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Kanagawa · Designated city

Kawasaki

川崎市かわさきしKawasaki-shi

Factory coast, Daishi temple and hillside museums along the Tama

Kawasaki is a designated city of about 1.5 million people in Kanagawa, stretching along the south bank of the Tama River between Tokyo and Yokohama. Long synonymous with heavy industry in the Keihin coastal zone, it is also home to the temple Kawasaki Daishi, a former Tokaido post town and cultural sites such as the Fujiko F. Fujio Museum.

Overview

Kawasaki is a long, narrow city about 30 km from end to end, following the Tama River from Tokyo Bay north-west into the Tama hills. The bay end, around Kawasaki Station and the reclaimed industrial islands, is the heart of the Keihin industrial zone, with steelworks, refineries, chemical plants and power stations; its factory landscapes lit at night have become an unexpected attraction. The inland wards are residential and green, with bamboo groves, parks and university campuses.

The city grew from Kawasaki-juku, the second post station on the Tokaido after Shinagawa, and from the temple of Kawasaki Daishi, which draws some of the largest crowds in Japan at New Year. Twentieth-century industrialisation brought workers from all over Japan and from Korea and Okinawa, making Kawasaki one of the country's most diverse cities, but also severe air pollution that led to landmark lawsuits and later clean-up.

Today Kawasaki is a centre of electronics and research as well as heavy industry, and districts such as Musashi-Kosugi have been rebuilt with high-rise apartments. Its cultural highlights include the Fujiko F. Fujio Museum, dedicated to the creator of Doraemon, the Taro Okamoto Museum of Art and the Nihon Minka-en open-air museum in Ikuta Ryokuchi park.

Landmarks

  • Kawasaki Daishi

    川崎大師平間寺Kawasaki Daishi Heiken-ji

    Head temple of the Chisan branch of Shingon in the Kanto, famous for exorcism rites and for its crowded New Year.

  • Fujiko F. Fujio Museum

    川崎市藤子・F・不二雄ミュージアムKawasaki-shi Fujiko Efu Fujio Myūjiamu

    Museum of the manga artist who created Doraemon, with original drawings and a rooftop garden; entry by advance reservation.

  • Nihon Minka-en

    日本民家園Nihon Minka-en

    Open-air museum of traditional farmhouses and other buildings from across eastern Japan, set in a wooded valley.

  • Taro Okamoto Museum of Art

    川崎市岡本太郎美術館Kawasaki-shi Okamoto Tarō Bijutsukan

    Museum of the avant-garde artist Taro Okamoto, born in Kawasaki, in Ikuta Ryokuchi park.

  • Tokaido Kawasaki-shuku Koryukan

    東海道かわさき宿交流館Tōkaidō Kawasaki-shuku Kōryūkan

    Small museum on the history of the Tokaido post town, on the old highway near the station.

  • Keihin industrial night views

    工場夜景kōjō yakei

    The illuminated refineries and plants of the coastal industrial zone, seen on night cruises and tours.

  • Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall

    ミューザ川崎シンフォニーホールMyūza Kawasaki Shinfonī Hōru

    Concert hall with vineyard-style seating beside Kawasaki Station, home of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra.

Districts

  • Kawasaki Station area

    川崎駅周辺Kawasaki-eki shūhen

    Shopping centres, the concert hall and the old Tokaido post-town streets.

  • Daishi

    大師Daishi

    Temple town around Kawasaki Daishi with its shopping street of sweets shops.

  • Musashi-Kosugi

    武蔵小杉Musashi-Kosugi

    Former factory district transformed into a cluster of residential towers and a major rail interchange.

  • Noborito and Ikuta

    登戸Noborito

    Green northern hills with Ikuta Ryokuchi park, museums and university campuses.

  • Waterfront industrial zone

    臨海部rinkaibu

    Reclaimed islands of heavy industry on Tokyo Bay, facing Haneda Airport across the river mouth.

History

According to temple tradition, Kawasaki Daishi (Heiken-ji) was founded in 1128 after a fisherman drew a statue of the monk Kukai from the sea. In the early seventeenth century the Nikaryo irrigation canal turned the Tama lowlands into productive rice land, and in 1623 Kawasaki-juku was established as a post station on the Tokaido, where travellers crossed the Tama River by ferry.

The railway reached Kawasaki in 1872, and from the 1900s land reclamation and factories – electrical, food, steel and chemical plants – transformed the coast. Kawasaki became a city in 1924. Air raids in 1945 destroyed much of the city. Rapid post-war growth made the air of the industrial wards notorious, leading to pollution lawsuits in the 1970s and 1980s. The city became a designated city in 1972.

  1. 1128

    Traditional founding date of Kawasaki Daishi Heiken-ji.

  2. 1611

    The Nikaryo irrigation canal is completed along the Tama River.

  3. 1623

    Kawasaki-juku is established as a post station on the Tokaido.

  4. 1872

    Kawasaki Station opens on Japan's first railway line.

  5. 1924

    Kawasaki receives city status.

  6. 1945

    Air raids destroy large parts of the city and its factories.

  7. 1972

    Kawasaki becomes a designated city.

  8. 1982

    Residents file the Kawasaki pollution lawsuit against industry and government.

  9. 2011

    The Fujiko F. Fujio Museum opens in Tama Ward.

Culture

Kawasaki cultivates an image as a city of music and sport: the Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall hosts the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and Kawasaki Frontale is one of Japan's most successful football clubs. The city also celebrates its manga heritage through Fujiko F. Fujio, the creator of Doraemon, who lived in Kawasaki, and the avant-garde art of Taro Okamoto.

Festivals

  • Kanamara Festival

    かなまら祭りKanamara Matsuri

    On the first Sunday of April at Kanayama Shrine, a fertility festival with phallic portable shrines that has become a fundraiser for HIV awareness.

  • New Year at Kawasaki Daishi

    初詣hatsumōde

    Among the most visited temples in Japan during the first days of January.

  • Kawasaki Daishi Wind Chime Market

    川崎大師風鈴市Kawasaki Daishi Fūrin-ichi

    In July, the temple grounds fill with stalls selling wind chimes from across Japan.

Food

  • Kuzumochi

    くず餅kuzumochi

    Chewy fermented wheat-starch cakes with brown-sugar syrup and soybean flour, the classic sweet of the Daishi approach.

  • Tontan candy

    とんとん飴tonton-ame

    Ginger candy chopped on the approach to Kawasaki Daishi to the rhythmic 'ton-ton' of the knives, said to chop away evil.

  • Nyutantanmen

    ニュータンタンメンnyū tantanmen

    A local noodle soup with egg, garlic and chilli, quite different from Chinese dandan noodles.

  • Korean barbecue

    焼肉yakiniku

    Long-established Korean restaurants in the coastal Sakuramoto district reflect the city's Korean community.

Getting around

  • Kawasaki Station on the JR Tokaido and Keihin-Tohoku lines is under 20 minutes from Tokyo Station and about 10 minutes from Yokohama; Keikyu Kawasaki Station is next door.
  • The Keikyu Daishi Line runs from Keikyu Kawasaki to Kawasaki-Daishi Station.
  • The JR Nambu Line crosses the city lengthwise, connecting with the Tokyu Toyoko Line at Musashi-Kosugi and the Odakyu Line at Noborito.
  • Haneda Airport lies just across the Tama River mouth, reached by Keikyu trains in about 15 minutes.

Day trips

  • Yokohama

    Minato Mirai and Chinatown, about 10 minutes by JR.

  • Kamakura

    Temples and the Great Buddha, about 45 minutes by JR.

  • Hakone

    By Odakyu Line from Noborito towards Hakone-Yumoto, or via Odawara.

  • Central Tokyo

    Shinagawa and Tokyo Station are each well under half an hour away.

Other cities in the prefecture

CapitalYokohamaYokohama-shiJapan's first window on the world, on Tokyo BayTownHakoneHakone-machiHot springs and Fuji views in a volcanic calderaCityKamakuraKamakura-shiThe samurai capital between green hills and Sagami Bay

Frequently asked questions

Is Kawasaki worth visiting?

Yes, for Kawasaki Daishi, the Fujiko F. Fujio Museum, the Nihon Minka-en farmhouse museum and night views of the industrial coast; it is also a convenient base between Tokyo, Yokohama and Haneda.

How do I visit the Fujiko F. Fujio Museum?

Entry is by timed tickets booked in advance; shuttle buses run from Noborito Station on the JR Nambu and Odakyu lines.

Is Kawasaki in Tokyo?

No. Kawasaki is a separate designated city in Kanagawa Prefecture, although it borders Tokyo along the Tama River.

What is the Kanamara Festival?

A spring fertility festival at Kanayama Shrine with phallic symbols and portable shrines, which draws large international crowds and raises money for HIV-related causes.

Related

Sources

  1. 1.川崎市ホームページ (opens in a new tab) — 川崎市 (Kawasaki City)
  2. 2.令和2年国勢調査 (opens in a new tab) — 総務省統計局 (Statistics Bureau of Japan)
  3. 3.川崎大師平間寺 (opens in a new tab) — 川崎大師平間寺 (Kawasaki Daishi Heiken-ji)
  4. 4.Japan National Tourism Organization (opens in a new tab) — JNTO

Editorial team · Published: