Things to do in Kichijoji, Tokyo

Things to do in Kichijoji, Tokyo

• 12.05.2017

Yay, it's finally up and i know you guys have been anxiously waiting for this post for the past month but i gotta schedule them accordingly or else it would be difficult for me to manage especially when i'm out of the country, would like to thank you guys for the endless support and patience :)

It's the last month of the year and i'm totally feeling very nervous right now because what have i been doing over the past year that time just flew by just like that?

Probably i'll save that for another blogpost because now i would like to focus on my new favourite place in Tokyo that i recently visited it again in November (stayed there in October) but this time i brought a friend from Singapore over!

If you have not been to Kichijoji despite your numerous visits to Tokyo then you are seriously missing out alot on the good stuff! This area is compact, convenient and most of all family friendly (all ages) because it's not too crowded to the point it triggers anxiety (happens to me when there's too many people). There's no specific season to visit this area because every season is equally beautiful, but for my personal preference during Spring and autumn is always the best because Inokashira park will be filled with colors.

Things to do in Kichijoji

So during my last trip i've managed to make a few stops along the way while exploring around Kichijoji thanks to my superb tour guide Fukushima-san from Tokyu REI hotel Kichijoji.

As i've mentioned in my last 2 previous blogpost about this quaint neighborhood, everything is within walking distance radius, so if you missed it you can always easily back trace your steps : )

I'm speaking on behalf of all blur klutz like me who can easily walk pass a cafe that i'm searching for and in circles without realizing it's under my nose all this while lol.

Kichijoji is also pretty much summed up as Akihabara and Harajuku but in a more relaxed manner

There are actually so much to do over here but i couldn't cover all of it, so i've selected a few just to highlight in this post, but hope you'll find this guide useful for your upcoming trips to Tokyo!

All places listed here are within 10- 15 mins walk from Kichijoji Tokyu REI hotel, I highly recommend to stay here because it's a direct bus ride from Haneda and it has easy train excess throughout Tokyo.

If you are lazy to read, just watch this video!

Temari no Ouchi Cat Cafe (is a MUST!)

There's just so many cat cafes in Tokyo these days but what makes this place extra special it's because the whole building is built to mimic a real tree house with cats living in it. Does that somewhat remind you of My neighbor Totoro.

Harmonica Yokocho

Don't be fooled by the dim lighting of these back alleyways because they have the best hidden tourist spots for dining and shopping! That's where you can get super fresh and crispy Taiyaki that isn't too sweet in fact it's worth lining up but don't worry the queue moves relatively fast so you'll get your piping hot Taiyaki within minutes.

Amane (天音) - click to view map

Also there are a couple of bars, ramen shop (most of the have queues, so i assume it's good!) and fresh market under this alley way you can explore about, after you are done with the area, it is connected to Sun Road Shopping district.

Zizo Building

It's name may sound abit familiar it's because it's similar to "Jizo", this building houses a few famous eateries which you can access to with a lift inside and at the entrance of ground floor there is a Jizo shrine here as well which most couples comes here to pray for a good and healthy relationship.

So not only you'll get to fill your bellies with yummy food, you can also pray for your relationship here.

Cafe Zenon's 2nd cafe is located in this building upstairs, and if you want dessert there is a shop on the ground floor that serves huge portions of it. Didn't get to try it because i was so full, but it definitely looks interesting and lots of young couples are seen sharing shaved ice together (so sweet).
Website: http://zizoya.co.jp

Cafe Zenon

There are 2 Zenon cafes within the neighborhood, one is a bigger cafe on it's own, while there is a smaller one just a few hundred meters away from Tokyu REI hotel inside Zizo Building.

This pop culture theme cafe not only serves a fun dining atmosphere that reminds you of one of those cafes in Akihabara, their food is also superb! 

Japan is so far the only country i know that serves good looking food that actually tastes really delicious! I would love to come back here again because their lunch set meal is also quite affordable, for what i had it's only 1000 yen!
You won't find this cafe anywhere else outside of Kichijoji, website: www.cafe-zenon.jp

Sun Road Shopping District

This is shopping haven for everyone because there are so many things under Sun Road's Roof, Kichijoji is known to be one of the best place to shop for fashionable clothing (not only Harajuku!) so you can see tons of clothing boutiques every part of the neighborhood actually.

I found a really affordable Kimono store that sells at 20-70% off, really cheap and you can even try them on to see if it is suitable!

Of course if you are not a fan of clothes, there are tons of food stores, souvenir shops and duty free drug stores to shop in as well. So slowly have your pick :)

It's nice to shop here because it's not too overly crowded, especially when you have elderly people of children in the travel group, you would like to pace things slow and easy. Central Tokyo is often notorious for being really fast paced even for a "youngster" like me i find it hard to keep up with their walking speed.

Customizable Converse Shop

This is my first time spotting a customizable converse shoe store, how i wished i had time to design and make my own (next time i'll do it!). But yea, if you are looking to create something unique and fashionable, head over to this shop White Atelier

PRIME URBAN KICHIJOJI 1F,2-15-4,
honmachi,kichijoji,Musashino-shi,Tokyo
Open：11:00／Close：20:00

Best Beef Croquette in Tokyo (must eat juicy beef croquette)

When at Sun Road shopping district middle crossroad, you'll comes across a long queue it's because of Satou steak house! They serve the best, most juiciest beef croquette i've ever eaten in my entire life, it's really something worth queuing for, i highly recommend this place to try if you have not tried. They specialize in Matsusaka beef, and everyone admits that this is the best in town (5 stars on Trip Advisor yo), if you buy 5 pcs and above you'll get a discount for it.

Their beef ball isn't too bad too!

Inokashira Park & Zoo

This area used to be the home of late Hanako-chan, Japan's oldest elephant (69 years in captivity), though she has recently passed away you can find a beautiful bronze statue of her displayed in front of Kichijoji station. In this zoo there are many cute animals that children would love because there is a petting section too!

For adults (one day pass) : 400yen

Students (one day pass): 150 yen

Senior citizens (one day pass) : 200 yen

Children: FREE

*For group rates (20% discount), only applies to 20 people entering at the same time

* Free of charge for those with disability and one person accompanying them. 

The park alone is quite big as it surrounds a large pond which is dubbed as the "couple's curse" because i was told that every couple that goes on the swan boat ride on Inokashira pond would mysteriously break up afterwards, we are not too sure how true it is but it became a rather popular challenge among young couples to "test" their love for each other lol.

When the weather is good, early morning walks/ jogs are the best! Further inside the park there is a playground as well, it's usually crowded with children in the evenings.

Studio Ghibli Museum 

Most would usually stop at Mitaka station and skip Kichijoji to visit this museum, though i have yet to visit the inside myself (tickets usually sold out) because you gotta camp for it a month in advance and once you missed the window, you'll have to wait for the following month.

Walking to the museum from Inokashira park isn't too far in fact it's about 1km (15- 20 mins walk) and you can also enjoy the scenery and cooling wind.

Inokashira Benzaiten temple

This temple is rather interesting, located inside of Inokashira park, there is a fountain at the back of the shrine where people come here to "wash" their money, believing so that it would literally multiply their wealth. Rather interesting belief by the way, and it's not only coins people come here to wash, sometimes you can see people washing 10,000yen paper notes too lol.

This is actually home to the God of water source- Kanda Josui and the stream that flows within the temple grounds and downwards is actually the water source leading to Edo (now know as Tokyo).

Kichijoji reminds me of the Studio Ghibli world

If you keep your eyes peeled while exploring the area you'll notice lots of reference to Hayao Miyazaki's works that somewhat inspired this neighborhood, you can find the bar from Spirited away here (where Sen's parents dined and turned into pigs lol), bronze statues of animated characters and even the lamp post alone looks like it came out of a drawing because of it's unique design.

So i hope you guys enjoyed this post and got a glimpse of what Kichijoji has to offer, if you have any questions please leave a comment below and i'll try my best to answer it :)

Also if i'm around Tokyo during your travel period, hit me up,  i don't mind being your tour guide for the day if my schedule permits!

Special thanks to Kichijoji Tokyu REI hotel.

This ice cream cone is so heavenly!

More shopping along the alley leading to Inokashira park

So many chio clothings!

Official Website: www.tokyuhotelsjapan.com/en/ (English)
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TokyuHotelsGlobal
Instagram: www.instagram.com/tokyuhotels

Read my other related blogposts:

• http://www.arisachow.com/2017/11/kichijoji-tokyu-rei-hotel-review.html
• http://www.arisachow.com/2017/11/kichijoji-tokyu-rei-hotel-introduction.html
• http://www.arisachow.com/2017/11/kurobe-gorge-autumn-winter-2017.html

XOXO,