Shibuya Real Squid Game
The international touring exhibition based on Netflix’s survival thriller Squid Game makes its Japanese debut on Friday, January 16, 2026, transforming the third floor of Tokyu Plaza Shibuya into a competitive venue accommodating up to 20 participants per session. Tokyu Land Corporation, having acquired operating rights from Netflix, has joined with KX Korea and Dentsu Music & Entertainment to produce this iteration, which occupies the entire renovated floor within Shibuya Fukuras through Monday, July 20, 2026.
Unlike conventional promotional pop-ups, this installation follows a proven format that launched in New York during October 2024 before expanding to Madrid and Seongsu-dong, Seoul. The Tokyo venue replicates the structure of its predecessors: visitors register as players through facial recognition scanning, then compete in six replicate challenges—including “Red Light, Green Light,” “Tug-of-War,” and “Marbles”—across approximately 90 minutes, with the system designating one final winner. The design ensures accessibility for those unfamiliar with the series; no prior viewing is required to understand the mechanics or stakes.
The event arrives amid continued global momentum for the franchise. Squid Game Season 3, which began streaming exclusively on Netflix in June 2025, recorded 60 million views during its first week, ranking first in the Top 10 non-English series across 93 countries and regions. While the competitive format drives the central narrative—participants eliminated during games forfeit their chance at the final designation—the venue supplements the high-stakes sequences with ancillary entertainment: a collaboration café serving themed food and beverages, photography stations equipped with special commemorative frames, and “Young-hee’s Playground,” a retail space handling original merchandise available for purchase before departure.
Event Details
- Location / Nearest Station: Tokyu Plaza Shibuya / Shibuya Station
- Address: 〒150-0043
1-2-3 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, within Shibuya Fukuras (Ground 2F–8F, 17F, 18F)
[Map] - Venue: Tokyu Plaza Shibuya 3rd Floor
- Event Period: Friday, 2026/01/16 ～ Monday (Holiday), 2026/07/20
- Hours: Start 11:00 / End 21:00 (Scheduled)
- Admission: Advance ticket sales are scheduled to begin around mid-November
- Official Site: Shibuya Fukuras Official Site
Listed content may be subject to change. Please check the official websites of the venue or organizers for the latest information.
What is Tokyu Plaza Shibuya?
Tokyu Plaza Shibuya, also referred to as Shibuya Fukuras, occupies the southwest corner of Shibuya Station, emerging directly from the New South Gate exit. Completed in 2019 during the district’s extensive redevelopment, the building presents a glass exterior with sharply angled geometry that reflects the dense visual activity of the Scramble Crossing below.
The structure functions primarily as a retail and transit facility. Ten floors contain clothing stores, restaurants, and shared office spaces arranged around a central void that draws natural light down from the roof. The building’s upper level serves as the Shibuya Bus Terminal, handling regional highway departures, while underground corridors connect directly to JR lines, the Keio Inokashira Line, and the station’s main concourses. This physical integration means the building processes thousands of daily commuters who pass through its lower levels en route to trains, while vertical circulation routes separate transient traffic from shoppers and diners above.
For the Real Squid Game 2026 installation, Netflix has converted portions of the complex into functional sets from the series. Production crews adapted the ground floor and central atrium to accommodate full-scale replicas of the game facilities, utilizing the building’s fourteen-meter ceiling heights and column-free floor plates to house the Red Light, Green Light courtyard and the dormitory’s stacked sleeping quarters. Unlike temporary exhibitions in convention halls, this installation occupies an active commercial building, allowing visitors to ascend from Shibuya Station’s platforms and enter the show’s controlled environment without traveling to a separate venue. The design retains the location’s existing concrete and industrial elements, incorporating the building’s actual architecture into the aesthetic of the fictional facility rather than concealing it behind false walls.
