesome, dudes. Beautiful setup of a net, very cool. You can watch a match as well. I think we're a little bit early. And then here's the place you can hang out with your friends—lots of public chairs that you can just sit here and soak in some sunlight. Not so crowded up here, maybe because people don't know about it yet. There's the Tower Records—I've never been this high to the Tower Records before. Japanese still buy CDs.

00:12:05 John Daub: WRX Turbo's here—hey, no hearts. Hi John, have you ever gone into the naturalization citizenship process? No, I'd love to know your thoughts on that—not really too interested, proud American. But yeah, who knows what the future holds. I don't know too much about it. I've had friends that thought about it. Peter von Gomm's still American, Jennifer's French, Kevin is Swiss-Canadian. John Kimura, I will get something from the area for Kanae Daub—I won't come home empty-handed. Some little takeout.

00:13:01 John Daub: Of course there's going to be a Starbucks up here, right? I knew there was something fishy. The community Starbucks in the park connects up with this building here—this is the newest Starbucks in Tokyo, and it's got a different view, a different feel to it. The counters are white, looks kind of modern. There's an alcohol pump, and this is the sticker I was talking to you about yesterday—this rainbow sticker. If the shops comply with Tokyo's standards for preventing COVID-19, then they get the seal. That means we should visit only restaurants or places that have adhered to the standards of Tokyo.

00:14:23 John Daub: Starbucks has it—a little sticker on there that means it's doing the procedure. Alcohol at the front, everyone's wearing masks, social distancing is practiced. You see on the floor they have markers where you should stand—do people do that? Pretty much, look—everyone's following the rules. Very good. Lawn field: the use of play implements that could fall out of the park prohibited, installation of items such as tents prohibited, footwear that could damage the lawn—high heels prohibited, do not occupy the lawn for a long period of time. I guess they don't want people sleeping here, but you can sit here. Ah, that feels good—grass in Shibuya.

00:15:13 John Daub: So what do we have here? Let's just reiterate: skateboard park, bouldering wall, multi-purpose sports facility, and a lawn field. I like that lawn field. I could come here for a picnic, but we can't stay for very long. It's a nice roof. It looks like a great place to picnic, and if you're traveling and staying in the area, I could see us making use of this sometime.

00:16:01 John Daub: After this live stream, stay tuned for an insider exclusive. I'm going to be going live in a secret live stream for insiders—I'm gonna take you to the Hachiko Crossing so you get a chance to walk around that area for a little bit. I'm gonna take you on a special live stream. Thank you so much for the support. Starting a new channel has been hard, but the community support has been so encouraging—it helps to keep this going. Super appreciative.

00:16:52 John Daub: We're gonna make our way down here. For so many people who can't make it here to Japan, this is like your day with me right now in Shibuya—we're kind of enjoying ourselves, having a quick look-see. I'm a pretty curious person—I like to look at all the different angles, so here's a new one. Whoa! There's a Yamanote Line making its way around—it's a double. It's a really nice view. Insiders, you'll be joining me on a special trip in about 15-20 minutes. As soon as this is done, I'll start the live stream and share it in the Insiders. Postcard Club and daimyo members will get an invitation for that too.

00:17:52 John Daub: That's it for the roof here. I'm gonna see—let's go inside, see if we can get a drink from a shop or something. But it is a beautiful roof to Shibuya, a new part of Shibuya, and I like it—having public spaces like this. Mask on. I used to teach a J-pop singer English about 15 years ago. I would meet her at a cafe over there, and a lot of celebrities have apartments in this area. She would sit in the back of the cafe with these big bubble glasses on, hiding from the world. I knew where she was, and I'd teach her for an hour—how to English for singing.

00:19:02 John Daub: This food hall looks really cool, but it's closed off here—I gotta go around another way. I'm not gonna tell you who she is—I protect my clients' privacy—but she was well known. She sang the national anthem at a very important sporting event in the United States once. Okay, let's go inside here. It's weird—it doesn't open till 11. Like those speakers in Spinal Tap—didn't they go to 11? We've got nine minutes before we can go inside. Alright, let's come back in nine minutes and we're gonna do a walkabout in this area. I want to show you the first floor, and then we're gonna come back up.

00:20:29 John Daub: The park in principle is open from 8 a.m.—you can get to the roof—but the insides don't open until 11. This is Nigel, folks—I'm using a new gimbal called the Zhiyun Smooth Q2. Cat Street here—if you go straight, you'll get to a multi-sando (sandwich shop?). This direction will also take you to the intersection where Harajuku is, back to where the transparent toilet is. Such an amazing looking complex, isn't it? You can hear the train line going back and forth.

00:21:29 John Daub: Typically you can go this way to the back of Shibuya Station, but this is a new area that also opened up. I'm going to take you back to the front, but we're going to go past a lot of the restaurants that are on the right side here—they kind of adhere to that feeling of Nonbei Yokocho, going back to the Showa era. That's important—that's part of this area's identity, and I'm glad that they're finding a way. These are all Shibuya Yokocho (drinking alley). I still like the original Nonbei Yokocho and will always support my friends over there. A year in the life of Shibuya—that kind of sums up the newness of this area. It just doesn't feel like the Shibuya that I know anymore—it's a new Shibuya for a new era.

00:22:31 John Daub: Look at these tables—that could be you sitting there one day if you'd like to be here right now. Look at all these tables—this is like Oktoberfest in Munich, not really. I think you can get a beer here. Check out the menu—these are the restaurants that are underneath. If I pan up, you can see the park up here. They've done a really beautiful job with it. Don't forget about Shibuya Yokocho—this is new to me.

00:24:13 John Daub: Once again, for those that missed it—these are the restaurants underneath on the first floor of Miyashita Park, the new Miyashita Park, and it looks really inviting. Don't miss out on this one. After around 2-3 o'clock, I bet there aren't that many people—it's a pretty nice place to hang out. There are some trees, some nature, but if I pan up here, you can see the top of the park. It's so clean here—which is not what I'm used to. When you hear Miyashita Park, you don't think of clean—you think of something else.

00:25:00 John Daub: In the Japanese way of the old Showa era, they have these vertical signs showing the name of the shops—that's kind of neat. The one thing that we shall not forget is our past—our past is very important to Japan. Here's a picture showing New Year's on Shibuya. Shibuya Ward is very progressive—they've opened up for Halloween and for New Year's. It's kind of neat—there's a lot of Westerners in this picture, dudes with beards drinking craft beer. And here's the Japanese way—peaceful, go to the shrine, wait in line. Totally different.

00:26:14 John Daub: Michael Sasano—see if I can find a place that sells honey toast, or ice-cold matcha tea from a vending machine—that sounds so good. There's a vending machine right there, and I'm getting a little parched, so I'm gonna get a drink. I'm waiting for these shops to open. The tunnel is still open—that's a very famous tunnel for us locals that gets us to the other side. Yeah, this used to be a lot of homeless shacks.

00:27:01 John Daub: For insiders, now—I will be taking you on a very quick trip around Shibuya after this live stream. I'll post this in the insider box, and if you're Patreon supporter, postcard club level member or higher, you'll get a chance to see this too. Oh, they're lining up—they just opened the door. What timing! Alright, let's go inside—take a look-see. This looks like a really nice bakery too.

00:27:57 John Daub: Good morning everyone, it is now opening time at the stadium. We hope you take your time to be here in Shibuya. Hey, check it out—they have a KitKat Chocolatory. These kids are playing the piano in the KitKat store—wow, very nice. It's interesting to see the shop owners outside in front of their store when they first opened, to bow at the customers coming in—very cool. Food hall—what do we got in here? Always try to keep clean.

00:29:59 John Daub: We've got Taco Bell, New York ramen, Kuro-obi (black obi?), Panda Express—I've never seen that before in Japan. Panda Express, Maguro Market (tuna market). Oh, look at these glass panels for social distancing—I've never seen this before. Panda Express—that's not known at all in Japan, but it's such a famous place in America. Probably not the best food here—I'm gonna have to pass, sorry folks. Doesn't complete me. Kind of disappointed with the pickings. It's very young, you know—like I think this is a teenager kind of a thing.

00:31:18 John Daub: We'll walk through the second floor here, take a quick look-see, and then grab ourselves a drink at a vending machine. I guess I'm a little disappointed with the pickings here—looks like offices over on this side. That's the Keihin-Tohoku Line, the Tokaido Line that just went by. Like the recycle bins here. They're taking temperatures. Egg slot is open—that looks pretty good. Everyone's like under the age of 20 there.

00:33:32 John Daub: Okay, so we're back to the KitKat shop. Let's take a quick look-see at the KitKat shop. There's a Shibuya souvenir shop—that's interesting. What kind of souvenirs? Mount Fuji, some caramel, Shibuya sticks. It's gonna be some daimyo (feudal lord) action right here? It takes a lot to pique my interest. Shibuya Park drinks? Not quite sure—I think they're going to have to up their game here. They have all sorts of KitKats. They're like one bar for $3—I don't know. I've never been—I've just never been underwhelmed by them.

00:35:34 John Daub: What are we—mochi? That looks good too. Honey lemonade—but it says here it's loaded—they pack it with sugar. So I'm not sure I want all the sugar. Let's take a quick look-see at the restaurants here so you get a better idea. There's udon, Shikoku-style, Kyushu—oh, this is all the first floor. So it's basically donburi (rice bowl), bold stuff on the first floor—that Shibuya Yokocho. Okonomiyaki (savory pancake), gyoza (dumplings). Very nice. There's a sushi shop as well, egg slot, pan bread espresso, KitKat Chocolate Factory, Panda Express, Kuro-obi, Taco Bell, Wagyu shop.

00:36:53 John Daub: There's nothing really interesting to me there. It's a bakery, but it does comply with Tokyo's strict new-type coronavirus prevention. Good job, Miyashita Park. Let's go hit that vending machine. Japanese coffee tastes like coffee—you realize it's 11 a.m. People telling me to get a beer—a responsible man, I'm driving a bicycle.

00:38:08 John Daub: I like these little teeny pet bottles that they have only in Japan. For 30 yen more, you can get double the size. Americans are like, why would you buy half the size? Because Japanese can't drink half a liter of sugar. A part of me is just saying, just get water. Take my money. That's not a Suica—it's a Kitaca, meaning north, Hokkaido. That's the Suica of Hokkaido. You can say beer all you want—it's not even noon.

00:40:20 John Daub: Oh, that was so worth it—as you can tell. You can try to bully me too—it won't work. I try to drink only after 5 p.m.—strict rules. Although maybe 3 o'clock might work. I wanted to take you to Nonbei Yokocho and just show you this area. So that's Miyashita Park—I hope that this is a pretty enlightening 40 minutes for you to give you a look inside. I think it's worth taking a look and hanging out in the park. I'm not so sure the shops are very interesting—there's specialty things that most people don't want. But the restaurants on the first floor seem to be the most interesting and most exciting.

00:41:16 John Daub: This is bicycle parking, by the way—you can get in through here. But I want to show you Nonbei Yokocho. These old buildings have been here through the 1950s—after World War II, the shacks came up to feed people. To get into the good restaurants, you have to come in here—it's kind of a secret entrance. They do have a restroom here—you can smell it. I remember using these—you drink and drink and drink and then you'll come. See if Kinoko was here—that's the one I went in for NHK. Enoki (mushroom)—yeah, Enoki's still here. They've been serving food for ages, but they're closed.

00:42:27 John Daub: This area is a throwback, and I hope that they don't ever close this part. As you can see, it is very much an alley. I was worried when they were redoing the park that they would get rid of Nonbei Yokocho—and that's not the case at all. And then boom—we're out. Very interesting, huh? I like that.

00:42:56 John Daub: If you have any questions, leave me a comment below. If you're an insider, I'm going to be doing another live stream in about five minutes, taking you out to Hachiko. Insider is our top level—I try to do one or two live streams that are private and secret for our community. Postcard Club and daimyo members on Patreon will get a chance to see this as well. Nonbei Yokocho—definitely walk through here, take a piece of history. Take a right and go into the alleys here, and then if you want to, you can go to Miyashita Park—but I think it is really worth it.

00:43:35 John Daub: Let me just take you out here where I'll say goodbye to you right here on Harajuku Scramble—this is where everybody goes. So I think you should go where almost nobody goes—to Nonbei Yokocho back here in the alley. There you go—Tokyo 2020. That's Hachiko Crossing right there, folks, and the crossing has started—busiest crossing in the world, some people say. Not so sure about that. Great—have a good day, have a good night. The insiders will see you in about five minutes—the link will be going into the insider community tab on the Only in Japan Go page. Have another episode on the new channel coming really soon. Welcome to Shibuya—I hope this was really memorable for you to watch. Click the like button and subscribe—see you again, probably tomorrow. Bye everybody.