Sunday Excursion to Kokubunji, Tokyo; May 25, 2025
This Sunday, we went to Kokubunji, located along the JR Chuo line in the western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis.
e had been browsing through some of Kokubunji’s restaurants and cafés online, and wanted to check out some of them.
For lunch, we decided to go to Suzume-no-Tsuno (スズメノツノ), a restaurant and café located south-east of JR Kokubunji Station. Their specialty lunch offer, which we noticed was quite popular with the other customers as well, is cabbage roll. We gave it a try, and were quite pleased with the taste and presentation of the meal. At 1,200 Yen, it was a reasonably priced and well-sized lunch offering.
The restaurant has some quirky signs inside and outside its washroom:
- On the outside, an image of Sid Vicious, asking people to “knock” instead of “rock”
- On the inside, an image of Mick Jagger, asking people to “lock” instead of “rock”
After lunch, we walked for about 10 minutes to reach Backen, a Swedish pastry and coffee shop. It wasn’t too crowded when we arrived, so we found a seat inside the store. They have excellent espresso drinks, and specialize in Swedish baked items. We decided to go with a Kardemummabullar (cardamom roll) and a hot Caffe Latte, and both were really good. The interior of the store is spacious and comfortable.
After so much food, we walked around town a bit more, and then looked around the Celeo Shopping Center inside the JR Station. At the Kinokuniya bookstore, I found a beautiful special edition of a new translation of Hiro Arikawa’s book, 阪急電車 (“The Passengers on the Hankyu Line”). Apparently, Kinokuniya produces a special limited edition of one book every year, and this is the one for 2025. I got a copy of it and am looking forward to reading the story.
Unedited photos shot with iPhone 15 Pro.
写真の撮影場所：東京都・国分寺市
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