A quick hop across Tokyo’s southern border will land you in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture. Along with a plethora of restaurant options, shopping outlets, and historical sites, the city also offers tours that allow you to explore its many charms in depth.
One of the most unique tours is the Kawasaki Night View of Factories Cruise where you can explore one of Japan’s leading industrial zones, which has driven the expansion of the city and furthered the country’s progress for the last century and a half. Today, you can discover how the area is overcoming the pollution of the past and moving towards a more sustainable industrial future.
Operating only on Saturday evenings (check here for exact hours which change depending on the season), this tour is a rare opportunity to see this unique industrial light display.
After meeting outside Nikko Hotel at the east exit of JR Kawasaki Station, a bus will transport you to the yakatabune, a traditional Japanese pleasure boat. Once aboard, you will begin the two-hour-long tour while a certified and friendly guide offers helpful commentary in Japanese. Non-Japanese speakers can still enjoy the visual delights of the tour and if you would really like an English-speaking guide, a private charter can be arranged depending on availability. If you wish to picnic while admiring the view, you can even bring your own food and drink (non-alcoholic only; we can’t have anyone getting tipsy and falling overboard).
You’ll glide through the zone's many canals and marvel at the various industrial structures illuminated by thousands of lights, bright chimney flames and billowing steam which are mirrored in the canal's waters below, creating quite the dramatic panorama.
With its unique industrial landscape that has attracted visitors from far and wide, the Kawasaki Night View of Factories Cruise is perfect for photographers as well as for those interested in learning more about Japan’s industry.
Prefer something a little more traditional? Learn about the city’s history by joining a guided walking tour centered around Kawasaki Daishi Heikenji, one of Kawasaki’s oldest temples founded in 1128. After meeting your guide at JR Kawasaki Station, you’ll make your way toward the temple, uncovering more of the city's gems and occasionally stopping for some hands-on fun.
Admire the Showa era (1926-1989) atmosphere of Kawasaki Daishi’s Omote-Sando street before making a stop at Matsuya Sohonten, a traditional candy shop established in 1872. Here you can try making tontoko candy, where syrup is stretched into long ropes before being chopped into small pieces (which creates the eponymous “tontoko tontoko” sound).
Along the way, you may also pass Sumiyoshi which sells local artisanal kuzumochi, a soft, chewy fermented delicacy made from wheat starch. If so why not give it a try, locals say that if you visit Kawasaki Daishi without trying Sumiyoshi’s kuzumochi, you may as well not have visited at all.
Finally, you’ll make your way to the temple where you’ll have the chance to take part in a traditional ceremony led by the temple’s monks. After being guided to the temple’s main deity, Kobo Daishi, you’ll chant a sacred invocation for spiritual protection. Visitors say they experience a profound sense of peace in this serene and sacred atmosphere, allowing them to deepen their understanding of Japanese Buddhist culture.
There is so much to see and do in Kawasaki, from the Japan Open-Air Folk House Museum, a fabulous setting to see fall foliage, to Lazona Kawasaki Plaza, a spectacularly designed shopping mall filled with fantastic Japanese brands. Whether you live in Japan already or are visiting, with its proximity to Haneda Airport, easy access to Tokyo’s city center as well as the rest of Kanagawa Prefecture, Kawasaki is a great place to make your base during your time here.
Discover these amazing Kawasaki tours and more at: Discover The journey of Kawasaki City | Kanagawa Travel information | HIS JAPAN INBOUND
Kawasaki City Tourism Association
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