Shibuya Sky Tickets: Online vs Counter, Sunset and Rules

Online or counter: what you actually pay

The operator, Shibuya Scramble Square, set the current prices in a price-revision release dated 27 February 2025 for visits from 1 April 2025. The GO TOKYO page for Shibuya Sky, updated 23 April 2026, gives the same adult prices. Both were checked on 29 October 2026; the venue's own ticket page did not load as readable text, so check it when you book.

The operator's release also lets in free 6-year-olds who have not started primary school yet.

Buying online saves ¥300 per adult at any time of day. Moving your entry before 15:00 saves another ¥700. For two adults, an online midday visit costs ¥5,400 and a counter visit after 15:00 costs ¥7,400, a ¥2,000 difference for the same view.

Two counter rules matter more than the price gap:

• Children's tickets are counter-only. A family with a 6–11-year-old buys the adults online and the child's ticket at the counter on the day.
• If online adult tickets sell out, the counter has none either. GO TOKYO states this directly. The counter is not a back-up for a sold-out sunset slot.

Online tickets can be cancelled free of charge until the day before your visit; counter tickets cannot be cancelled. Tickets cannot be resold, and you cannot re-enter after leaving.

Booking a sunset slot

Every ticket has a 20-minute entry slot. Online sales for each date open at 0:00 Japan time two weeks before the visit, according to the 2025 release; check that this still applies on the ticket page.

Any slot from 15:00 costs the higher price, so the sunset decision is only about timing. The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan gives these Tokyo sunset times for the coming weeks:

The December times are from the observatory's December table. Sunset is when the top of the sun meets the horizon; the sky stays bright for a while after it.

In November and December, an entry slot around 15:40–16:00 gives you time to pass the entrance, store your bag and reach the rooftop well before sunset. There is no time limit once inside, so you can stay on for the night view without paying again. If you have your heart set on a particular sunset slot, set a reminder for midnight Japan time 14 days before your date.

Rooftop rules: bags, hats and phones

The open-air rooftop, called SKY STAGE, has stricter rules than the indoor floors. GO TOKYO summarises them as follows:

• Travel luggage, food, drink and animals are not allowed.
• Hats that are not secured, earphones, tripods and selfie sticks are prohibited on the rooftop.
• Phones, glasses and cameras are allowed if they have a strap or fit in a pocket.
• Everything else goes into the lockers on the 46th floor.
• Large luggage must be left in lockers near Shibuya Station before you go up.

Plan for this before your slot: put a phone in a pocket or on a strap, leave a selfie stick in the locker, and store a cap unless it can be fastened. Staff may refuse entry or ask guests to leave if the rules are broken, the operator warns in its November 2025 release.

Hours, weather and closures

• Hours: 10:00–22:30, last entry 21:20.
• Closed: New Year's Day.
• Temporary closures and shorter hours: possible; the operator and GO TOKYO both say to check the official site.

Weather is the real risk. According to the 2025 price release, the rooftop and the outdoor area on the 46th floor can close for rain, lightning, strong wind or heat; the October 2025 operator release also warns that the rooftop shuts in bad weather. The releases describe closures of these outdoor areas only.

If the rooftop is closed at your entry time, the operator allows a same-day free cancellation of an online ticket before you enter, but not once a set time has passed. On a stormy day, check before you walk in: once you have entered, GO TOKYO says no refunds are given.

Year-end events

The operator usually runs seasonal rooftop shows. In 2025 it ran a winter light-and-bubble show every 30 minutes from 19:00 between 6 November and 25 December, open to anyone with a same-day ticket. On 1 January 2026 it opened from 5:30 for a ticketed sunrise event. No 2026–27 dates were in the pages checked; look for announcements on the official site in November.

Getting there

Shibuya Sky occupies the 14th, 45th and 46th floors and the rooftop of Shibuya Scramble Square, 2-24-12 Shibuya, a 47-storey tower built directly above Shibuya Station. The building's access page gives these routes:

• JR lines (including the Yamanote Line): leave by the Central or South gate and head towards the East Exit side.
• Tokyo Metro Ginza Line: use the gate for Scramble Square and turn left.
• Hanzomon Line / Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line: use the Miyamasuzaka Central gate and turn left.
• Fukutoshin Line / Tokyu Toyoko Line: Shibuya Hikarie gate 1 (turn right) or gate 2 (turn left).
• Keio Inokashira Line: walk towards Shibuya Hikarie after the gate.
• Underground entrance: B6.

The building has no car park of its own; the access page points drivers to partner car parks. For which card to tap on these lines, see how to pay for Tokyo trains. From the airports, our Narita and Haneda transfer guide covers routes into Shibuya.

How long to allow and what to do if it is sold out

GO TOKYO says visitors usually spend about 90 minutes. Allow longer if you are staying from sunset into the night, since there is no time limit.

If your preferred date is sold out, you have three options:

1. Pick a different slot the same day. Slots before 15:00 are ¥700 cheaper.
2. Go to another observatory. Tokyo Skytree is higher and has its own weekday and holiday pricing; Tokyo City View in Roppongi is another option; check its own guide for prices and hours.
3. Accept a counter ticket only as a bonus. Ask at the ticket counter on the day, but expect nothing for adults when the online slots are gone.