PingMag: Shibuya vs. Marunouchi

nik.mercer — Thu, 29 May 2008 08:36:21 -0700

Over the year's of its existence, PingMag has repeatedly found interesting, unusual, and unexpected facets of Japanese culture to focus on. From unearthing the most common ad tricks in Tokyo to highlighting the aesthetic appeals of Subway construction signage in the capital, PingMag is never in want of bizarre and compelling stories.

Today the Web publication rolled out the latest in a series of "urban research" pieces focusing on the core differences between the many districts of Tokyo, this week's being titled, "Shibuya vs. Marunouchi". Shibuya is generally know to be the fashion center of the metropolis while Marunouchi is traditionally noted as one of the city's major business hubs, albeit one that's attempting to hip up its image. PingMag looks at the subtler and less immediately noticeable details that distinguish the city, though: Shibuya's train station has many narrow staircases covered with colorful posters while Marunouchi's is comprised of wide hallways and bland direction cards; Shibuya is plastered with ads whereas Marunouchi is littered with office buildings and complexes; Shibuya offers little in the way of public places to relax, but in Marunouchi, such benched spaces are plentiful and decorated with immaculate potted plants and ornate shrubbery.

One would never imagine the prefectures of Tokyo to be so intrinsically distinct―the place is governed in the same capitol!―but that seems to be the reality.