A menchi-katsu, the pond and a cave of a kissaten
吉祥寺：メンチカツ、井の頭の池、洞窟のような喫茶店
A day out west on the JR Chuo line: a menchi-katsu eaten on the street, a walk round Inokashira pond, a basement kissaten built by puppeteers, and a library you will want to sit in, two stops further on.
Entry and food as printed; 1 stop without a printed price adds nothing.
Sora Nakamura · 2026.09.25 · Sora Nakamura is a pen name. Routes are written from the sources named on each stop, and read before they go out.
The line
The line
Comfort
The round menchi-katsu of coarse-ground Japanese beef and sweet onion, three thousand sold a day. Hanako printed it at ¥270 in January 2024.
walk ≈13 min · 0.8 km
井の頭恩賜公園
The park round Inokashira pond, south of the station. It never closes and entry is free; a few facilities inside charge.
walk ≈12 min · 0.7 km
くぐつ草
Opened in 1979 by members of Yuki-za, a marionette company 390 years old, in a basement they made to look like a cave. Deep-roast coffee and curry; Hanako's pick is the rare cheesecake with no base, ¥800.
train ≈15 min · JR Chuo line, Kichijoji to Musashi-Sakai
See
A library and civic centre a minute from Musashi-Sakai station, four floors of books from two below ground to two above, on Jalan's list of libraries worth the trip.
Plan B Closed on Wednesdays: the day ends at the stop before.
日 Day by Day · TK
The day costs
¥1,070
≈ $7 · €6 at the ECB rate of 11.09
Per person · one adult · 3 of 4 stops priced
The day, in words
A day out west on the JR Chuo line: a menchi-katsu eaten on the street, a walk round Inokashira pond, a basement kissaten built by puppeteers, and a library you will want to sit in, two stops further on.
It costs very little: the park is free and the library is free to enter. The library closes on Wednesdays; everything else is open every day.
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The letter · 23:00
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