You may be surprised to learn that there is a large park at almost 1,000 square metres right in the middle of Shibuya.
Kitaya Park, located near the Shibuya Ward office building, was once a gloomy, quiet place that usually went unnoticed by passersby. It had only a few benches, some bicycle parking, and a designated smoking area. Most of its visitors were local salarymen who would come to take a tobacco break with a 100-yen coffee from a nearby convenience store.
Times have changed though and on the 1st April 2021, the park reopened after a complete makeover. Then, on the 28th April, the first Blue Bottle Coffee café opened in Shibuya - and the chain's first café located inside of a park. The wide open spaces and fresh greenery of Kitaya Park has now become an open-air public lounge for people of all generations.
The park has been transformed from a smoking and parking space into an open-air public lounge
Hosting a variety of events
The 960-square-meter park consists of four open spaces - Runway Area, Large Roof Area, Step Area, and Stage Area - and is able to host a variety of events, including music concerts, food markets and workshops.
A food event inviting different food trucks everyday scheduled from April 21 through May 16 has been put on temporary hold due to the coronavirus pandemic but it and similar events are expected to begin sometime soon.
The semi-outdoor Large Roof Area adjacent to the Blue Bottle cafe
The two-story building offers counter seating for up to 10 people on the first floor, with 33 seats on the lounge-style second floor overlooking the park.
The lounge-style second floor
Its main food item is a brunch plate that comes with a pair of waffles, green salad with prosciutto and a boiled egg, which is available from morning through evening.
The brunch plate will set you back 850 yen (or 1,350 yen with drip coffee)
The café starts serving sweets from 1pm and includes such tempting items as brick cheesecakes, pavlovas, and the tarte of the season. It also offers natural wine after 5pm, becoming the chain’s first to do so, along with pale ale and appetizers.
Now a fantastic place for meeting up with friends, Kitaya Park is also a great location to relax and watch the world go by.
Getting there
A 10-minute walk from Shibuya Station on the JR Yamanote Line.
Wow, what a transformation of the grubby old smoke hole. That little pocket of Shibuya sure needed open space and some greenery. Waffles and coffee, too. Everybody needs those.
