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Kichijji () is a neighborhood in the city of Musashino in Western Tokyo, Japan. It is centered on a compact but popular commercial area to the north and south of Kichijoji Station, with a full range of shops, restaurants, bars, and coffee houses. The area is a popular center for shopping and leisure in the Tokyo metropolitan area due in part to its close proximity to Inokashira Park and Inokashira Park Zoo.
Kichijoji has been voted the number 1 place in Japan that Japanese would like to live every year since the 1990s according to polls by the magazine CNN GO. Kichijji Station is served by the Ch Line which runs to Tokyo Central Station in around 30 minutes, the Sobu Line, the Tozai Line and is also a terminus of the Kei Inokashira Line, which takes passengers as far as Shibuya in around 20 minutes on the express service.
The neighborhood is dominated by a shopping district centered on a covered street, Sun Road, which extends north from Kichijji Station. This well organized and clean area includes amenities, shops, entertainment and restaurants.[citation needed]
Halfway up this shopping street is the Buddhist temple Gess-ji (), with graveyard, and at the northern end of it are Shinto shrines, the latter holding the occasional festival, with amusements such as fishing for gold fish, sweet food stalls, and typical dishes.
On the north, east, and south sides of the station is a large nightlife area with many restaurants, bars, izakaya, and “live” houses. On the north-east side of the station lies a red-light district on the Ch Line between Tachikawa and Shinjuku, containing numerous cabarets, bars, and pink salons.
The anime and manga companies Coamix and Bee Train have their headquarters in Kichijji. Studio Ghibli was previously located in Kichijji.
