know the town
Get to know the town.
Routes from Taipei, Ghibli’s primal landscapes, the battle that toppled a shogunate — reads that make Higashimurayama more interesting. All sourced, nothing invented.
Walking Ghibli's primal landscape — Hachikokuyama and Fuchi-no-mori
The air of My Neighbor Totoro lives in Higashimurayama. Visit the hill said to have inspired Totoro's forest, and the riverside woods Hayao Miyazaki helped protect.
ReadEvents5
Higashimurayama's yearly event calendar — when can you catch a festival?
The Iris Festival, Yasaka Shrine's grand festival, the Awa Odori dance, the Industry Fair, the sake brewery open day. All year round, Higashimurayama has festivals with the townsfolk in the leading role. Here's a guide to when you can catch one.
Complete guide to the Kitayama Park Iris Festival — enjoying about 100,000 irises
Higashimurayama's biggest highlight of the year. We guide you through the “Higashimurayama Iris Festival,” where about 100,000 irises of roughly 600 varieties bloom together, from the angle of how to enjoy it.
Higashimurayama Kumegawa Awa Odori — the night the station front becomes a dance stage
Awa Odori isn't only for its home of Tokushima. Each October, the street in front of Kumegawa Station fills with the energy of the dance troupes (“ren”). A festival that once lapsed and was revived by local hands.
Higashimurayama Yasaka Shrine Grand Festival — a mikoshi linking the National Treasure temple and the shrine
Usually in July, the mikoshi festival when Higashimurayama is at its most fervent of the year. A mikoshi, accompanied by great drums and floats, travels back and forth between the National Treasure Shofukuji and Yasaka Shrine.
Higashimurayama Citizens' Industry Fair — the autumn when the town's best gathers in one place
Usually in early November, the city's largest event. Farm and livestock products made in Higashimurayama, and the pride of local shops and workshops, gather in one place. Two days to sample the town's “good things” all at once.
Sake & local brews4
Higashimurayama's proud sake brewery, Toshimaya Shuzo — “Kinkon” and “Okunokami”
It's not only the National Treasure and Ken Shimura. Higashimurayama has a venerable sake brewery that keeps making sake served even as shrine offering-sake. It's Toshimaya Shuzo in Kumegawa-cho.
Visiting Toshimaya Shuzo — the Saturday brewery tour and the KAMOSHInoBA shop
Not just drinking, but seeing “where it's made.” Toshimaya Shuzo holds a brewery tour every Saturday. It's an experience I especially recommend to my Taiwanese friends who love a sake-themed trip.
TOSHIMAYA FESTA — the November day the whole brewery becomes a festival
The brewery that usually makes sake in quiet becomes a festival ground once a year. Toshimaya Shuzo's open-day “TOSHIMAYA FESTA.” A day sake lovers can't resist.
The Higashimurayama brand “Sato ni Hachikoku” — flavors the town stands behind
“So what's Higashimurayama famous for?” The answer is here. “Sato ni Hachikoku,” a regional brand certified by the Chamber of Commerce — a collection of flavors the whole town has recognized as “our pride.”
Food & gourmet8
Higashimurayama kuro-yakisoba — jet-black yet addictive local comfort food
Its appearance is startlingly jet-black. But one bite and the deep richness hooks you. Higashimurayama-born “kuro-yakisoba” (black fried noodles) is a local specialty in the know that even evokes the town's history.
Touring the best Musashino udon shops — eating your way through Higashimurayama's udon culture
Thick, firm noodles dipped in a hot pork broth. When you come to Higashimurayama, the thing to taste is “Musashino udon.” Here we guide you through the town's deep-rooted udon culture from a food-crawl point of view.
Grilled dango and Higashimurayama wagashi — the town's soy-scented snack
Grilled over charcoal, with the fragrant scent of soy in the air — grilled dango. Higashimurayama has shops that keep this old-time flavor alive. We introduce the town's snack that even Ken Shimura is said to have loved.
Higashimurayama tonkatsu — a long-loved local favorite, one cutlet at a time
A crisply fried coating around juicy pork. Tonkatsu is a “go-to treat” for the people of Higashimurayama. After the sights, why not fill both stomach and heart with a cutlet from a long-loved local institution?
Murayama souvenirs — the taste of Higashimurayama you can take home
One of the joys of travel is choosing souvenirs. Higashimurayama has plenty of “take-home Higashimurayama,” from Ken Shimura-themed manju to local sake from a brewery with roots over 400 years old. They make perfect gifts for family and friends in Taiwan too.
The old-house complex “Momotose” — where new talent gathers in an old home
An old house more than 60 years old has been reborn as a cafe, an atelier and everyone's kitchen. “Momotose,” featured even on NHK, is a slightly special space where you can feel the “now” of Higashimurayama.
Higashimurayama stylish-cafe walk — a break in the middle of your stroll
After enjoying the sights, the festivals and the udon — why not take a breather at a favorite cafe? Dotted along your walk in Higashimurayama are a renovated old house here, a hideaway-like little shop there.
Talked-about bread & sweets in Higashimurayama — fresh-baked aromas to accompany your walk
The scent of freshly baked bread, little sweets lined up in a display case. Higashimurayama has bakeries and sweet shops loved by locals. Perfect as a companion for your walk, or a little souvenir.
Family & kids5
Higashimurayama with kids — the complete play-spot guide
Run to your heart's content in a park, relax indoors on a rainy day, and sometimes experience old ways of life. Higashimurayama is just right for a day with small children. Indoor, park, nature, history experience — we guide you through the play spots by type.
Higashimurayama municipal children's halls — a place for the town's kids, rain or shine
Rainy days, hot summer days, cold winter days — at times like these, Higashimurayama's “children's halls” are a help. A place for the town's kids that anyone from a newborn to age 18 can use for free. There are five in the city.
Higashimurayama Central Park — Maimai Pond and splashing water play
A green metropolitan park that preserves Musashino's coppice woods as they were. In summer you can splash in the spiral wading pool “Maimai Pond,” with play equipment and a sandbox nearby. A Higashimurayama go-to where you can spend a whole day with small children.
Hachikokuyama Taiken-no-Sato — a history experience in Totoro's countryside
At the foot of Hachikokuyama, said to be the setting for Totoro, is a hands-on facility you can enjoy with children. “Hachikokuyama Taiken-no-Sato,” where you learn about the Sayama Hills' nature and a Jomon-period site while playing. Admission is free, and the ease of just dropping by is part of its charm.
Corocoro no Mori — a parent-child room for ages 0–2
Where can you spend relaxed time with a tiny baby? At times like these, the parent-child room “Corocoro no Mori” near Kumegawa Station is reassuring. It's a warm place mainly for children aged 0, 1 and 2 and their families.
Culture & reads7
“Higashimurayama Ondo” and Ken Shimura — the story of how the town's name went national
Why do people all over Japan know the name of a town called “Higashimurayama”? It's the story of one folk-dance song and one comedian.
Where the Kamakura shogunate fell — the Kumegawa battlefield and Hachikokuyama
Higashimurayama was the stage for a major turning point in Japanese history. In 1333, the “Battle of Kumegawa” — one of a series of battles that brought down the Kamakura shogunate — was fought on this very ground.
Craft beer in Higashimurayama — Distant Shores Brewing
It's not only National Treasures and nature. Higashimurayama has a small brewery run by a British-born owner.
Station-front walk — strolling the Higashimurayama and Kumegawa shopping streets
Sightseeing spots aren't Higashimurayama's only charm. The station-front shopping streets hold local people's daily life and the town's “everyday face.” For shopping, a meal or a quick break — here's a station-front walk to try.
Higashimurayama & Kumegawa night walk — how to enjoy the izakaya
After sightseeing, into the local night. Around the Higashimurayama and Kumegawa station fronts are dotted izakaya that suit local sake. Why not have a drink and taste the “everyday Higashimurayama” that guidebooks don't cover?
A relaxed meal in Higashimurayama — how to choose a restaurant
Local specialties are great, but sometimes you want to sit down for a relaxed meal. Higashimurayama has places for all kinds of occasions — with family, with friends, on a date. We'll guide you on “how to choose a restaurant” so you won't regret it.
Kid-friendly meals in Higashimurayama — relax, the whole family together
Choosing a place is a bit of a challenge with small children. But Higashimurayama has places you can enter with kids without worry. From a family's point of view, we'll guide you on “how to find” shops with tatami seating or private rooms.
* Travel times, fares and event schedules change — check official sites before you go.
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