Shibuya 109
SHIBUYA 109 (渋谷109 Shibuya ichi-maru-kyuu or Shibuya too-kyuu) is the most popular mall in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. It is also the center of the gyaru-fashion and lifestyle. It is also thought as somewhat a landmark of Shibuya-ku. 109 (Ichi-maru-kyū) is a department store in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan The store is operated by the Tokyu Malls Development (TMD), a company under the Tokyu Group.
History and Description[]
The building, located just across the street from Shibuya Station, opened in April 1979. The architect was Minoru Takeyama. Tokyu, the building's operator, designed the building as a "Fashion Community" containing small retail stores targeting the early-30s female consumer. Tokyu intended the store to compete with Seibu Department Stores, which was making inroads into the Shibuya area.
The name of the building, 109, is taken from the Japanese characters to (meaning 10) and kyu (9) as in Tokyu. The interior of the building is designed to move shoppers in a loop on each floor from the elevators past various shops. A movie theater was originally planned for the top floor, but the fire department would not grant approval due to emergency-evacuation routes not meeting appropriate standards. Although originally targed at women in their 30s, the building later became more known as a mecca for young women from the gyaru subculture.
Stores[]
- SHIBUYA109 (Shibuya, Tokyo) - April 1979
- 109-2 (Shibuya, Tokyo) - April 1979
- KOHRINBO109 (Kanazawa, Ishikawa) - September 1985
- 109MACHIDA (Machida, Tokyo) - July 2002
- SHIZUOKA109 (Shizuoka, Shizuoka) - October 2007
It was created in March 2006 as SHIBUYA 109 DREAMS, later recreated into the current 109
Popular Culture[]
- The store was seen in the opening of the PSP game DJ Max Portable 2
- An alternate version of 109 (Renamed 104 for copyright purposes), is seen and prominently featured in the Nintendo DS game, The World Ends With You.
- The Japanese pop group, AKB48, has a song titled 109, in which the department store is directly referenced.