Shibuya May Close Streets To Cars During Weekends and Holidays

Above, vehicles passing through Shibuya Crossing. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

With the exception of my 2001 trip to Japan, two of the main streets of Shibuya have been open to vehicle traffic.

All that may change as the Shibuya Ward fathers may revert back to its pre-2002 custom of closing two main streets.

According to The Japan Times:

Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward said Friday it may resume its old custom of closing two main streets to cars on weekends in hopes of invigorating the area in the lead-up to the Summer Olympics in 2020. 

“Bringing back pedestrian-only streets would greatly help Shibuya’s goal of becoming an entertainment city,” new Mayor Ken Hasebe was quoted by an official as telling the ward assembly Thursday. 

The practice of making two of Shibuya’s busiest streets — Dogenzaka and Bunkamura-dori — off-limits to traffic on weekends and national holidays was implemented from 1970 through 2002.

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