Explore Katsushika
Katsushika, home to all three Stay Dream properties, is a traditional corner of Tokyo famous as the setting of beloved manga and films. Step away from the crowds and enjoy Tokyo the way locals do.
- Manga landmark
1Captain Tsubasa Statues
Yotsugi and Tateishi are the hometown of Yoichi Takahashi, creator of the football manga Captain Tsubasa. Nine bronze statues of its characters stand around the area, and Keisei Yotsugi Station is decorated in Captain Tsubasa style. They are right next to Stay Dream Soccer.
- Life-size Tsubasa Ozora at Yotsugi Tsubasa Park
- Life-size Taro Misaki at Shibue Park
- Find all nine — including Kojiro Hyuga, Ryo Ishizaki and Genzo Wakabayashi — as you walk the neighbourhood
- Getting there
- Around Yotsugi and Keisei-Tateishi stations (Keisei Oshiage Line)
- Hours
- Open 24 hours
- Admission
- Free
- Soccer
- approx. 5 min
- Flower Tea
- approx. 20 min
- GreatView
- approx. 10 min
- Manga landmark
2Ryo-san Statues in Kameari
Kameari is the setting of the hit manga “KochiKame”. Fifteen statues of its characters — led by the big-hearted police officer Ryo-san, with Nakagawa, Reiko and others — stand around the station.
- Ryo-san in uniform greets you outside the North Exit
- Pick up a statue map near the station ticket gates
- Explore Kameari Katori Shrine and Kameari Park as you hunt for the statues
- Getting there
- Around JR Kameari Station (Joban Line)
- Hours
- Open 24 hours
- Admission
- Free
- Soccer
- approx. 30 min
- Flower Tea
- approx. 20 min
- GreatView
- approx. 25 min
- Temple & history
3Shibamata Taishakuten Temple
A temple with almost 400 years of history, affectionately known as “Taishakuten”. The carved wooden panels wrapping the main hall — the Carving Gallery — are breathtaking, and the adjoining Japanese garden, Suikei-en, is calm and beautiful.
- The Carving Gallery, depicting stories from the Lotus Sutra
- Suikei-en garden, viewed from a covered walkway
- The sacred spring said to have been used for Tora-san’s first bath in the film
- Getting there
- About 3 min walk from Shibamata Station (Keisei Kanamachi Line)
- Hours
- 9:00–18:00 (Carving Gallery & garden 9:00–16:00)
- Admission
- Grounds free / Carving Gallery & garden: adults ¥400, children ¥200
- Soccer
- approx. 20 min
- Flower Tea
- approx. 20 min
- GreatView
- approx. 20 min
- Film & museum
4Katsushika Shibamata Tora-san Museum
A museum devoted to “Otoko wa Tsurai yo”, Japan’s beloved film series. Step into the actual set of the Kurumaya dumpling shop and see real costumes, props and rare footage — a window into everyday life in Showa-era Japan.
- The original Kurumaya shop set used in filming
- What’s inside Tora-san’s trunk, and photos of every leading lady
- Right behind it, ride the hand-rowed Yagiri ferry across the Edogawa
- Getting there
- About 8 min walk from Shibamata Station
- Hours
- 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30) / closed 3rd Tuesday
- Admission
- Adults ¥500, children ¥300, seniors ¥400
- Soccer
- approx. 25 min
- Flower Tea
- approx. 25 min
- GreatView
- approx. 25 min
- Street food & old town
5Taishakuten-sando Street
A 200 m street from Shibamata Station to the temple, lined with old wooden shops that survived the war. In 2018 it became the first place in Tokyo chosen as a nationally Important Cultural Landscape — old-town Tokyo at its most charming.
- Taste the famous kusa-dango (mugwort dumplings) at different shops
- Rice crackers grilled by hand in front of you
- Eel at long-established river-fish restaurants
- Getting there
- Right outside Shibamata Station
- Hours
- Varies by shop
- Soccer
- approx. 20 min
- Flower Tea
- approx. 20 min
- GreatView
- approx. 20 min
- Nature & park
6Mizumoto Park
A huge 96-hectare park — the only place in Tokyo’s 23 wards with a waterside “suigo” landscape. Canals and greenery everywhere, with birdwatching, picnics and cycling. Great for families with children.
- A 1.2 km avenue of poplars and a metasequoia forest that turns golden in autumn
- In June, about 200,000 irises bloom in the iris garden
- See traditional Edo-era goldfish for free at the park’s Goldfish Exhibition
- Getting there
- Keisei Bus from JR Kanamachi Station to “Mizumoto Koen”, then about 7 min walk
- Hours
- Always open
- Admission
- Free entry (some facilities charge a fee)
- Soccer
- approx. 50 min
- Flower Tea
- approx. 45 min
- GreatView
- approx. 45 min
Suggested day out: Shibamata
- 1
Morning: arrive at Shibamata and snack your way along Taishakuten-sando
- 2
Late morning: the Carving Gallery and garden at Taishakuten
- 3
Lunch: eel or tempura at an old restaurant on the street
- 4
Afternoon: the Tora-san Museum, then the Yagiri ferry on the Edogawa
- 5
Evening: back to the street for kusa-dango to take home
Prices and opening hours may change — please check the official sites before you go. Travel times are approximate one-way journeys including trains, buses and walking.