Running tour · Tokyo

Yoyogi to Shibuya

4.6 mi run

Open in Stride Stories

The stories on this route

1. Yoyogi Park

   Keep an eye out on our loop for two busts, side by side, at the site of Japan's first flight. Captain Tokugawa and Kumazo Hino.

2. Meiji Jingu

   Look up, beyond the courtyard, at the forest. Before the shrine, most of this site was open wild grassland, known locally as the Yoyogi plain. So a man-made forest had to be created.

3. Takeshita Street

   Look across the road at the entrance to Takeshita Street. It slopes gently down about 350 metres to Meiji-dori, lined with small, flashy youth-fashion boutiques.

4. Omotesando

   Look at the zelkova trees in front of Omotesando Hills. A few of them have been here since before the war.

5. Yoyogi National Gymnasium

   Look at that great sweeping roof, slung between two concrete masts. This is the First Gymnasium, and the whole roof hangs from those masts, like a suspension bridge. The smaller Second Gymnasium hangs from a single mast. There are no columns inside to block the view.

6. Hachiko and Shibuya Crossing

   Here he is: Hachiko, the bronze Akita by the Hachiko exit. Look at his front legs and muzzle. They're shiny because so many people have touched them.

Stories researched October 2026 · every fact checked against a source