Discover Chōfu: Gardens, Jindaiji, and City History

Chōfu’s municipal attractions combine botanical diversity with a rich cultural heritage and insights into nature along the Tama River. Jindai Botanical Garden focuses on the world of plants, while Jindaiji and the museums offer other ways to explore history and local culture. When planning your trip, you can consider whether to allow more time for gardens and nature or for temples, exhibitions, and regional cuisine.

Plant Life and Natural Areas

After opening as Jindai Green Space, the garden was renamed Jindai Botanical Garden in 1961 and opened as Tokyo’s only botanical garden. Its collection includes about 4,800 plant species and around 100,000 plants or plant specimens. The grounds are divided into 30 sections by plant group. These include rose, azalea, plum, and sweetgum gardens; the large greenhouse features rare tropical plants and vividly colored flowers. It reopened in May 2016 after renovation.

A different perspective is offered by the wildflower garden at Jindaiji Nature Plaza, where about 300 species and more than 10,000 wild plants grow, including rare Murasaki plants. The plaza also includes a woodland suitable for walks and the Kani-yama Campground. The area serves as a recreational space for residents. Thus, the city’s nature attractions range from carefully organized garden areas to a woodland and a wildflower garden.

Jindaiji: Tradition, Soba, and a Market

According to tradition, Jindaiji was founded in 733 (Tenpyō 5) by Mankō Shōnin. Its association with matchmaking also stems from a story: a romantic love story in the Jindaiji-Engi forms the basis of this tradition. Shops line the approach to the temple, offering Jindaiji soba, a local specialty; individual businesses may change. A Daruma market at Jindaiji is scheduled for March 3 and 4. If you would like to plan your trip around it, check the latest event announcement in advance.

Museums: History and Everyday Culture

Exhibitions at the Saneatsu Memorial Museum change every four to five weeks. This makes the current exhibition schedule a useful reference before your visit. The collection includes more than 20,000 books and magazines, which can generally be consulted in the reading room. The Chōfu Local History Museum, in turn, presents exhibitions on local history, culture, nature, and art, and holds lectures, courses, and hands-on learning events.

One exhibition theme at the history museum is the city’s transformation, told through old photographs from the museum’s collection and landscape paintings by local artist Nakagawa Heiichi. He created these paintings over a period of 60 years; they were donated to the museum in fiscal year 2022. The Jindaiji Waterwheel Museum offers another glimpse into local life: an exhibition gallery and a watermill building opened there on July 31, 1992. Both introduce life and livelihoods on the Musashino Plateau.

Nature Along the Tama River and Getting to Jindaiji

The Tamagawa Nature Information Center introduces the natural environment of Chōfu City, with a focus on the Tama River, and serves as an environmental education facility for children and adults. The exhibition room displays real fish, plants, and insects from the Tama River area; a learning room contains books about the natural environment. This complements the gardens with a dedicated way to explore river nature and environmental education.

There is a direct bus connection to Jindaiji: route 調34 runs from the north exit of Chōfu Station to the final stop, Jindaiji, in about 15 minutes; the walk from there is listed as one minute. If Jindaiji is a focus of your trip, you can take this connection into account when choosing where to stay. Bus routes and stops may change, so check with the operator before setting out.

Explore More Destinations

Explore more destinations: Kōtō, Inagi, Hamura, Meguro, Itabashi, Akishima, Hachijo, Tama.

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