Local Secret · Kunitachi

Kunitachi Daigaku-dori & Hitotsubashi University 国立 大学通り・一橋大学

A 1.2 km boulevard of cherry and gingko trees running south from Kunitachi Station through a planned 1920s university town, past the Romanesque-style buildings of Hitotsubashi University. It is one of the prettiest and calmest seasonal walks in western Tokyo.

About

Kunitachi was laid out in the 1920s by the developer of Seibu, Tsutsumi Yasujiro, as a European-style academic town. Its main avenue, Daigaku-dori, has wide green verges planted with about 200 cherry trees and gingko trees that turn the road pink in early April and gold in late November. Halfway along, Hitotsubashi University's campus is open to the public. Its 1920s–30s Romanesque Revival buildings, including the Kanematsu Auditorium with its gargoyle carvings and the clock-towered library, make it feel more like an old European college. The street is lined with old-school coffee shops, bakeries and bookshops. The old triangular-roofed station building of 1926 was rebuilt in 2020 and is now a small tourist information centre.

Highlights

• A 1.2 km avenue of about 200 cherry trees and gingkos
• Hitotsubashi University's Romanesque-style campus with gargoyle-carved Kanematsu Auditorium
• The rebuilt 1926 red-roofed Kunitachi Station building
• Old coffee shops, bakeries and bookshops along the boulevard
• Blooms in early April and golden gingkos in late November

Tips

• Respect campus rules: be quiet, don't enter classrooms, and avoid exam periods.
• Late November is gingko season, and the road is less crowded than Tokyo's more famous gingko avenues.
• Walk south to Yaho Tenmangu (about 20 min beyond the end of the boulevard).
• Many cafés close one weekday. Weekend mornings are lively.

Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09

Nearby

• Yaho TenmanguShrine · 1.6 km away
• Kurumed CoffeeCafé & Sweets · 1.9 km away
• Musashi-Kokubunji ParkPark · 2.4 km away
• Otaka-no-Michi & Mamagashita SpringsLocal Secret · 2.7 km away
• Coin Lockers · Tachikawa StationLuggage Storage · 2.7 km away
• Tokyo Tourist Information Center · TamaTourist Info · 2.8 km away
• Cinema City (Cinema Two)Movie Theaters · 3.0 km away
• Tamagawa Josui RyokudoLocal Secret · 3.3 km away