West Side Day: Kichijoji and the Ghibli Museum
A park, a black-market alley, and the museum that needs no introduction.
Kichijoji tops every survey of where Tokyoites want to live, and a day here shows you why. This route loops the lake in Inokashira Park, eats through a former black market, and walks the wooded path to the Ghibli Museum. One warning: Ghibli tickets sell out the moment they go on sale on the 10th of each month, so book before you plan anything else.
Tap to follow the route on the interactive map- 🏘 Neighbourhood · Kichijoji
Kichijoji
Get lost in the Sunroad arcade and the backstreets first. The shopping here is what Tokyo guidebooks mean when they say "effortlessly cool" and for once they are right.
- 🚶 7 min walk🍜 Food · Kichijoji
Harmonica Yokocho
A wartime black market reborn as a grid of micro-bars and lunch counters. Daytime is for tachigui snacks, evenings are for getting wedged between locals.
- 🚶 9 min walk🌿 Park · Kichijoji
Inokashira Park
Rent a swan boat, watch the buskers, circle the lake. During cherry blossom season this is one of the great hanami parks, with petals on the water.
- 🚶 5 min walk🏛 Museum · Mitaka
Ghibli Museum
A 15 minute wooded walk along the park brings you to the museum Miyazaki built. No photos inside, which is exactly why it stays magical. The rooftop robot soldier is mandatory.
