KichijÅji
Kichijoji (Japanese吉祥寺) is a neighborhood in Musashino, a Japanese town in the prefecture of Tokyo. Kichijoji is not a separate administrative unit but the name of several parts of the city of Musashino: Kita- chō (北 町, dt District North ), Higashi -chō (东 町, dt district east), Minami (南 町, dt district south) and Hon - chō (本 町, dt district center).
The name comes from the temple Kichijo -ji, which fell to the Great Fire of 1658, one of the big four fires in the Edo period to the victim. Although the temple was rebuilt elsewhere, the settlement retained its name. In 1889, Kichijoji Musashino was summarized to three other villages and in 1893 affiliated to the Capital Region.
In the eastern part is the Kichijoji station in which meet the JR Chūō Main Line and Chūō - Sobu Line, Keio Inokashira the line.
Kichijoji is considered hip residential area, as it is away from the Shinjuku Chuo Express just 15 minutes, and many artists and foreigners attracts and with the Inokashira Park has a recreation area.
Around the train station is the city center with the Sunroad Passage, some Depato, coffee shops, discount stores, good restaurants (besides Japanese kitchen with yakitori, sushi, fugu, mainly Chinese, French and Italian cuisine). Just south of the station is the Inokashira Park. At the northwestern edge of the city is the Seikei University.
History
The Kichijoji Station was built in 1899. Only after the Second World War gradually began to develop as a popular meeting place through establishment of markets and department stores around the station. In the 1960s created the first large department stores, in the 1970s, then rallied to jazz cafés and jazz clubs. The jazz scene has now moved on to Asagaya, but by the art school Kichijoji Musashino kept its name as an artist district.