Coordinates: 35°39′37″N 139°42′05″E

Shibuya Bike Tunnel

Not associated with Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shibuya Bike Tunnel
Shibuya Bike Tunnel as seen on Google Street View in Oct 2017
Location Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan

The Shibuya Bike Tunnel is a pedastrian tunnel in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. It is located north of the Shibuya Scramble Crossing.

The tunnel offers free short term bike parking on both sides of the pedastrian path, and was heavily vandalized with graffiti on all sides, prior to being cleaned in June 2023. Northbound trains from the Shibuya Station runs on top of the tunnel, which are JR East's Yamanote Line, Saikyo-Kawagoe Line, and Shonan-Shinjuku Line.

Due to its stylish graffiti, proximity to the Shibuya Crossing, and its moody lighting, the tunnel is featured in many music video, anime, and other pieces of Japanese popular media.

Music Videos

Kaf

Kaf uses the Shibuya Tunnel in her music videos frequently. I first took notice of the Shibuya Tunnel through Kaf's MVs, and finding out it's the same tunnel that was used in MVs that I previously watched.

Anime

Jujutsu Kaisen

Season 2 of Jujutsu Kaisen covers the "Shibuya Incident" arc. The 2nd ending song is more than words by Hitsujibungaku 羊文学, and the ending animation features various locations in Shibuya, including the Shibuya Tunnel.

Notice that there are no graffiti in the Shibuya Tunnel, and instead there are notice signs. See more in the Redevelopment Section.

  • Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 ED2 more than words by Hitsujibungaku, 0:48 (2023)

Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night

Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night (夜のクラゲは泳げない, Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai) is an anime about modern internet-based music projects, in contrast with animes like Girls Band Cry or previously Bocchi the Rock, that shows more traditional club-based rock bands. This anime also heavily showcases various parts of Shibuya nightlife.

The namesake of the anime, the jellyfish, is a large wall graffiti outside of the Shibuya Tunnel. The wall that the jellyfish graffiti sits on does not actually exist in real life. In place of the concrete wall, is a dirt mound, with electric infrastructures sitting on top for the train line, surrounded by a chain link fence, and a partial stone wall.

We can see that it is indeed the Shibuya Tunnel that was referenced and used in the anime, by comparing the buildings and structures near the tunnel.

  • A frame from the anime, which shows the buildings and structures on the backside of the tunnel
  • Google Street View of the backside of the Shibuya Tunnel

Redevelopment

Shibuya began a large scale redevelopment project recently.

The backside of the Shibuya Tunnel originally only leads to a carpark, a small park, and pathways leading to adjavent motorways. This can be seen on older Google Street Views from 2016.

The tunnel was cleaned sometime between June and early July of 2023, removing all of its graffiti. Despite the newly placed signs and warnings against posters and graffiti in the tunnel, graffiti began reappearing in the tunnel in late 2023.

  • Google Street View of the backside of the Shibuya Tunnel, 2016
  • Google Street View of the backside of the Shibuya Tunnel, 2022
  • Inside the Shibuya Tunnel after previously repainted, early July 2023
  • 9 Oct 2023
  • 4 Jan 2024
  • 25 May 2024

The tunnel had been re-cleaned again sometime between June and July 2024, and repainted in early Septemerber 2024.

  • Taken by Kairordor, 12 Sep 2024