Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Jiyugaoka (自由が丘), Tokyo: Charming Neighbourhood with Lovely Shops and Cafes


We arrived in Jiyugaoka (自由が丘), Tokyo on a cloudless and sunny morning. To get there, just get off at Jiyugaoka station on the intersection of Tokyu Toyoko Line and Oimachi Lines.

Beautiful Jiyugaoka

This fashionable neighbourhood was recommended by my Japanese friend and there's several nice sweet shops and interesting shopping spots in this area. In fact, I read that Jiyugaoka is ranked in the top 3 spots among young female Tokyolites as the best neighbourhood to live in Tokyo. And it's not hard to see why.

If you can afford to take one day out from your trip to relax and see how Tokyolites spend their time,  Jiyugaoka should be your choice.

Gift Shop With Many Lovely Treasures

There's many cute gifts shops along the streets and also many fashion stores that'll catch your attention.

315 Yen Shop With Many Lovelies




There's even Laura Ashley, Gap, Muji and many more big brands in this cozy residential neighbourhood.




Pet Shop

One Of The Many Sweets Shops Jiyugaoka Is Known For


I Love Alice In Wonderland~~

We randomly stepped into one of the many cafes in Jiyugaoka and I was so happy to see the Alice In Wonderland crockery. We spent more than an hour chilling at this cute cafe and taking shelter from the strong afternoon sun.

See more pictures of this charming restaurant here.

Award Winning Crepe


Now, you can understand too why Jiyugaoka is so loved right? We ended the visit by enjoying a crepe and drinks along the street above, just like the many mothers spending time with their young children there too. I'm glad we visited this trendy neighbourhood.

Here's some more nice pictures of Jiyugaoka from Danny Choo's website.

7 comments:

Josephine Sicad said...

just bumped into your site today while googling place to eat in Joo Chiat...then checked out your latest posts....

this makes me miss Japan...and sad that i didnt get to explore Tokyo that much that time when we were there due to the aftershocks we still felt =(

anyway, this is a helpful post.and something to look fwd to if ever visit japan again =)

Thanks!!!

Mei said...

Hi Josephine,

Oh yes, I miss Japan already even though I was there about a month back.

And I saw your Osaka pics, it's really well taken!

Will you be going back anytime this year? ;)

Aimei said...

This place seems a nice lovely place! I'm going to Japan this coming 1 April and may want to consider adding this if time permits. Roughly how much time needed to spend here? :)

Mei said...

Hi Aimei,

Do check out Jiyugaoka if you can spare the time. It's a really lovely Japanese neighbourhood.

If you like taking it slow, you can do a whole day trip there and move on elsewhere for dinner.

That was what I did coz there's may pretty shops around and a lot of cafes and sweets shops. I just hung around.

Cheers! =)

Aimei said...

Hee actually I don't have much time, cos I'm covering Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka in 11 days!! :)

Could you advise how much I should exchange? Is it better to use Credit card or cash? I'm going with my hubby. Would S$2500 be enough for 11 days of transport, eat and shopping? We are using jr pass for first 7 days. :)

Mei said...

Hi Aimei,

I only used credit cards for departmental stores. For the rest of the places, I used cash. And $2500 is enough if you're not buying much and is plain eating and transport. This doesn't include the JR pass right?

By the way, if you have the Takashimaya credit card, do bring it along as you'll enjoy more discount at the Taka in Japan. Worth it for bigger purchases.

Do also help click on my ads on this blog ok?

Thanks! =)

Aimei said...

Sure! Thanks! I think I will bring $3k.. It $3.5 k .. Including me and hubby shopping. Is 15.25 exchange rate good?

When u went last year, is the radiation situation ok? I'm not sure if you have heard stories over these 2 months of people coming back from Japan, test themselves and realize they kena radiation, and doctor advised cannot have babies for a few years. Bcos of these, I've been persuaded by people asking us not to go but we have already booked everything last year. I tried to find out who is the person who got it but no one is able to come out and identify himself or herself. Everyone say it's their friends' friend. Anyway we ate going ahead unless one day, we confirm it's true and not rumors.

Hence I just wanna ask when u were there, is everything ok? anything to take note of??

Sorry for ranting this to you.. Just wish to find out more and be prepared before we go. Thanks!!