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Public drinking to be banned at Shibuya's scramble crossing on New Year’s Eve

16 Comments
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24

Tokyo's Shibuya neighborhood has always had a reputation as a party town, thanks to the area’s high concentration of bars, pubs, and clubs. In recent years, though, the district’s streets themselves have regularly turned into party venues, especially the one that flow into and around the world-famous Shibuya Scramble intersection that opens up right outside Shibuya Station.

The most famous (and also infamous) Shibuya celebrations these days are the ones on and around Halloween, but revelers also gather on the nights of important matches for Japan’s soccer team and other national athletic squads, as well as on New Year’s Eve. This year, however, Shibuya is simultaneously welcoming some New Year’s Eve partiers with one hand while pushing some away with the other.

Starting at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, and lasting until 2 a.m., both the scramble crossing and the surrounding streets will be shut down to vehicle traffic and turned into a massive pedestrian space. Not only should this help prevent domino-toppling chain reactions as people unable to see the signal lights through the crowds bump into the people in front of them, it’ll also allow groups of friends to take group-shot photos from ordinarily impossible angles (or at least impossible without getting hit by a car a second later).

However, while this makes the streets of Shibuya a great place for shutterbugs and selfie-snappers to ring in the new year, the neighborhood isn’t going to be as enjoyable for outdoor alcohol enthusiasts. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police will be dispatching hundreds of additional officers to the area on New Year’s Eve, and in addition to regular crowd control, they’ll be enforcing a ban on public drinking.

The ban goes into effect at 6 p.m. on December 31 and lasts until 5 a.m. The alcohol prohibition echoes one enacted at Halloween, and while a specific map of the restricted areas has yet to be distributed, it’s safe to assume that at the very least drinking booze on the streets that are shut down to vehicle traffic, plus their sidewalks, will be prohibited. The authorities are also asking local convenience stores to voluntarily suspend alcohol sales during the ban, though restaurants and bars in the area will be pouring adult beverages as usual.

Source: Yahoo! Japan News/Kyodo via Jin

Read more stories from SoraNews24.

-- Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood bans public Halloween drinking following mayhem

-- Japanese police request train stations in Shibuya to shut exits during New Year countdown

-- Shibuya mayor fed up with lawless Tokyo Halloween street party, promises stronger police response

© SoraNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

16 Comments
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re article: but revelers also gather on the nights of important matches for Japan’s soccer team and other national athletic squads, as well as on New Year’s Eve. 

Revelers meaning foreigners vs locals. What's good for the goose is definitely not for the gander. The future of this site will be less and less traffic of those walking, which in turn leads to less patrons visiting the surrounding bars too. Ask anyone who has been a part of these festivities in other areas that went similar routes and today are deserted areas.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

I already wasn't going to go out to Shibuya this new year's eve. They just gave me less of a reason to. This is clearly geared toward foreigners as there are very few Japanese on the streets at that time. At least 60% of the people are foreigners. Fights breakout, the stores don't let you use the bathroom and it's nearly impossible to get home since the trains don't run to my house that late. Will not be doing that again.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

I understand. Far too many people.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Puritanical spoilsports.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Seems to me, that young people can't handle their drink, and have a lack of self-control.

I maybe generalising here, but many years ago, Shibuya was wonderful on New Years Eve. Never any fighting by either Japanese or foreign people.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Just put your alcohol in a thermos or a sports drink bottle or even a tapioca drink cup and they'll never know

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Shibuya, just how uncool can you get?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Shibuya, just how uncool can you get?

Well, I suppose it's better than Kabukicho.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Soon there will be nowhere left to have a Street party except at.... the local Jinja !

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Good.

Nothing to do with discrimination against foreigners, that's utterly ludicrous. These parties have been getting way out of hand, period, and it's about time they cracked down.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

oldman_13: "Nothing to do with discrimination against foreigners, that's utterly ludicrous. These parties have been getting way out of hand, period, and it's about time they cracked down."

Actually, it's the enkais that are getting out of hand and dragging down society, not these one-offs where people let off steam. I've seen fights break out on the trains the week before Christmas and saw red faced people stumbling all over the place even tonight, a man so drunk he couldn't hold the door open at the convenience store to grab his next, unneeded beer (which would be sold to him anyhow), public urination, people collapsed on the street corners in front of stations and others panicking until they realized, "Oh, he's just drunk... shouganai ne."

This is entirely about foreign holiday revelry, being emulated by Japanese, instead of them staying home and watching kohaku, where people with a hit 20 years ago play the same hit again this year that they have played every year since, and 83 year olds mangle their native tongue as co-hosts. Hell, even in the article they talk about soccer game revelry and rugby team fan drunkenness being perfectly acceptable, but not Hallowe'en or New Year's... no sir!

2 ( +3 / -1 )

I’ll be there, I will be drunk and fighting the power or anyone else.... for a pound!

Seriously..public drunkenness at new year is expected..just chill ou and dont let it get too out of order.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Wont make a difference. There will be drunken crowds around Shibuya, doesnt matter if they get drunk inside or outside.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Tokyo's Shibuya neighborhood has always had a reputation as a party town

I don't think that's true. In the early 1980s, it was the place you might go on a first date. Lot's of nervous young people waiting by the Hachiko statue. If you wanted to party, you went to Shinjuku or Roppongi.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

so drug users permitted?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

WilliB

Let's hope they get arrested if they cause trouble.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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