Hello, there!
I am Ryo Deguchi, the new ambassador at Sharehouse Hidamari Mitaka! This is the second article following the previous one.
If you came across the Hidamari Ambassador’s article here, please check out my first article, too!
Before writing my second article, I mentioned at the beginning of my first article that I would write about my relationship with the residents of the sharehouse, but I did not have much opportunity to interact with the residents due to the state of emergency.
After looking for something I could introduce, I came up with the answer, “I want people to fall in love with the area around the sharehouse.” to share the attraction/charms of the sharehouse with you.
Therefore, in this second article, I would like to write on the theme of “Wandering around in Mitaka.”
I like wandering around a place I live. So, in Todoroki where I lived for 5 years before moving to Mitaka, I used to organize and conduct “Todoroki Tour” for a total of nearly 50 friends as a self-proclaimed tourism ambassador. I told everyone about the charms of the place I was living.
So, I hope this article will give you an idea of what you can do and enjoy if you live in Mitaka.
Of course, I will write about the sharehouse as well.
So let’s have some fun!
Starting a day with morning coffee from Mitaka Station
My small adventure begins at Mitaka Station, which is very convenient for the JR Lines, such as Sobu and Chuo Lines.
Meet at the south exit of Mitaka Station and head to Yokomori Coffee to get a drink for my adventure. Yokomori Coffee is at an 8-minute walk: straight down the Chuo-dori after getting off the escalator at the south exit.
The storefront is lined with furniture and tableware with the warmth of trees, and the windows are decorated with cute hand-drawn illustrations of a bear named “Yokomori-kun.”
(Source of photo: Yokomori Coffee)
According to what a store staff told us, the store is apparently owned by an interior design company called “DAILIES GROUP,” which is headquartered in Mitaka.
So that’s why this design. Makes sense!!
A DAILIES’ shop is about a 2-minute walk from Yokomori Coffee on the Chuo-dori. Brand stores that use hemp fabrics and other materials, stylish furniture, kitchen utensils, and daily necessities are available in each section. If you like clothes or want to have stylish household items, you would love this place.
Well, I got off the topic…when it comes to a variety of coffee, Yokomori Coffee is second to none. Or actually it is rather superior to other coffee shops because of the “Yokomori-kun”…?
After taking a short break, let’s go visit the famous “Ghibli Museum.”
I got a drink to go and went to my next destination, the Ghibli Museum!
(Source of photo: tabicoffret)
To get to the Ghibli Museum, you can take a bus with cute Ghibli paintings from the south exit of Mitaka Station, or you can walk to the museum, which is also within walking distance, so you can go there either way.
**Currently, all admission to the Ghibli Museum is by advance reservation only.
Please note that tickets are basically available one week prior to the day you wish to visit the museum. Usually they are on sale at 10:00 AM on the same day of the week.
In addition to regular tickets, residents living in the Mitaka are can purchase a special priority ticket, which is available only for residents of the Mitaka area.
In fact, the Ghibli Museum is so popular that there are times when regular tickets become not available, so it is a big advantage to be able to get a special priority ticket.
Since recording and filming is not allowed inside the museum, I cannot show you anything in this article, but honestly I didn’t know much about the museum.
After visiting the museum, I was like, “It’s like really a Ghibli movie!,” and ended up with watching three Ghibli movies. I was rather glad to be able to visit the museum this time since I went there for this article.
If a Ghibli lover goes there, it is pretty sure to be an irresistible place to visit and get hooked.
By the way, Hayao Miyazaki, the director of the museum, describes the Ghibli Museum as follows：
“A museum that is interesting and which relaxes the soul
A museum where much can be discovered
A museum based on a clear and consistent philosophy
A museum where those seeking enjoyment can enjoy,
those seeking to ponder can ponder, and those seeking to feel can feel
A museum that makes you feel more enriched
when you leave than when you entered!”(Cited from the Ghibli Museum)
After spending an hour in this amazing museum, let’s head to Inokashira Park.
*Brief history of Inokashira Park
Tokyo Metropolitan Inokashira Park opened as the first suburban park in Japan on May 1, 1917, and celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2017.(Reference: Inokashira Park)
Visitors can experience nature from season to season in Inokashira Park.
(Source of photo: THE GATE)
Especially, Inokashira Pond, cherry blossoms by the pond, a growth of trees, Ochanomizu, bird watching, and the starting point of the Kanda River are must-see spots. I’m pretty sure you will enjoy walking in the park.
Having a meal at a famous restaurant and get a popular crape as a dessert
I got very hungry after walking for about an hour. Returning to the station area, I decide to have lunch at Yanoie, a home-made juwari soba (100% buckwheat noodles) restaurant famous in Mitaka.
There are many soba dishes on the menu, and they are all soft, chewy and very tasty. Especially I recommend all the tempuras. They are all good.
By the way, Yanoie is famous for soba noodles, but the restaurant is also well known for regularly inviting artists to perform live inside the restaurant. It is wonderful that it seems to be a communal place where people of various generations can interact with each other.
It seems they don’t organize any events due to the corona pandmice, but I would love to see it reopen once the state of emergency ends.
After eating soba noodles, I went to a nearby crepe shop called La creperie
https://www.instagram.com/p/CPwm4VPM7L7/
La creperie was originally in Nishi Ogikubo. A very famous crepe shop. However, there were too many people waiting in line outside, so the shop decided to withdraw, lamented by everybody, to avoid problems with neighborhood residents.
A year later, in 2020, the shop reopened in Mitaka. Even today, it is common to wait 30 minutes or so for a crepe.
I’m actually not a big fan of crepes, but for the sake of local research, I gave it a shot!
I was surprised when I took a bite of the crepe dough. It was crispy and yet light, and the galette dough alone was incredibly delicious.
One of the reasons I don’t like crepes is that cream makes me have an upset stomach, but La creperie’s cream is light and easy to eat, without having an upset stomach that crepes often cause.
Please try their best rare cheese.
Next, heading to marche for my dinner
After filling my stomach, I visited Harpin, a long-established dumpling restaurant located 1-minute walk from La creperie.
Chizuru Ninomiya, the owner of Harpin, has been active in the media for nearly 40 years as a dumpling expert, and Harpin is like the top restaurant of the Tokyo dumpling world.
Actually I was quite full from this tour so far, so I bought frozen dumplings here to go for dinner with evening drink.
Then, I went to a Chisan Marche (local production market) run by Farmdo to get some vegetables. Chisan Marche means a store selling fresh vegetables made in Tama and Musashino City. You can get fresh and inexpensive vegetables in large quantities by directly buying at the store.
With the vegetables I got at the marche, the next stop is a place where I can buy some alcoholic drinks for the evening. I visited OGA BREWING, a craft beer café about a minute walk from the sharehouse.
(Source of photo: OGA BREWING’s drink comparison set)
This café has also a brewery and serves Mitaka Craft Beer.
In fact, you can drink freshly made beer on draft in the café.
The cafe has only been open for a short time, but I post the café’s concept here because their vision for the future that they want to portray through craft beer is wonderful.
“Our brewery concept is ‘to brew beer that will surprise craft beer beginners and make them a beer lover. We want people to discover the great taste of craft beer, expand their friendships, and get more people involved in the world of craft beer that raised us.”
(Cited from OGA BREWING)
A great thought/passion that makes me proud of Mitaka.
I bought a beer at the café for my evening. There are many kinds of beers available, so please choose the beer that suits your taste best.
I returned to the sharehouse once with the vegetables and beers.
Chilling at a book café where people can interact to each other
Then, I went to 「Mitakanova, which is a 2-minute walk from the sharehouse.
(Source of photo:Mitakanova)
Mitakanova is a communal book-cafe with a bookstore and a café, where connects people in the city.
What is interesting about Mitakanova is that the owner puts books he likes, and while you would expect to find some maniac books about community and architecture, there are also ONE PIECE and picture books next to them (LOL).
A quite wide range of books…or maybe too wide…
You can relax by reading a book, joining in daily workshops or having a friendly chat with and a daily manager.
Getting back to the sharehouse and having drinks with souvenirs
The time was almost dusk.
I got back home and prepared my meal and drinks.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CR2WsvfMwvq/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Amazing Japanese dumplings.
Many fresh vegetables made around Mitaka.
Local beer crafted in Mitaka.
No matter what I make, there is no reason it can’t be delicious.
Placed them on a table in the living room that I’m proud of, and started my evening!
Please have a wonderful time afterwards.
My little adventure in Mitaka ends here.
Please check my Instagram for other posts!
Summary: There are so many spots you can enjoy on holidays around Sharehouse Hidamari Mitaka!
During the past three months of my life here, I have found many stores that I would like to share with you. They are all really nice stores, and I’ve got some warming comments from people who have seen my Instagram posts like:
“Now I’m really proud of my city as a Mitaka citizen.”
“I came to know stores/places that I didn’t know.”
There are more great places beside the places/shops I mentioned here. I list them with URLs below. I hope you will take a look.
This store is like a marché with a large selection of rare vegetables and daily necessities that are not commonly available in other supermarkets.
A community-based supermarket that sells vegetables made in Tokyo, like a local marché. The closest supermarket from the sharehouse.
A public bath with a sauna-only rest room, which is great for those who love saunas. It is a 5-minute walk from the station and open until 23:30.
A coffee shop that originally started in Kamakura. A monthly limited menu is quite stylish, and it’s also where my friend and I work.
▶Ganso Stamina Manten Ramen Suzuoni
This authentic stamina noodle shop is well known among ramen/noodle fans in the ramen battleground of West Tokyo.
BROCCA offers a variety of antique European goods and accessories, as well as accessories by artists, which are recommended for gifts for friends and family.
This bakery has been featured in many media. My recommendation is the TOHO bread!
If you have a chance, please come visit Mitaka.
Life in Sharehouse Hidamari Mitaka is shared on Instagram! If you are interested, please check it out.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CULrHl_v3NX/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
