©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 118 West Tokyo NAKANO & KŌENJI | KICHIJŌJI & MITAKA | OGIKUBO | KICHIJŌJI Neighbourhood Top Five 1 Ghibli Museum (p120) formance artists, and pay- 4 Kita-Kore Building Delighting in the creativity ing your respects to the sea (p124) Getting a glimpse of of Japan’s legendary anima- goddess enshrined here. Tokyo’s raw, unpolished side tor, Miyazaki Hayao, and 3 Nakano Broadway at Kōenji’s colourful (coun- savouring the magic and (p121) Wandering the halls ter) cultural centre. wonder of his films in a of this vintage 1960s shop- 5 Reversible Destiny museum he designed. ping mall, a collectors’ Lofts (p121) Experiencing 2 Inokashira-kōen (p121) paradise and favourite of the topsy-turvy tactile world Ambling through the otaku (fans of anime and of one of Tokyo’s more eccen- woodsy grounds of a beloved manga). tric contemporary buildings. park, past buskers and per- £# £# Kami- NAKAMURA £# Musashi- Shakuji Shin-Ōme e# 0 2 km Seki £# -kaidō 0 1 miles £# £# Iogi Shimo- ai Kami- KAMI- £# Saginomiya Ōme-k dō Igusa Igusa IGUSA £# £# Toritsukasei SHIMO- a aw Numabukuro K IGUSA i-g £# £# a j Myōshōji- hō WAKAMIYA Nogata MUSASHINO- Zenpukuji- n yōs Heiwa-no- kōen pa M kōen Wa Mori-kōen £# SHI c seda ZENPUKUJI h -dō NOGATA i r - i dō NAKANO-KU NISHIOGI- r ASAGAYA- i KITA KAMI- AMANUMA KITA #æ Nishi- OGI 3# Ogikubo Ogikubo Asagaya 4#þ Kichijōji £# £# £# £# £# £# Kōenji Nakano OGIKUBO KŌENJI- CHŪŌ Inokashira- NISHIOGI- kōen MINAMI Shin- 2#÷ Inokashira- MINAMI ¦# Its Minami- Nakano £#kōen uk ¦# ¦# â# I a SUGINAMI-KU Asagaya ¦# 1# no ich INOKASHIRA ka i- Shin- Higashi- sh ka HON- ira idō Zenpukuji- Kōenji Kōenji -dō gawa-kōen CHŌ MITAKA- £# Mitakadai ri SHI Kugayama WADA Tam £# a a N -gaw Fujimigaoka TAKAIDO- a-gaw (2km) a C and a # a K k 5 D na £# NISHI Wadabori- l a ri £# Takaido kōen n -dō i o ōhachi KUGAYAMA Hōnan-dōr T £# Hamadayama - TAKAIDO- d HIGASHI Nishi- ŌMIYA ō £# r SHINKAWA i Eifuku Eifukuchō £# MINAMI- HAMADAYAMA Chūō Expwy IZUMI KURASUYAMA EIFUKU Sasazuka Kōsh Kami- Daitabashi u-kaidō £# Rokakōen £# £# Kitazawa £# MIDORIGAOKA £# Hachimanyama £# SASAZUKA £# Shimo- £# Meidai- Chitose-Karasuyama Sakurajōsui £# Takaido mae £# £# For more detail of this area see Map p278 and£# p279£# A 119 Lonely Planet’s Explore West Tokyo Top Tip West Tokyo here is defined by the largely residential Two of the highlights here, neighbourhoods along the Chūō line, Tokyo’s central the Ghibli Museum (p120) rail line, west of Shinjuku. Over the decades, each and the Reversible Destiny node on the line has developed its own local culture Lofts (p121), require ad- and atmosphere: Nakano is a draw for otaku (fans of vanced reservations. We anime and manga); Kōenji attracts punks and social recommend booking Ghibli activists; many who work in the anime industry live in tickets as early as possible Asagaya; students love Kichijōji. These are generalisa- (up to three months in ad- tions, of course, but spending an hour or two (or more!) vance) with a travel agent in in each gives you a picture of the many possible lives your home country – other- WEST of Tokyoites. wise you may find yourself out of luck. If there are no The area’s top sight is the enchanting Ghibli Muse- T um (p120), in far-west Mitaka. We recommend booking tours of the Reversible OKYO your visit at 10am or 2pm so that your visit can coincide Destiny Lofts taking place during your visit, you can with a leisurely detour through Inokashira-kōen (p121) and lunch in Kichijōji. Spend the rest of the afternoon always stay (p197) there. wandering around Nakano, with its stubbornly mid- 20th-century shopping arcades and collectors’ shops, or Kōenji, with its colourful (and sometimes a little crum- 5 Best Places bly) counter-culture spaces. Most of the neighbourhoods to Eat here have nomiyagai (p123), strips crammed with tiny ¨ Tensuke (p122) bars and restaurants that come alive in the evenings – ¨ Okajōki (p122) proof that these suburbs are anything but sleepy. ¨ Harukiya (p122) For reviews, see p122.A Local Life ¨Hang-outs On weekends Inokashira-kōen (p121) fills 6 Best Places with performance artists and craft vendors, drawing to Drink families and students. ¨ Cocktail Shobō (p123) ¨Music Kōenji is the locus of Tokyo’s punk scene and has several underground music venues. ¨ Nantoka Bar (p123) ¨ ¨Living Kichijōji, with its park, department stores and Uni Stand (p123) commuting convenience, is routinely voted one of the For reviews, see p123.A best places to live in Tokyo. 7 Best Places Getting There & Away to Shop ¨ Mandarake (p124) ¨Train The JR Sōbu (local) and Chūō (rapid) lines run on the same lines west from Shinjuku to Nakano, ¨ PukuPuku (p124) Kōenji (local trains only on weekdays), Ogikubo, ¨ Sokkyō (p124) Kichijōji and Mitaka. Beware of the ‘special’ rapid and For reviews, see p124.A ‘Ome liner’ trains, which go nonstop from Shinjuku to Mitaka. The Keiō Inokashira line runs from Shibuya to Kichijōji, stopping at Inokashira-kōen-mae (for the park). ¨Subway The Tōzai line continues west from Takadanobaba to Nakano. The Marunouchi line runs from Shinjuku to Ogikubo, south of (but parallel to) the Sōbu-Chūō line..