Shibuya Sky at Sunset: Which Slot to Book, Month by Month

Book the half-hour slot that starts about an hour before sunset, so you are on the roof for the light changing and still there when the city lights come on. Sunset in Tokyo ranges from 16:29 in December to 18:58 in June, so the right slot is a different one each month — the table below gives the times.

Why an hour before, not on the hour

Entry is a half-hour window, but you can stay on the roof afterwards. Going up an hour before sunset gets you the daylight view, the colour, and then the lit city, which is three distinct things for one ticket. Arriving at the moment of sunset means queueing for the lift while the best of it happens, and leaves you on a crowded roof with everyone who had the same idea.

Sunset in Tokyo, month by month

Month	Sunset	Book a slot around
January	16:50	15:50
February	17:22	16:22
March	17:47	16:47
April	18:13	17:13
May	18:38	17:38
June	18:58	17:58
July	18:57	17:57
August	18:32	17:32
September	17:50	16:50
October	17:07	16:07
November	16:35	15:35
December	16:29	15:29

Times are the monthly figures from the site data; treat them as the shape of the year rather than to-the-minute for a given date.

The 15:00 price step, and how it interacts

Shibuya Sky charges 2,700 yen for entry before 14:59 and 3,400 yen from 15:00. In December, when the sun sets at 16:29, an hour-before slot falls just after the step, so you pay the higher band. In June, with sunset at 19:00, there is no way to see it on the cheaper ticket. The only months where a pre-15:00 entry can still catch sunset are the deep-winter ones, and even then only just.

Why these slots sell out first

Tickets appear fourteen days ahead at midnight Japan time, and the sunset windows are the first to go, often within minutes. Everyone wants the same three or four half-hours out of a thirteen-hour day. If you miss them, take the slot before rather than the slot after: you can stay up for sunset once you are in, but you cannot enter early.

When the sunset is worth least

Humid summer afternoons, when haze flattens the colour and the rooftop may close for extreme heat anyway. The best sunsets are in the cold, dry months, when the air is clear enough that Mount Fuji sometimes appears in silhouette. December and January are the strongest months for it, and they are also the months with the earliest and most convenient sunset times.

What to take up

• A layer more than the street needs: the roof is 229 m up and windier than ground level.
• A camera with a strap or one that fits a pocket — tripods and selfie sticks are not allowed on the roof.
• Coins or a card for the level 46 lockers, which are compulsory before the open-air level.