Mitaka City　三鷹市

Among Musashino’s five cities, Mitaka city is one of the most convenient locations with its easy access to the center of Tokyo. The fastest transport line, the JR Chuo Line, stops at Mitaka station, so it takes less than 20 minutes from Mitaka to Shinjuku.
Many intellectuals also choose to live in Mitaka city because of its rich nature unique to the Musashino area and its convenient transportation.

　Mitaka Town

The street heading east from Mitaka station is full of the beauty and nature of the Musashino area. From there, there is a walking trail along the Tamagawa Aqueduct, which is supplied water by the Tama River and surrounded by a diverse cluster of trees. There are also shuttle bus services between Mitaka station and Studio Ghibli. If you are lucky, you can get on a bus designed by Studio Ghibli itself. The executive director of the Ghibli Museum, Hayao Miyazaki, is famous for his work on movies like “My Neighbor Totoro”, so it is worth a stop. In addition, in the area there are also facilities dedicated to famous Japanese authors, such as the Yuzo Yamamoto Memorial Museum and the Dazai Osamu Literary Salon, further proving the profound history and spirit of Musashino.

　National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Musashino is considered a base of Japanese science. This is because there is the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) in Mitaka city. NAOJ is the national center of astronomical research in Japan, and some parts of facilities are even open to the public. You can go around freely and see tangible cultural properties, such as the 20-cm Telescope Dome, the Observatory History Museum, the Solar Tower Telescope, the Old Library, the Repsold Transit Instrument Building and the Gautier Meridian Circle Building.

　Inokashira Park

Inokashira Park, with a total area of four hundred and thirty thousand square meters, or one hundred acres, spreads over Mitaka city and Musashino city. It is a recreational area with a zoo, an aquatic life park and a museum for Mitaka citizens. The most important thing in the history of Musashino was the spring water that came from here. Parts of the Edo (Tokyo) area were reclaimed from Tokyo Bay in the 17th century, but the water in the area was no good for drinking because it contained too much salt. So, by drawing 16km of spring water from this area and providing it to Edo, Edo became a city where people could reside.