Kugayama, a residential quarter between the Kanda River and the Tamagawa Josui, where the paths along the canal still keep Musashino's dirt tracks
The closest neighborhoods in the same city.
Kugayama's neighborhood straddles both banks of the Kanda River and the Tamagawa Josui canal. Coming out of the south exit, the Kanda River is right in front of you, with Kugayama Bridge doubling as the station plaza.
Unpaved paths run along both sides of the Tamagawa Josui, and together with the water and trees they form a Musashino landscape rarely seen elsewhere in Tokyo's wards. Between the two waterways, the Tokyo metropolitan Takaido Park, converted from a company athletic field, opened in 2020, with a lawn plaza, a baseball field and tennis courts.
The shopping street at the north exit is livelier than the one at the south exit, and a short walk further in brings you to a residential area.
Judging from our street photos, greenery ranks 30th among 395 neighborhoods in Tokyo, the highest-ranking item for this neighborhood.
Kugayama is an Express stop on the Inokashira Line; the next Express stop toward Shibuya is Eifukucho, and in the other direction it's Kichijoji. In 2005 the station was rebuilt as an elevated-bridge station, gaining a south exit; from December 2024 platform doors were also installed. In 2019 the Tokyo metropolitan government opened the wide Tohachi Road, making it easier to get in and out by car.
Kugayama Inari Shrine in 3-chome offers the "Yunohana Kagura" hot-water ritual dance at its summer festival every July 24th. After the water in the big cauldron comes to a boil, small bamboo twigs are dipped in the hot water and sprinkled about — something extremely rare within Suginami City.
Daily shopping ranks 321st; sidewalks rank 340th, both toward the lower end. Healthcare ranks 270th, also toward the lower end.
The origin of the name Kugayama is unclear; all that's known is that it's a village name that has existed since ancient times. Another theory holds that "kuga" referred to vacant land, meaning newly cultivated land in Musashino. The founding date of Kugayama Inari Shrine is unknown, but it has been the village's guardian shrine since ancient times.
When the ward system was introduced in 1932, Kugayama was divided into 1-chome through 3-chome; in August the following year, Teito Electric Railway opened Kugayama Station. Near the end of World War II, two Type 5 15cm anti-aircraft guns were set up in Kugayama 2-chome, in the area around today's National Printing Bureau athletic field.
Also in 2-chome, a company's athletic field was bought by the Tokyo metropolitan government, and from 2020 it was gradually developed into Takaido Park.
Compared with the 395 Tokyo neighborhoods in this guide (scores 0–10)
Hospitals with inpatient beds (2020 data), public elementary and junior high schools whose catchment covers this area, high schools and universities within 1 km, stations, parks of 1 ha or more, and large shopping malls and department stores. Many Tokyo junior high students attend private schools, so junior high catchments are only a guide.
Maps show the shops and the sights. What a street is like, you only know by walking it. TidyMap uses AI street imagery analysis and public facility data to turn each area's street environment and everyday convenience into something you can compare. Search an address and look at the street outside first.
How to read it: yellow = poor, blue = good; grey = not enough data
TidyMap rates the street environment and everyday convenience. It does not assess the home itself, safety, noise or actual living experience. Street environment scores use AI assessments of imagery; convenience scores use public facility data.
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