Tokyo Cheapo: Guide and History of Shibuya 109

Above, the Shibuya 109 department store. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Generally speaking, Godzilla and Gamera fans, the Shibuya 109 department store best known to them because the store was blasted in Gamera 3 in 1999 and in Godzilla x Megaguirus in 2000.

But there's more to Shibuya 109, it is "home" to Tokyo's youth fashion culture.

Tokyo Cheapo has posted an article on the history of Shibuya 109 as well as a guide to what's inside.

They start with:

Founded in 1979 by the Tokyu company, Shibuya 109 was, in part—initially at least, developed in a spirit of competition. At that time, the Seibu department store chain was already gaining serious traction in central Shibuya, an area known for consumer-heavy culture, so Tokyu thought it was time to muscle in on the action. In doing so they changed the neighborhood’s landscape literally and metaphorically.

To read more, go here.