Photo Hunt – Heavy, Omoi

February 8, 2008 · 38 comments

This weeks theme in The Photo Hunt is Heavy or Omoi (おもい) in Japanese.

The pedestrian traffic in Shibuya is Heavy to say the least. Shibuya is famous for its scramble crossing which is reportedly the world’s busiest. It is located in front of the Shibuya Station Hachiko exit and stops vehicles in all directions to allow pedestrians to inundate the entire intersection. Three large TV screens mounted on nearby buildings overlook the crossing. The Starbucks store overlooking the crossing is also one of the busiest in the world. The 2003 American movie Lost in Translation featured a scene at the crossing.

Shibuya Scramble Crossing

The difference between above and below happens in seconds. 

The name “Shibuya” is also used to refer to the central business district of Shibuya Ward, which surrounds Shibuya Station, one of Tokyo’s busiest railway stations. Shibuya is known as one of the fashion centers of Japan, particularly for young people, and as a major nightlife area.

Shibuya (渋谷区 Shibuya-ku) is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2005, it had an estimated population of 195,877 and a density of 12,960 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 km² …. and it’s also the ward i live in.

Shibuya Scramble Crossing

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www.japansoc.com
February 8, 2008 at 9:53 pm
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February 9, 2008 at 9:00 pm

{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }

1 jojo February 8, 2008 at 10:44 pm

hi,
i think placing image besides an adsense ad is against google tos, if you are not separating the image with some line or something. those people at google are real evil..they may suspend your adsense account if they see images around adsense units.

atleast , separate the image with a line or something and you are good to go…

love your site btw ;)

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2 Neil February 9, 2008 at 7:31 am

Thanks Jojo, i’ve checked the T&C’s and don’t see anything wrong with the placement in the wording. For me it’s easily distinguishable that they are 2 seperate things, i don’t see how a line will benefit. I have checked a few other sites and they are placed the same. I have seen on problogger than it can be classed as questionable so i’ll check more in the coming days.

I appreciate the heads up anyway and will change the placement as required to make sure i’m playing by the rules.

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3 CatherineL February 9, 2008 at 4:53 am

Hi Neil – it looks so busy in the first picture. Is is like that every day, or was that photo just taken at a busy time?

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4 Neil February 9, 2008 at 7:24 am

Every day of the week, every week of the year. Because the crossing is a scramble crossing (all directions stop at once) when the motorists stop the pedestrian traffic crosses from all directions. This crossing is also right next to Shibuya station and one of the more popular shopping precincts in Tokyo.

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5 Mike Huang February 9, 2008 at 7:47 am

I forgot if I visited this intersection. Is it where the Sony building is? or is it elsewhere?

-Mike

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6 Neil February 11, 2008 at 7:39 am

Sony building is in Ginza Mike.

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7 xorsyst February 9, 2008 at 8:33 am

That amazes me to no end. I could just stand overlooking that intersection for hours. Maybe I’m too easily amused.

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8 Locksley McPherson Jnr February 9, 2008 at 8:47 am

Wow! Would be crazy going there every day. Imagine dropping your phone whilst crossing – no chance of getting that back! It would have been under 5 people’s shoes before you could bend down to pick it up!

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9 napaboaniya February 9, 2008 at 12:31 pm

The heavy humman traffic there never fail to amaze me. I could never forget my cousin going missing there while on a vacation..lol!

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10 Nick February 9, 2008 at 12:49 pm

Neil, if you need more proof that images in the side of ads are ok (in case Google gets nasty), the Wisegeek . com website (not the index page though) is a good example (they get insane amounts of traffic and I’ve pointed them out myself as an example to Google).

Great site by the way!

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11 Neil February 11, 2008 at 7:38 am

Cheers Nick.

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12 Yen February 9, 2008 at 6:20 pm

I wanted to post a photo in Ginza too..But forgot..LOL Nice pics:D

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13 Dragonheart & Merlin February 9, 2008 at 6:38 pm

That is certainly some very heavy pedestrian traffic! Terrific take on the theme this week. :)

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14 mommy's little corner February 9, 2008 at 7:21 pm

Great shots! You also should have taken photos of the rush hour in ekis. Happy hunting.

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15 a simple life February 9, 2008 at 7:22 pm

Nice take on the theme. Heavy human traffic. Happy hunting.

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16 Chikai February 9, 2008 at 7:24 pm

wow! that’s a lot of people! tfs! i got my entries up too, you can view it here and here.

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17 Huey February 9, 2008 at 7:48 pm

Wow that’s really a busy place huh. I have only seen something similar in Singapore. Didn’t really notice this when I was in Tokyo, but it was quite a few years back… :D

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18 Randi February 9, 2008 at 8:02 pm

Great choice for this week’s theme.
That´s really a heavy traffic and busy place!

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19 Criz Lai February 9, 2008 at 9:01 pm

Wow… the population in Tokyo is real dense. Even the pedestrians are OMG!

Come in for some fun in Criz’s Sanctuary and/or some serious matter in Insight Criz. Have a nice weekend!

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20 jams o donnell February 9, 2008 at 9:10 pm

And I thought the throngs on London streets was heavy! Excellent choice for this week’s theme.

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21 Hootin' Anni February 9, 2008 at 9:52 pm

Heavy, congested streets! Great idea!!!

My heavy is posted…hope you can drop by and celebrate my birthday with me. Happy Hunting!

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22 sarge charlie February 9, 2008 at 10:14 pm

wow, it looks like you could not move

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23 marcia v February 9, 2008 at 10:43 pm

Heavy traffic is so claustrophobic

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24 ancient one February 10, 2008 at 12:51 am

Yes, that traffic is heavy!

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25 Dragonstar February 10, 2008 at 12:59 am

Wow! And no-one stops to chat in the middle?

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26 genny February 10, 2008 at 1:18 am

She is pretty and yes i saw a very heavy traffic when i was in Manila…

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27 Queen of My Domain February 10, 2008 at 2:13 am

Wow that is some very heavy pedestrian traffic. Nice photo.

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28 Utah Mommy February 10, 2008 at 2:26 am

wow heavy crowd ain’t it? Cool! You got the right choice for this week’s theme. Happy weekend!
Baby Pushing Mommy

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29 heather February 10, 2008 at 3:51 am

Wow, that is some heavy traffic.

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30 R.O. February 10, 2008 at 11:20 am

Shibuya is crazy. There are so many hot women hanging out there with nothing to do. Restaurants, manga kissa, amd cafes are everywhere. Shibuya almost has too many department stores and shops though. I like the excessiveness of it all. Ebisu is also a real nice spot that reminds me of Boston. I miss Tokyo!

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31 BizGiftGuru February 10, 2008 at 2:01 pm

oh, went to that Starbucks few times … I stayed in some hotel right across the street somewhere around this mad :-) intersection

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32 Byrningbunny February 12, 2008 at 12:22 am

Wow. The quantity of people left me stunned. How do they manage to clear out so fast without trampling each other!?

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33 tnchick February 12, 2008 at 9:44 am

I don’t like pedestrian traffic so I’m glad I’m not in that! =)

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34 neko February 17, 2008 at 10:21 am

oh man i love that crossing! It’s awesome the amount of ppl who crosses in 1min and after the crossing is empty… and ppl stacking already up on all sides to cross again.
I love it.
Damn, 3months to go and i can hang around in shibuya, yatta-!

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35 Ryan `freedomwv` Smith February 13, 2009 at 5:18 am

Shibuya really is a special place. I have had many unforgettable experiences in Shibuya.

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36 Neil February 13, 2009 at 9:55 am

I hope to have many more too. ;)

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