Needing some original Sunday morning dog walking ideas, my wife and I decided to walk round the famous green train line which passes through most of Tokyo’s urban centres in a loop. I should point out that our little six-year-old chihuahua would do a mix of walking and being carried either in my arms or in his backpack.

The 35-kilometre route for the whole Yamanote line was broken down into five trips. The 1st three (Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3) consisted of walks between Tokyo station (JY01) and Harajuku (JY13) and we begin the 4th part back at the latter in order to fully navigate the line on foot.

Date: Sunday 15th February 2026

Starting Point: Harajuku (JY13)

End Point: Osaki (JY24)

Duration: 4 hours

Approximate Distance: 7.5 km

The initial stages of this walk were tourist central which is always a little unnerving to navigate with a little dog nipping at the heels of a sizeable crowd! Tokyu Plaza Omotesando was the first point of interest in terms of modern architecture, and a similar building has recently popped up on the opposite corner.

A short walk down the road from there is another architectural wonder known as The Iceberg which is just a business center.

In the three previous parts, I have stressed that this venture’s not really about seeing a load of sights as it is basically just a glorified dog walk! However, this one did seem a bit different as the overly congested Scramble Crossing in Shibuya was next where every three minutes the lights change and mayhem ensues as hundreds and hundreds of people cross the intersection in all directions.

At that time, Tsutaya’s Star Wars Pop Up store was still open (it has since returned!) which Rina and I took turns to go into. I was in and out in no time as I had already visited the place just over a month earlier.

Back across the road (outside JR Shibuya station) was a queue of people lining up in front of the famous Hachiko statue but I just took a quick picture of our dog and I from the side!

Two legendary dogs!

On the other side of the station we passed by Shibuya Stream, one of many huge shopping and business complexes to have opened in that vicinity in the post-Covid era.

Acting like it’s familiar territory for him!

We followed the stream along the backstreets of Shibuya towards Ebisu passing by a Tokyo lip sign along the way which I’d never seen despite working not too far from this point every week!

Hinomaru Driving School in Meguro is another interesting structure with its slimline building and giant red ball half. Sadly, the angle I took my photo from was not the best due to the shining sun but if you really want to see a better picture then click here!

Our final stop of note was at a Latin-America supermarket in Gotanda. Kyodai Market is a place I used to sometimes visit when I worked in the area so it was nice to have an empanada and some Inca cola to fuel up for the final walk onto Osaki.

The next instalment will begin back at Osaki station to ensure the whole loop is walked in its entirety and that will appear here soon.

Click here to read ‘Cycling Round the Yamanote Line in the Opposite Direction To 12 Years Ago!’

Click here to read ‘Cycling the Yamanote Line (2009)’ 

Click here to read ‘#WeStopAtNothing! Platform Zeros in Japan, Z Stations in Tokyo & The Opening of a New Yamanote Line Station’

Click here to read ‘The Complete Tour of Katakana-Named Stations in Tokyo’