Although only a kilometer apart, the change in scenery as you walk down the gently sloping streets from Yoyogi Park to Shibuya Station is among Tokyo’s most dramatic.
The chirping birds and cawing crows are soon replaced by humming motors, the fresh air and smell of blooming flowers by a mixture of exhaust and the scents emanating from restaurants and pubs.
Trees do still dot Shibuya’s major roads, but the woods, grassy fields and ponds of Yoyogi Park and the adjoining Meiji Jingu Shrine — which make up one of the metropolis’ largest and most accessible green spaces — quickly transform into the concrete, metal and glass jungle that Tokyo is better known for as you make your way toward one of the capital’s busiest transport hubs.