Shibuya Parco Reborn: Nintendo’s First Store in Japan, A Unique Pokemon Center and More

Shibuya Parco reborn

On Friday, November 22nd, the reborn Shibuya Parco will finally open its doors to the public. Featuring 180 unique stores, organized around the themes of Fashion, Art & Culture, Entertainment, Food, and Technology, the new building will not only serve as a new landmark with its visually arresting appearance, but will also become a new hub of fashion, culture and entertainment for the neighborhood, not to mention a must-stop destination for fans of Japanese games, anime and pop culture.

We visited the yet-to-open building earlier this week to see what all the fuss was about, and what we experienced surpassed our expectations. This is NOT your typical department store. As our guide explained, Shibuya Parco is not simply about selling and showcasing finished products, it's also about proposing new ideas and even setting trends. We saw evidence that Shibuya Parco intends to become a relevant influence in Shibuya's fashion, culture and art scene. We were also impressed with the way it integrates new technologies into the retail experience.

Of course, our main interest was on the CYBERSPACE SHIBUYA floor where you'll find Nintendo's first store in Japan, Pokémon Center Shibuya, a Capcom Shop, a Jump Store, GG Shibuya, Japan's first dedicated mobile e-sports viewing cafe & bar, and plenty of other exciting Japanese pop culture content (Click here to jump down to that part).

But before we could enjoy those sights and sounds, we were treated to a guided tour...

Exterior

The first thing you'll notice as you walk up Koen Dori is the unconventional architecture of the building. With its staggered modular design with surfaces jutting out from the base and its spiral walkway with green and open spaces on the 4th and 8th floors, connecting to garden area on the 10th floor, the architecture is intended to echo the varied topography of Shibuya's urban landscape.

...... read the rest of the article on the grape Japan website:

https://grapee.jp/en/126156