© Kadokawa Culture Museum
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One of Japan's largest complex facilities offering the latest in Japanese pop culture.
Tokorozawa Sakura Town, located in Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture, is a complex facility that opened in November 2020. The vast site includes a museum, restaurants, stores, multi-purpose hall, and shrine.
The symbol of the project is the Kadokawa Culture Museum, designed by Kengo Kuma, one of Japan's most famous architects. The museum is made with its dynamic use of granite. The 30-meter high, five-story building houses a museum, art gallery, library, and anime museum. You can enjoy the latest in pop culture all at once. One of the highlights of the museum is the "Bookshelf Theater" on the 4th and 5th floors, which is surrounded by giant 8-meter high bookshelves.
Additionally, there is an event hall for eSports and live performances, and the "Da Vinci Store", an interactive bookstore under the direct management of KADOKAWA. There is also a terrace and the Musashino Reiwa Shrine, the starting point for the 88 pilgrimage sites of sacred anime sites, making this a hot spot where you can forget about time and enjoy the many contents.
The exterior of Tokorozawa Sakura Town, designed by architect Kengo Kuma
Da Vinci Store
A "Bookshelf Theater" surrounded by giant bookshelves © Kadokawa Culture Museum
Musashino Reiwa Shrine
Some reviews are AI-translated.
If you love art and architectural design, you definitely shouldn’t miss the Kadokawa Culture Museum (Rock Museum). There’s plenty of information on the official website, so it’s worth doing some research. I did a lot of prep for this solo trip, including the route, train tickets, online admission tickets, and working up the courage to go by myself.
You may want to check whether your departure station has JR ticket service. I chose Ikebukuro Station because it’s closer to where I live. If you’re leaving the same day, you can just buy your ticket on-site. Since I booked early, I was able to purchase both the outbound and return tickets at once. After that, I bought the admission ticket online. Be sure to double-check that your train ticket is for the same day, because the admission ticket is nonrefundable!
Train ticket: One ticket involves two segments with a transfer. The first part is from your departure station to Musashi-Urawa Station, then you transfer to Higashi-Tokorozawa Station. I recommend downloading Japan Transit Planner. On the day of travel, you can check the platform number there. When choosing the time, make sure it matches the fare of the ticket you bought. That’s the correct way to do it! Don’t accidentally buy a cheaper ticket and take a more expensive train. If nobody checks, you may get away with it, but if you do get inspected by chance, the penalty can be several times the fare. The ticket is valid only for that day, but you can use it at any time that day.
Admission ticket: There are two types. One is just for the 1F light manga and light novel area. The other includes 1F and 2F, including the Rock Museum Shop & Cafe, which is also the entrance hall, as well as the 4F Bookshelf Theater and book street, and the 5F Musashino Gallery and corridor. The 3F is a free restaurant area. If you want to see the exhibition floors, you need to buy an additional ticket.
There are actually three sides of Kadokawa’s signature Rock that you can photograph. When I visited, it happened to be a Japanese holiday, so there were lots of food trucks and lots of people outside. Unfortunately, it was rainy, wet, and cold. If it had been sunny, I could have taken even more beautiful photos. The lighting in the Bookshelf Theater changes often, so everyone’s photos will look a little different. Photography is prohibited on-site, so please keep that in mind. Visiting Kadokawa also fulfilled one of my dreams!
There's a shrine, hotel, cafes, restaurants, and a shopping mall—all designed by the famous architect Kengo Kuma. It's a perfect spot for a relaxing date. The 'Bookshelf Theater' on the 4th and 5th floors has walls lined with bookshelves. If you love books and anime, you could easily spend the whole day here.
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