Have you heard of Shukugawara?
It's a station that's almost exactly halfway between Kawasaki and Tachikawa.
You can get to either one from there in 30 minutes.

Shugawara station is only served by the Nambu line, but if you go to next-door station Noborito, you can use the Odakyu line to get to Shimo-Kitazawa and Shinjuku areas.

It has access to lots of neat areas.

Shukugawara station is the closest station to the Fujiko F. Fujio Museum.
This is why you will see a lot of bronze statues and reliefs of familiar characters along the road from the station to the museum.

There are about 20 statues along the way. See if you can find them all!

This is the only convenience store in Japan that has a collaboration with Doraemon.

The Fujiko character is not just on the sign outside, but in places inside as well.

There are plenty of goods on sale too.

Doraemon is a special resident of Kawasaki, although Doraemon itself is set in Nerima ward in Tokyo.

He's a special resident of Kawasaki because that's where Fujiko was from!

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Nikaryo-Yosui is a 32-kilometer-long river. It was so named because in the Edo period it served two ("ni") areas, or "ryo"-- Inage, and Kawasaki.


The area is famous for its lovely rows of sakura trees that bloom beautifully every year. Many stalls pop up along the way so people can have a drink or a bite while enjoying the beautiful tree colors.
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There isn't a large supermarket near Shukugawara station, which may be an issue for some people.

However, you still have:

■My basket (small supermarket)

■Create (drugstore)

■Post office

■Orijin Bento

■2 convenience stores

These are the stores you will probably use near the station every day.

For major grocery shopping, we recommend getting a bike and going to:

■Life Supermarket, Shukugawara
Kanagawa, Kawasaki city, Tama-ku, Shukugawara 1-22-37
Hours: 9:00~24:00

■Food House Onoya
Kanagawa, Kawasaki, Tama-ku, Nagao 1-16-7
Hours: 10:00~21:00
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Hours: 7:00~24:00
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Hours: 10:00~23:00
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Hours: 9:00~17:00
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Hours: 15:00~23:00
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This is a nice retro bath house, open until 11 pm.
It's along the road from the station toward Noborito, so it's a nice spot to stop for a bath if you need it!

Just a minute's walk from the station is Otsuki Coffee.
The owner, Otsuki, was raised in Shukugawara and serves freshly roasted coffee.

It's a very nice atmosphere so we hope you will go check it out!

There are about 10 kids of roasted beans in the display case. You can buy beans, or drink coffee in the shop.

It's close to the station, so more than once we watched as people stopped in for a cup, and then hopped on the train.

You could get a cup of coffee here and walk along Nikaryo-Yosui for a nice stroll!

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This is the town of sakura, and Doraemon.

It's a quiet area with a nice environment, perfect for walks.

Though there's no big one-stop supermarket, it's got almost everything you need right here.

Plus from here you can get to all sorts of other nice places.

For shopping head to Mizonoguchi, or Musashi Kosugi. You can get to either in around 10 minutes.

Or head next door to Noborito and get on the Odakyu line, and you can get to Hakone!

Go to the Doraemon museum, or take a nice walk among nature on Nikaryo-Yosui.

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Today's dish

5 minutes from the station is the Italian restaurant Armonia, where we had lunch, this tasty Bolognese.