Where the name Daikanyama comes from, what stood here before the station, and what you can still spot on a walk today. Then the events near the station that we have checked on the official pages.
Daikanyama literally suggests a hill associated with a daikan, a local administrator in feudal Japan. But was there actually an official's residence here? Shibuya City's historical account says the name appeared as a small local place name during the Edo period. Two explanations survive: an administrator may have owned a residence here, or the hill's woodland may have belonged to one. No surviving document proves either theory.
Walking around Daikanyama Station helps explain the second half of the name. This is elevated ground, surrounded by roads descending toward the lower districts of Shibuya and the Meguro River. The area was once woodland rather than a densely built neighborhood. According to Shibuya City, the transformation toward today's urban district took place mainly after the Great Kanto Earthquake.
From the station, follow the streets toward Kyu-Yamate-dori and Sarugakucho. The fashionable shops and residential buildings now occupy land that once included wooded hillsides. Follow a descending road toward the river valley and the contrast becomes clear. The connection to a historical administrator remains uncertain, but the physical meaning of the word yama, or hill, is still visible.
→ Walk from Daikanyama Station toward Kyu-Yamate-dori and Sarugakucho. Then descend toward Mekirizaka or Shindozaka to appreciate the height difference between the wooded hills of the past and the Meguro River valley.
Sources (in Japanese): 渋谷区公式・地名の由来, 目黒区・目黒の地名 青葉台
Daikanyama is now associated with cafés, boutiques, and apartment buildings, but the area's earlier landscape was largely wooded. Walk from the station toward Sarugakucho and the rolling terrain becomes apparent. Nearby stands the Former Asakura Residence, built around 1919. This nationally designated Important Cultural Property preserves an example of an early 20th-century residence and garden, offering a glimpse of life on Daikanyama's elevated ground before the neighborhood became a shopping destination.
Following the Great Kanto Earthquake, residential development reshaped the area. The former Dojunkai Daikanyama Apartments became part of the district's history of modern urban housing. Their site and surrounding area were later redeveloped into the neighborhood around today's Daikanyama Address. Woodland gave way to residential buildings, followed by a denser mixture of homes, shops, and public spaces.
Continue southeast toward Shindozaka or Mekirizaka. The roads drop from the plateau toward the Meguro River valley. Beyond them are hills once known for artificial Mount Fuji mounds, built as places of worship and scenic viewpoints during the Edo period. The contrast between the old residence, the redeveloped apartment site, and the steep streets reveals several layers of Daikanyama's history within walking distance.
→ Visit the Former Asakura Residence in Sarugakucho, explore the Daikanyama Address area where the Dojunkai apartments once stood, and walk down Mekirizaka to see the plateau falling toward the Meguro River.
Sources (in Japanese): 文化庁・国指定文化財等データベース 旧朝倉家住宅, 渋谷区・東京都市計画 代官山地区計画
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We list events we could confirm on the official page or official Instagram of the venue or organiser. Details can change, tickets sell out and venues close, so check the official page before you go. Distances are straight-line and travel times are rough estimates. Photos show the venue or its surroundings, not the event itself. Titles and descriptions are our own translations from Japanese. This site contains affiliate links (ads).