Deserted: Tokyo's Shibuya crossing. Photo / Alex Knight
Deserted: Tokyo's Shibuya crossing. Photo / Alex Knight
Tokyo's Shibuya crossing is one of the most densely populated stretches of pavement in the world.
Around 2500 people cross sides of the road each time the city's traffic stops briefly for the lights.
But on October 12, these streets emptied. This eerie omen happened in the hours before the historic Typhoon Hagibis made landfall.
Electic avenue: Tokyo is rarely so empty. Photo / Alex Knight
The Super Typhoon caused chaos for the country and its visitors as it tried to host a major sports tournament. Residents were warned of 270kmph winds and told to stay indoors.
However, there was at least person who couldn't resist taking pictures of the rarely quiet streets.
80 people were killed after Typhoon Hagibis made ground in October. Photo / Alex Knight
"It's definitely a rare sight to see the city so dead, especially at 6pm," said Alex Knight a photographer from Melbourne captured these spooky images of the deserted megacity.
"I think the only other time was previous typhoons as well. But this one seemed much emptier than others."
Deserted: Tokyo's Shibuya crossing. Photo / Alex Knight
"There was a lot more warnings and people were pretty scared of this one. The weather in Shibuya wasn't actually as bad as I thought it would be. I think the buildings blocked most of the storm. But the damage done outside the main city centres was the worst I have seen since I have been here," he told the Herald.
Typhoon Hagibis was one of the most violent Typhoons to hit Japan in years. Photo / Alex Knight
At least 80 people lost their lives in the freak weather that battered the country.
Shelter: Tokyo's residents were told to take shelter ahead of Typhoon Hagibis. Photo / Alex Knight
In the four and a half years since living in Japan, Knight says he's seen many different sides to the city. He's witnessed weather that's been magical and not always as drastic as the seasonal typhoons.
"I think my most memorable time was when Tokyo was hit with a decent amount of snow, and gave the city a whole new vibe which was awesome," he said.
'A whole new vibe': Toyko under snow. Photo / Alex Knight
One spectacular bit of weather that he missed wishes he had witnessed were the ominous bruised skies that appeared over Japan ahead of the storm.
"Sadly I missed out on the beautiful purple skies. Saw everyone's posts on twitter but didn't get to see them myself," he said.
Tokyo in Snow. Photo / Alex Knight
To see more of Alex Knight's neon-filled pictures of Tokyo and Shibuya visit his Instagram page at @agk42
