TOKOROZAWA SAKURA TOWN ところざわサクラタウン

TOKOROZAWA SAKURA TOWN is one of the leading centers for Cool Japan, operated by the Japanese entertainment company KADOKAWA Corp. and the Kadokawa Culture Promotion Foundation. In addition to a great selection of shops and restaurants, it also contains a museum, hotel, and shrine, while the event hall "JAPAN PAVILION" hosts a wide variety of events.

TOKOROZAWA SAKURA TOWN is accessible by train.

The nearest station is JR Higashi Tokorozawa Station on the Musashino Line. It's a 10-minute walk from there.

If traveling from Tokyo, it will take 50 minutes from Shinjuku by train. Airport limousine buses are also available from Haneda Airport (Tokyo International Airport) for a fee and the journey is 90 minutes.

TOKOROZAWA SAKURA TOWN is one of the leading centers for Cool Japan and opened in November 2020. There is plenty to see here such as the landmark Kadokawa Culture Museum and the EJ Anime Hotel—built with the concept of "staying in your favorite story" in mind. There is also a shrine that was created with Kengo Kuma supervising its design, a dedicated e-sports facility, as well as other restaurants and stores to visit, making it a cultural hotspot with lots to do.

Kadokawa Culture Museum is a cultural complex combining a library, art and anime galleries. It is a landmark of TOKOROZAWA SAKURA TOWN.

The highlights of the facility include the “Grand Gallery” presenting experimental exhibitions in a 1,000 square meters vast space with unique messages and bold compositions, such as exhibitions of large movie sets and a 360-degree digital art theater that envelops the space with images and sound. There is also the “Manga and Light Novel Library” containing 37,000 books, and the “Bookshelf Theater” where its giant 8-meter-high bookshelf welcoming visitors. It is possible to enter some areas for free, but the main areas require a fee for entry.

EJ Anime Hotel is a concept hotel where you can stay overnight within your favorite story. Alongside typical guest rooms, limited-time collaboration rooms are also available, where your favorite anime, comics, or games, and more, come to life in unique ways. These rooms come equipped with a projector, speaker, and lighting for wide　spaces, promising guests a special lodging experience.

Musashino Reiwa Shrine was designed with supervision from the architect, Kengo Kuma. While following the traditional shrine architectural style, the building features a fusion of archaic and modern architecture, using metal components on symbolic parts and facilities such as a “torii” gate, or “chigi” decorative logs typically found in Shinto architecture. The ceiling painting in the worship hall depicting a Phoenix was created by Yoshitaka Amano, an artist actively involved in various works including character design for the world-renowned role-playing game series FINAL FANTASY, book-cover art, and stage art, making it well worth seeing.

TOKOROZAWA SAKURA TOWN has a good selection of cafes, restaurants, and souvenir shops, with some restaurants and cafes offering original menus using local ingredients which can be found only here. One of the recommended shops is the Da Vinci Store an interactive bookstore directly managed by KADOKAWA and was created under the concept of “discovery and association”. Limited edition goods are also available here.

The dedicated e-sports facility opened in April 2022 and offers over 10 high-end gaming PCs and a 98-inch-wide monitor on the 90 square meters floor.

＊This facility is not usually open to the public, except for specific days and times such as for events.

In the Musashino Woods Park, there is a permanent interactive light art exhibition called “teamLab: Resonating Life in the Acorn Forest” (admission fee required). It is presented by teamLab, a developer of digital content using the latest technology. A dining facility that was also designed by Kengo Kuma, Musashino Woods Cafe, can be found in this park.

FLOWER CORRIDOR is located on the west side of TOKOROZAWA SAKURA TOWN, with over 100 trees planted along the path stretching 200 meters. Flowers are blooming and fruits are growing at all times of the year, so visitors can enjoy taking a stroll through the corridor of flowers. Admission is free.

Tokorozawa is a bustling town close to Tokyo that is often used by locals commuting in and out of the city, but it is also blessed with relaxing nature. The Tokorozawa Koku Memorial Park has tennis courts and an artificial turf playground, and is only a 10-minute drive from TOKOROZAWA SAKURA TOWN.

Meanwhile, the Tokorozawa Aviation Museum, built on the site of Japan's first airfield, is one of the best places to learn about the history of airplanes in Japan.