SHIBUYA SKY visitor guide — everything you need to know before visiting

At a glance

Entrance

14th floor, Shibuya Scramble Square, above Shibuya Station

Open

Daily 10:00–22:30

Last entry

21:20

Entry

20-minute windows, date and time on the ticket

Height

229 m, open-air roof

On sale

Two weeks ahead, from midnight Japan time

Children

Ages 11 and under: counter only, on the day; under-6s free

Time inside

No limit, no re-entry

Where SHIBUYA SKY is

SHIBUYA SKY is the observation deck at the top of Shibuya Scramble Square, the tall glass tower that stands directly over Shibuya Station on its east side. The building opened on 1 November 2019, rises to 229.71 metres with its spire, and took the title of tallest building in Shibuya from the Cerulean Tower. The deck takes up the 46th floor and the roof above it.

You do not start at the top. The entrance and the ticket counter are on the 14th floor, and that is where you show your ticket. From there the visit carries you up through the building to the 45th floor, into the indoor gallery on 46, and finally out onto the open roof.

One mistake is common enough that the deck warns about it on its own access page: the Sky Lobby on the 11th floor of Shibuya Hikarie, the neighbouring tower, is a different place. If you find yourself in Hikarie, you are in the wrong building.

Opening hours and the last entry

SHIBUYA SKY opens every day from 10:00 to 22:30. The last entry is at 21:20, and the deck turns people away after that, so the latest window you can book starts at 21:00. The ticket counter on the 14th floor keeps the same 10:00 to 21:20 hours.

The deck closes for its normal opening on 1 January, and it can close or shorten a day for its own reasons, which it announces on its official website. Separately, the roof itself can close at short notice in bad weather while the rest of the deck stays open; that is covered further down.

There is no limit on how long you stay once you are in. You can arrive in the afternoon and stay until closing. What you cannot do is leave and come back: there is no re-entry, so once you pass back through the exit, that ticket is used.

How the 20-minute entry windows work

Every SHIBUYA SKY ticket is for one date and one entry window. The windows run every 20 minutes, so a ticket might read 16:20 to 16:39. You arrive at the 14th-floor gate at any point inside that window and go in.

Coming early does not help: the deck asks you to enter during your own window, not before it. Coming late is riskier. If you miss your window, staff may ask you to wait for a later time of their choosing or may refuse entry altogether, depending on how busy it is, and if the later time falls in a different price band you may be asked to pay the difference.

The date and time on a ticket cannot be changed. If your plans move, a new window means a new ticket. So pick a window you can reach with a margin: Shibuya Station is large, and finding the right lift can take a few minutes the first time.

The two adult fares: daytime and sunset

SHIBUYA SKY sells adult entry online in two bands. Windows that start before 15:00 are one fare; windows from 15:00 onwards are another and cost more, because they cover the late afternoon, the sunset and the night view. We mirror that exactly with our Daytime fare (entry 10:00 to 14:40) and our Sunset fare (entry 15:00 to 21:00).

Both fares buy the same visit: the Sky Gate on the way up, the Sky Gallery on 46 and the Sky Stage roof, with no time limit. The only difference is when you go in. A daytime ticket lets you stay on into the evening if you want; a sunset ticket simply puts your entry later, closer to the light that most people come for.

An adult ticket covers anyone aged 12 and over, except 12-year-olds who are still at primary school, who count as children.

Children: counter only, on the day

SHIBUYA SKY does not sell children's tickets online at all. A child's ticket covers ages 11 and under, plus 12-year-olds still at primary school, and it is sold only at the ticket counter on the 14th floor, on the day of the visit, just before entry and with the child there in person.

Children aged 5 and under, and 6-year-olds who have not yet started school, go in free. Every child aged 11 and under must be with a parent or guardian who has an entry ticket.

This is why we only offer adult fares. If you are travelling as a family, book an adult place here for everyone aged 12 and over, and buy the children's tickets at the counter when you arrive. The deck keeps selling children's tickets at the counter even on days when the adult windows have sold out, so a child is not left behind by a sell-out.

When tickets go on sale, and why sunset sells out

SHIBUYA SKY puts each date on sale two weeks ahead, at midnight Japan time. Before that, there is nothing to buy for that date anywhere. If your trip is further away, you can hold the date with us and we write to you once it can be booked.

The windows from 15:00 are the ones people want, and they go first. When we checked in late October, every sunset window on most dates for the following two weeks had already sold out. Daytime windows hold out longer.

Once the adult windows for a time are sold out online, the counter has none either, so turning up on the day does not get you in. Places do come back when someone cancels, and they go straight back on sale. A sold-out sunset is still worth watching for.

From the 14th floor to the roof

The visit is laid out as a sequence the deck calls the Sky Gate. After the ticket gate on 14 you pass through a darkened room with lines of light, then ride up in a lift whose ceiling plays moving images and sound as it climbs to the 45th floor. A line of light leads you on from there.

The 46th floor is the Sky Gallery, an indoor corridor of floor-to-ceiling glass with light installations and screens that turn Shibuya's own data into images. The cafe and bar, Paradise Lounge, the souvenir shop, an accessible toilet, a baby room and the lockers for the roof are all here.

From 46, escalators and stairs climb out into the open to the Sky Stage. There are stairs and escalators on the route; if you need a lift, ask any member of staff and they will take you to the priority one.

On the Sky Stage

The Sky Stage is the roof itself, 229 metres above Shibuya and open to the sky. A broad deck runs around the edge behind a glass wall, and wide steps lead up to a lawn painted with helipad markings at the top.

The corner called Sky Edge looks straight down on the Scramble Crossing, with the city beyond. The Cloud Hammock is a set of nets laid into the deck where you can lie back and look up. The Geo Compass at the summit points out to the rest of the world. After dark, the Crossing Light sends columns of light into the sky every half hour from 19:00, with a show that changes with the seasons.

On a clear day you can pick out Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Skytree, the towers of Shinjuku, the green of Yoyogi Park and the Meiji Jingu forest, the National Stadium and, to the west, Mount Fuji.

What can and cannot go onto the roof

The roof has its own rules, because anything dropped or blown off it falls a long way. You may take a smartphone, and a camera or binoculars that are either on a neck strap or small enough for a pocket. Everything else stays behind.

That means bags of every kind, including small pouches; hats, caps and beanies; tripods, monopods and selfie sticks; earphones and headphones; food and drink; and anything else that could fly away. Lockers on the 46th floor take them. If your clothes have no pockets, the information desk on 46 lends a small bag you are allowed to carry.

Suitcases and big luggage cannot come into SHIBUYA SKY at all, so put them in a locker at Shibuya Station first; the shibuya-san tourist information centre on the first floor of Shibuya Fukuras also stores luggage, space permitting. Staff check bags at the entrance. Tripods and selfie sticks are allowed indoors on 46 when it is not busy, never outside.

Wind, rain and heat: when the roof closes

For safety, the roof closes without notice in strong wind, rain, snow, when thunderclouds come near, during photochemical smog warnings and in extreme heat. When it does, the rest of SHIBUYA SKY carries on: the Sky Gate and the indoor Sky Gallery on the 46th floor stay open, with the same view through floor-to-ceiling glass.

The deck posts whether the roof is open on its official website and on its X account through the day. Check it on the morning of your visit and again before you set off.

Once you are inside, the deck gives no refunds or discounts if the roof is closed or closes while you are there. If the forecast for your date worries you, write to us before your window and we will tell you what the deck is reporting.

Access, wheelchairs and pushchairs

Wheelchair users and people on mobility scooters can visit. A few parts of the roof cannot be reached on wheels, and depending on the chair, staff may ask you to transfer to one of the deck's own wheelchairs for safety. Crutches and walking sticks are fine. Some areas are kept dim for effect, so take care on the stairs.

Pushchairs can come in, but only the deck's own loan pushchairs can go onto the roof; ask at the 46th-floor information desk, and note they are limited in number. With a pushchair you cannot go onto the helipad area, and the deck recommends a baby carrier instead. Do not carry children on your shoulders or in your arms on the roof.

There is an accessible toilet and a baby room on 46. Guide dogs, hearing dogs and service dogs are welcome; pets are not. The whole building is non-smoking.

Frequently asked questions