Kichijōji, Shopping district in Musashino, Tokyo
Kichijōji is a neighborhood in Musashino, western Tokyo, that spreads around the train station of the same name. The streets north of the station run through several shopping arcades and narrow alleys filled with shops, restaurants and bars arranged in a network of parallel and intersecting paths.
The area remained a rural village mainly dependent on farming until the construction of the railway line in the late 19th century. In the decades following the opening of the station in 1899, it grew into a residential and commercial center in the western suburban belt.
The name comes from a temple that once stood in another area and was moved here after a fire in 1657. Today locals use the short routes between shopping streets for daily errands and meet in the small pubs after work.
The JR Chuo and Sobu lines connect the area directly to central Tokyo, while local buses from the station serve the surrounding streets. Most shops open in late morning and close in the evening, though some bars and restaurants stay open late into the night.
Sunroad is one of the older covered shopping arcades in western Tokyo and still keeps the postwar look with signs and storefronts from earlier decades. Some shops have been run by the same families for several generations and sell traditional goods alongside modern products.
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