Setagaya City Trip Overview
Far from the center of Tokyo and its famous monuments, this itinerary will make you discover the city in a more human dimension. The small roads, which are closed to cars, as well as the river banks, allow you to walk in a calm and relaxing atmosphere. The numerous parks, their fauna, and flora will make you discover islands of nature very appreciated by the Tokyoites in the heart of one of the largest cities in the world, without forgetting some astonishing buildings, generally forgotten by the traditional guides.
Additional Info
Duration: 3 to 4 hours
Starts: Setagaya City, Japan
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
Explore Setagaya City Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Setagaya City, Tokyo, Japan
Far from the center of Tokyo and its famous monuments, this itinerary will make you discover the city in a more human dimension. The small roads, which are closed to cars, as well as the river banks, allow you to walk in a calm and relaxing atmosphere. The numerous parks, their fauna, and flora will make you discover islands of nature very appreciated by the Tokyoites in the heart of one of the largest cities in the world, without forgetting some astonishing buildings, generally forgotten by the traditional guides.
Pass By: Setagaya, Setagaya, Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Kanto
The guide will make you discover singular buildings in Sangenjaya, in particular, the place of residence of “King-Kong”. He will also introduce you to a small tramway-type railway line that is almost a century old and has only 10 stations spread over 5 kilometers. The itinerary follows this line for almost 3 kilometers and crosses districts where small shops abound, creating the typical atmosphere of traditional Tokyo, far from the lively city center.
To reach the Kanda River, the first of this itinerary, we will mostly use small streets forbidden to motorized vehicles that will allow you to enjoy an atmosphere of tranquility even though we are still in one of the 23 districts of the Japanese capital.
Stop At: Kanda River, Tokyo, Japan
The Kanda River, which stretches for 25 km from the magnificent Inokashira Park to the Sumida River into which it flows, passing through Shinjuku. This river will allow us to see many Buddhist temples, sometimes close to each other. It also conceals a secret known to very few people, despite the imposing buildings that mark its existence!
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Risho-ji Temple, 3-56-29 Eifuku, Suginami 168-0064 Tokyo Prefecture
We are going to pass in front of a group of temples with singular architecture and stop to talk about their history and take some pictures.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Zenpukuji River, Tokyo, Japan
You will follow the amazing Zenpukuji River, which was dry in the 1970s and later re-watered, with its fauna of grey herons, white egrets, ducks, kingfishers, etc. Bordered by parks for several kilometres, it offers a shady trail among the trees. In autumn, the river banks are adorned with the warmest colours: gold, red, ochre… You will also discover that the kindness of the Japanese even extends to the statues that adorn the river banks: it is not uncommon to see them dressed according to the seasons by the residents.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Matsunoki Iseki, 1-3-22 Matsunoki, Suginami 166-0014 Tokyo Prefecture
The guide will show you the Matsunoki Heritage Restore House, modeled on a dwelling from the late Kofun period.
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Kanda River, Tokyo, Japan
Back on the Kanda (or Kandagawa) River, we will discover that the banks of this river are lined with magnificent cherry trees (which bloom in mid-April and last about 2 weeks). It is also home to Koi carp.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Setagaya, Setagaya, Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Kanto
Crossing the border between Suginami and Setagaya districts, we enter a more lively Tokyo, but with human dimensions. We will find many small shops and a dense crowd of pedestrians and cyclists typical of Japanese anime. It is also here that we will ride along the old Setagaya line for more than three kilometers in streets with almost no traffic. This will allow us to admire the 2-car train sets, recently modernized to accept contactless payments.
We will then quietly reach the Carrot Tower, not without having admired the design of the street lamps on Setagaya Street.
Duration: 30 minutes
