Shibuya Sakura Stage’s huge queue shows the “Transformation of Shibuya” Report from the field
The 39-story building directly connected to the station is the last of the redevelopment projects! 37 tenants including a food hall where you can enjoy local beer opened all at once!
The “last piece” of the “once-in-a-century redevelopment” was finally completed.
On July 25, “Shibuya Sakura Stage,” including a 39-story, 179-meter-high building directly connected to the station, opened. It houses 37 tenants, including a food hall where local beers brewed in Shibuya can be consumed and the global flagship store of the cosmetics brand “KATE. On the day of the opening, when this reporter visited the site before the store opened, there were already 1,500 customers waiting in line. It was the busiest among the facilities created as part of the Shibuya redevelopment project.
I came here in between classes because it is close to my university. Many of these commercial facilities in the city center are full of high-brand stores, and the only place to go is a café, but this place has a good selection of cosmetics, books, and other small stores, so I have a good impression.
While young women visit KATE, middle-aged businessmen are also noticeable, as a male office worker in his 40s said.
Shibuya used to be filled with young people who went out to clubs, but recently I feel that the age group has been increasing. I think it is because a series of redevelopment projects have improved accessibility from the station. In the past, people used to walk up and down the hilly streets in a sweat, but now they can get to their offices through the air-conditioned passageway directly connected to the station. With the opening of Sakura Stage and the new Shibuya Station ticket gates, I think it will become even more convenient.
What will the “once-in-a-century redevelopment” bring to Shibuya? Economic journalist Hiroko Ogiwara analyzes the situation this way.
The “Sakura Stage” includes a residence called “Brands Shibuya Sakuragaoka,” but the people who can afford to live there are the “upper class of the upper class. I don’t think young people who used to hang out in Center Street can live there.’ Hikarie, which opened in 2012, also attracts the upper middle class who have some money. Buildings are going up in rows due to redevelopment, and small stores are being eliminated rapidly. The soil where the miscellaneous culture of the younger generation originated is disappearing from Shibuya today.
The prosperity of Sakura Stage may symbolize the changes taking place in Shibuya.
From the August 16, 2024 issue of FRIDAY
PHOTO： Hiroyuki Komatsu
