A uniquely Japanese arcade in Kichijoji

Area boasts traditional shopping, large park

Visitors looking to spend a few hours away from the tourist attractions of central Tokyo might consider taking the train to Kichijoji.

Along with the usual department stores and chain retailers like Uniqlo that cluster around large Tokyo train stations, the neighbourhood is home to smaller shopping areas, some uniquely Japanese, and a major park.

The JR Kichijoji train station is west of central Tokyo on the Chuo line, one stop from the popular Ghibli Museum.

The museum is devoted to the work of Studio Ghibli, which is known for animated movies including My Neighbour Totoro and the Academy Award-winning Spirited Away.

Heading toward Inokashira Park, you’ll find cute shops selling clothes and knick-knacks on side streets. Restaurants offer outdoor seating, which isn’t common in Tokyo.

You’ll actually have to look a bit for Japanese food, but one good choice is Toriyoshi, which has an English menu and specializes in yakitori (grilled chicken skewers).

Nearby cafés specialize in French toast, waffles or crepes, and French and Italian food. At a Starbucks, locals hang out with their dogs and babies.

A flight of stairs leads into Inokashira Park, full of big trees around a pond, where you can rent pedal boats and see street performers on weekends in nice weather.

Follow the bridge over the pond to a small zoo. The first section is mostly birds; it’s a bit of a hike to the rest of the zoo, but it’s a nice walk. Visitors from places where squirrels roam freely might be surprised to find squirrels living in a walk-through enclosure.

For a traditional Japanese shopping experience, on the other side of the station look for tall blue-green metal framework. This is the Sun Road shotengai, a shopping street covered by an arcade.

It’s like a shopping mall unrolled into one long row, but a bit more practical. Shotengai are fading in some parts of Tokyo, but this one is modernized and vibrant.

You’ll find boutiques, discount shops, shoes plain and fancy, books, coffee places, all kinds of clothing, drugstores and restaurants with more Japanese food than other parts of the neighbourhood.