# Kashiwa

Kashiwa (柏市 Kashiwa-shi) is a city in Chiba prefecture, Japan. It is locally known as "Little Shibuya" due to the shopping.

## Understand
### Tourist information

* kamon (Kashiwa Information Center), Family Kashiwa 3F (take the south exit from kashiwa stn. turn left and climb one set of stairs), ☏ +81 7168-8686. 09:00-19:00. If you need to quickly check or send emails, this center offers 30 min free access. Also a good place to pick up Tokyo listings magazine Metropolis and get general Kashiwa info. Occasionally there will be English speakers here to help out but all the staff are very friendly and will make an effort
* The local tourist association has a multilingual guide site.

## Get in

From Tokyo
Kashiwa is served by the JR Joban Line (JR常磐線 Jōban-sen) from Tokyo's Ueno station. Rapid services take approximately 30–35 minutes from Ueno (some mid-day services take 25 minutes) at a cost of ¥450. The Joban Line serves 3 station in Kashiwa city - Minami-Kashiwa, Kita-Kashiwa and Kashiwa stations. Kashiwa station is main and is served by all type of trains on the Joban Line.
Local trains continue onto the Chiyoda Line (千代田線 Chiyoda-sen) of Tokyo Metro(東京メトロ Tōkyō-metoro), with some going all the way to the Odakyu Line (小田急線 Odakyū-sen) on the other side of Tokyo. Given the number of stops and routing combinations, taking the local service will be reasonable only if your starting or ending point on the Chiyoda Line. In other cases, taking rapid or special rapid trains on the Joban Line and transferring from/to other lines at major stations in Tokyo (Kita-Senju, Nippori, Tokyo, Shinagawa) will generally make the ride faster and easier.
Another major line connecting north-western part of the Kashiwa city with Tokyo is Tsukuba Express. There are only 2 stations, main one being Kashiwanoha-campus station (served by up to commuter-rapid trains), another one is Kashiwatanaka station (served by only local trains). Since the line is quite new and private, and also starts only from Akihabara station, fares are relatively high. Using Tsukuba Express will make sense only if you are coming from Akihabara/Asakusa area or you need to get exactly to north-western part of the city (with university campuses, Kashiwanoha stadium, baseball field and National Cancer Center).
From Funabashi/Chiba or Omiya/Saitama
There is also another line that connects the Kashiwa city with another cities of Chiba Prefecture and with Saitama Prefecture, avoiding Tokyo. Tobu Urban Park Line (東武アーバンパークライン), formerly known as Tobu Noda Line (東武野田線 Tōbunoda-sen), connects Funabashi station in Chiba Prefecture with Omiya station in Saitama Prefecture, making stop at the Kashiwa station (in fact, in most of cases you will have to change the train). Since this line goes from the south-east to north-west, repeating the orientation of the city, it has the biggest number of stations in Kashiwa city - Toyoshiki, Kashiwa (transfer to JR Joban Line), Shin-Kashiwa, Masuo, Sakasai, Takayanagi stations.
From Narita International Airport
The fastest way of getting from the airport to Kashiwa station by train is taking the Keisei Narita Skyaccess to Shin-Kamagaya station and then transferring to Tobu Urban Park Line. Another way would be taking Keisei Line to Keisei-Narita Station and transferring to train on the JR Narita Line heading to Kashiwa station. It will take 10–20 minutes longer, but around ¥200 cheaper than first way.

## Get around

By train
While Kashiwa is serviced by three different train lines, usage of trains for getting around will be fairly limited. Especially considering that all three lines run by different companies and have different fare systems. For example, getting from Kashiwanoha-campus station to Kashiwa station by train (using only 2 lines) will cost you ¥380, while same route by bus will cost you only ¥210. Or getting from Kashiwanoha-campus to Kita-Kashiwa using all 3 lines will cost you whopping ¥510.
By bus
The bus system offers highest coverage for public transport at fairly competitive price. But it might be a little bit confusing for unprepared person, so better use Google maps/NAVITIME.
By car
Since, except areas around the stations of Kashiwa and Kashiwanoha-campus, most of Kashiwa city is thriving suburbs, getting around by car might be best option.
By bicycle
Even though Kashiwa city does not have dedicated bicycle lanes (except the area around Kashiwanoha-campus station) , bicycle probably is one of the best ways to get around. Most drivers are polite as in the rest of Japan, but it is good to be careful riding a bike.
The city operates a rent-a-cycle service at Kashiwa and Nishikashiwa stations.
During weekends and holidays from April to November, it is also possible to rent a bike near Teganuma lake, but it is more for recreational purposes rather than for getting around. There is an 18-km cycling course around Teganuma lake, and the Edogawa and Tonegawa cycling roads pass through the west and east of Kashiwa city.

## See

* 35.896234139.9743011 Old Yoshida Family's House History Park (旧吉田家住宅歴史公園). Tu-Su 09:30-16:30. Historic samurai house turned into history park.
* Suwa Jinja (諏訪神社) (It's in Nagareyama city, right on the border with the city of Kashiwa, but closest station is Toyoshiki, making it an easy ride from Kashiwa station). Very popular among local people. During New Year time it attracts people from all neighboring cities. If you want to visit during hatsumode (1st-3rd of January), you might stand in line around 1 hour.
* Old Tega Church (旧手賀教会堂). Only Saturday and Sunday mornings. The oldest Christian church in the Greater Tokyo Area, established in 1881. In fact, it is an Orthodox Christian church in an old Japanese-style building. So, it may not be as impressive as Nikolai-do at Ochanomizu, but delivers a unique Japan-only experience.

## Do

Football - J-league 1 team Kashiwa Reysol play their home games in two stadiums located out of the city centre. Built in the clubs most successful spell the newer Kashiwa no-ha stadium is used for higher profile matches. The clubs original Hitachi stadium is used for the rest and despite being smaller has no athletics track thus a better atmosphere. On match days, buses to Kashiwa no-ha stadium leave from the Bus stops on the West side of Kashiwa station and buses to the Hitachi leave from the East side, the large no. of yellow clad supporters should be a good indicator of where to queue. Tickets can be bought outside the stadium on match day or from the club shop before, if you can get a seat behind the goal prepare for uniquely Japanese coordinated singing.
Kashiwa Festival Usually held the last week of July or first week of August. Expect large crowds, an assortment of food stalls, Taiko drumming performances, and the locals decked out in their summer kimono.

## Buy

* Takashimaya. This high-end department store chain is located within Kashiwa station.
* Marui (0101) (柏マルイ). Girly shopping.
* Vintage and second hand shops These shops have high quality retro apparel but generally do not buy clothes.
* Ario Kashiwa (アリオ柏). This is a massive shopping center on Route 16, a little less than a half hour by car east of Kashiwa station. Not very easy or fast access by bus but easy access by car if driving on a road parallel to the often crowded Route 16. It has three floors of mall atmosphere, including a very large game arcade, a toy museum, and some chain boutique stores otherwise only in the Tokyo area. A good way to spend several hours. There are also plenty of stores and eating options on the road between central Kashiwa and Ario.

## Eat
### Budget

* Osakana Club Hama (お魚倶楽部はま), Kashiwanoha 5-1-5. Open during weekdays and during lunch on Saturday. Sushi place on the first floor of Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute of Tokyo University in Kashiwa campus. You can get seafood donburi for ¥550 and sushi set with udon for around ¥800. Budget option if you somehow ended up near Kashiwanoha-campus station.
* White Gyoza (ホワイト餃子). Famous chain from neighboring Noda city. Serves two types of dumplings - fried (more famous) and boiled. ¥450 for each type of dumpling.

### Mid-range

* Yakiniku bar Tomosankaku (ともさんかく). Kashiwa-exclusive yakiniku chain. Promises high quality beef for reasonable prices. Has several spots near Kashiwa station.
* Chaka (チャカ), 1-5-4, Asahi-cho (Take the south exit from Kashiwa station and turn right Chaka is on the 5th floor of the building directly in front of you with fairy lights and a Jack Daniels sign.), ☏ +81 471-41-3633. 17:30-02:00. Impeccable English speaking service, reasonably priced fusion cuisine, charming mellow atmosphere, extensive wine list as well as an exceptionally long staff sung birthday celebration. Good for a date.
* Raja (ラージャ). Chain Nepalese Curry restaurant in Minami Kashiwa. Good service, reasonable curry (raja set ¥1000) and cheap lunchtime deals.
* Station Mall (ステーションモール). Kashiwa station mall 7th floor has a bevy of restaurants from Chinese to Italian plus sushi and Tempura.

### Splurge
## Drink

* HUB (near Kashiwa stn (West Exit)). Chain pseudo-British pub. Friendly staff, big screen sports, English menu and easy order at the bar make up for slightly expensive drinks (pint of lager ¥690) and occasional harassment from English teachers/learners. Reasonably priced bar food available.
* Cavern House (walk down the left hand side of Kashiwa Shrine and The Cavern is at the first crossroads). Another, more accurate, rendition of a British pub, but this time with a twist. This "Beatles" theme bar is rammed with memorabilia of the Fab Four. The Beatles are unsurprisingly constantly playing but you can request your favourite track via the request forms on every table. The drinks aren't cheap and there's a steep seating charge but worth a look.

## Sleep

* The Crest Hotel Kashiwa (ザ・クレストホテル柏), 4-1, Suehiro-cho (take the West Exit from kashiwa station and walk alongside the Takashimaya Dept. store The Crest is on your right after about 200 m), ☏ +81 4-7146-1111, fax: +81 471461121. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 11:00. single/night ¥10395 double/night ¥16170.

## Go next

* Matsudo
* Abiko
* Nagareyama
* Noda
* Shiroi
* Toride
* Moriya
* Ryugasaki
* Ushiku