When our weekday gets too hectic, we love to wind down a bit in the outskirts of the city. Thankfully, being in the Greater Tokyo area means smooth transport system connecting one city to another. This time, I want to share our favorite weekend getaway trip to Kawasaki, a city in the Kanagawa Prefecture.
What is in Kawasaki
Despite being an industrial city, there are sure a number of fun things to do in Kawasaki. Located in the middle of Tokyo and Yokohama, Kawasaki’s entertainment is a mix of both the typical urban and suburban city atmosphere.
Depending on what you are looking for, you can actually enjoy the usual window shopping ritual such as in Lazona Kawasaki Plaza or cafe hopping along the street of Kawasaki. But if you’re interested to travel further beyond the city center, I have put together a simple one day itinerary for you to look at:
Start the Day Early in Doraemon Fujiko F Fujio Museum
Address: 2 Chome-8-1 Nagao, Tama Ward, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 214-0023 (Google Maps)
First of all, let’s begin from the Fujiko F Fujio Museum. Mostly known as the Doraemon Museum, Fujiko F Fujio Museum is a family friendly museum in Kawasaki city. This museum is dedicated to the artworks and characters created by the duo artists Fujiko F Fujio. The exhibits include the early sketches of Doraemon leading to the birth of the comic, and the road to success as a tv show and movie series.
Besides the exhibition rooms on the first floor, the two floor museum also has a theater as well as interactive and open space park for adults and kids to enjoy. Next to the park is the museum cafe, where you can have Doraemon themed lunch and a cup of latte art drink. Before leaving, do not forget to visit the museum shop to complete your museum experience.
How to Get Ticket for Doraemon Museum
Due to the high volume of visitors, reservation is required prior to your visit. You may refer to these sites to buy tickets:
How to Get to Doraemon Museum
To get to the Fujiko F Fujio Museum, you can take train to Noborito Station (about 20 minutes from Shibuya Station). From Noborito, there is a shuttle bus service every 10 minutes with a charge of JPY 210.
Kawasaki Municipal Japanese Folk House Garden
Address: 7 Chome-1-1 Masugata, Tama Ward, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 214-0032 (Google Maps)
After spending the morning in Doraemon Museum, let’s head to Kawasaki Municipal Japanese Folk House Garden. Located in the complex of Ikuta Ryokuchi Park, this museum adapted an open air concept that allows visitors to walk through and enter the old houses in Japanese Folk Village.
From the entrance, the path will guide you to four representative regional villages: Shin-Etsu, Kanto, Kanagawa, and Tohoku. Each regional village exhibits two to five old family houses that dated back to the 17th century. To enter, you can purchase the ticket on site for JPY 500.
Final Stop for Your Trip to Kawasaki: Taro Okamoto Museum of Art
Address: 7 Chome-1-5 Masugata, Tama Ward, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 214-0032 (Google Maps
Finally, here comes our final stop. After an afternoon stroll through the Kawasaki Municipal Japanese Folk House Garden, we are ending our one day trip at the Taro Okamoto Museum of Art. Still within the complex of Ikuta Ryokuchi Park, this museum is dedicated to the late artist Okamoto Taro.
Presented in a chronological order, the exhibition showcases Okamoto Taro’s artworks throughout his life. There is also a special section for his probably most well-known creation, the Tower of the Sun.
And, That’s It!
That’s all of our recommendation for a quick getaway trip to Kawasaki. I hope Kawasaki can be fun for you too! 🙂
Related Post: 5 Museums Around Tokyo To Visit With The Little Ones
