DISTANCE: 8km (5 miles)
TIME: A leisurely day
START: Ikebukuro Station
END: Edogawabashi Station
POINTS TO NOTE: Do this walk at the weekend and you will be able to see kimono-dressed wedding parties enjoying the gardens at Chinzan-so.
The northwestern suburb of Ikebukuro, meaning ‘pond hollow’, started out as a marshy wetland of little consequence. The opening of a railway station here in 1903 and, later, the area’s first department stores turned the district into a major transport and commercial hub. Today, Ikebukuro is the second-busiest commuter station in Japan after Shinjuku. The area around the station, dominated by big retail, is unexceptional compared to similar Tokyo mini-cities; instead, this route takes you to off-the-beaten-path sights on Ikebukuro’s periphery, then south towards a beautiful Japanese garden used as a backdrop for wedding photographs.
West Ikebukuro
Exit on the west side of Ikebukuro Station and head two blocks west to the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space 1 [map] (Tokyo Geijutsu Gekijo; www.geigeki.jp; daily 9am–10pm), a concert, theatre and exhibition venue. Here a giant escalator carries visitors beneath a 28m (90ft) glass atrium up to a hallway with a colourful domed ceiling painted by Koji Kinutani.
Commuters at Ikebukuro Station
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Rikkyo University
Cross Gekijo-dori and carry on in a westerly direction through a warren of restaurants and bars, past a small park, until you come to the handsome red-brick gateway to Rikkyo University 2 [map], founded as St Paul’s School in 1874 by an American missionary. Its ivy-covered buildings and white-clapboard New England-style faculty houses seem light years away from contemporary Ikebukuro. Stick your head into the main dining room, straight ahead from the entrance, to admire the vaulted wood-beam ceiling.
Feline friend at Namco
Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications
Jiyu Gakuen Myonichikan
Head back to Gekijo-dori, turn right and continue to the junction with the Ikebukuro Police Station. Cross the road and follow the side roads a few blocks south into a residential area to discover Jiyu Gakuen Myonichikan 3 [map] (www.jiyu.jp; Tue–Fri 10am–3.30pm, Sat and Sun 10am–4.30pm; charge), the only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building still standing in Tokyo. The Myonichikan (or ‘House of Tomorrow’) was originally home to the Jiyu Gakuen school. Appreciate the low-slung building’s interior while sipping tea in its central hall. Weddings are often held here and at the chapel across the road at weekends.
Statues of monks at Gokoku-ji.
Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications
East Ikebukuro
Returning to the main road, turn right and head for the tunnel beneath the railway tracks, emerging on Meiji-dori. Cross over towards the Junku-do bookstore and walk one block behind it to find Café Pause, see 1.
From here head north to Green-dori, the main boulevard east from the station. Turn left, then right along the mainly pedestrian shopping street Sunshine 60-dori, past several cinemas and a branch of the handicrafts store Tokyu Hands.
Arcade racing at Namco Namjatown
Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications
Sunshine City
Opposite is the Sunshine City complex (www.sunshinecity.co.jp). Built in 1978, it includes a 60-floor tower, shopping malls, a hotel, theatre, planetarium, aquarium, kids’ amusement park and viewing observatory, but looks dated in comparison with contemporary developments such as Tokyo Midtown and Roppongi Hills. However, if you are interested in archaeology and ancient civilisations, visit the Ancient Orient Museum 4 [map] (Kodai Oriento Hakubutsukan; www.aom-tokyo.com; daily 10am–4:30pm; charge) on the seventh floor of Sunshine City’s Bunka Kaikan section. Its collection of artefacts from the Indian Subcontinent and the Middle East includes objects excavated by Japanese teams before a dam was built on the Euphrates River.
If you have kids to entertain, or are looking for pop-cultural and culinary curiosities, while you are here stop at Namco Namjatown 5 [map] (www.namja.jp; daily 10am–10pm; charge), a inventively decorated indoor theme park notable for its Ikebukuro Gyoza Stadium, see 2, offering dumplings from chefs around Japan.
Zoshigaya Cemetry
Exit Sunshine City at its southeastern corner and continue south for about five minutes through the side streets towards the raised expressway and Higashi-Ikebukuro subway station, where you will also see the Toden Arakawa tram line. You can hop on the tram here for one stop to Zoshigaya or continue walking for another two minutes to reach Zoshigaya Cemetery 6 [map] (Zoshigaya Reien). This green and tranquil cemetery is the resting place of several well-known figures, including authors Natsume Soseki, Nagai Kafu and Lafcadio Hearn – pick up a map (in Japanese) from the Funeral Hall to locate their graves.
Gokoku-ji
Exit the cemetery at its eastern corner where you will again encounter the raised expressway. Go under, and on the other side you should find an open gate leading into another cemetery in the grounds of Gokoku-ji 7 [map] (www.gokokuji.or.jp). This well-preserved temple complex was established by the fifth shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, in 1681. The emperor Meiji (1852–1912) is buried here, as are several of his children. Exit the temple by its magnificent gate, Nio-mon, housing two fierce-looking statues placed at either side to ward off evil spirits. If you are tired, the entrance to Gokokuji subway station is also here.
Mejirodai
St Mary’s Cathedral
Turn right from Gokoku-ji, head back under the expressway, take a left uphill and follow the backstreets south to Mejiro-dori, where you should take a left to arrive at St Mary’s Cathedral 8 [map] (daily 9am–5pm) – its tall belltower should guide you. Designed by Kenzo Tange in 1964, the seat of Tokyo’s Roman Catholic church, like the architect’s Olympic stadium in Yoyogi, still appears strikingly modern. The interior is dominated by a gigantic pipe organ, the largest of its kind in Japan, on which concerts are occasionally given.
Chinzan-So
St Mary’s Cathedral
Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications
Opposite the cathedral, a wedding hall and the Four Seasons Hotel share the view across the lovely garden of Chinzan-so 9 [map] (www.hotel-chinzanso-tokyo.jp; daily 9am–8pm; free). Meaning ‘House of Camellia’, the garden, designed in the late 19th century, includes a 1,000-year-old pagoda that originally hails from a temple in Hiroshima Prefecture, ancient stone lanterns and monuments, and several restaurants including Mucha-an, see 3. There’s also Kinsui, see 4, where you can partake in a traditional tea ceremony. From Chinzan-so, it’s around a 10-minute walk downhill back towards the raised expressway to find the entrance to Edogawabashi Station.
Food and drink
1 Café Pause
2-14-12 Minami-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku; tel: 6912 7711; www.cafepause.jp _ikebukuro; Mon–Thu 11am–9pm Fri 11am–11pm, Sat and Sun 9am–11pm; station: Ikebukuro; ¥
Contemporary pop culture infuses this laid-back café and gallery that hosts art exhibitions and events.
2 Ikebukuro Gyoza Stadium
Namco Namjatown, 2F Sunshine City, 3-1 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku; tel: 5950 0765; www.namco.co.jp/tp/namja/food/gyoza; daily 10am–10pm; station: Ikebukuro; ¥¥
After fried and boiled dumplings stuffed with prawns, beef, pork, and even kimchee and cheese, go upstairs to Ice Cream City to taste an amazing range of flavours.
3 Mucha-an
Chinzan-so, 2-10-8 Sekiguchi, Bunkyo-ku; tel: 3943 5489; www.chinzanso.com; daily 11.30am–3.30pm and 5–8pm; station: Edogawabashi; ¥¥
Slurp hot or cold soba noodles – the duck (kami) soup ones are delicious – at this small restaurant tucked behind a bamboo grove in Chinzan-so.
4 Kinsui
Chinzan-so, 2-10-8 Sekiguchi, Bunkyo-ku; tel: 3943 5489; daily 11:30am–10pm; station: Edogawabashi; ¥¥
Indulge in a traditional tea ceremony (¥1,500) in this lounge with a panoramic view across the gardens.