I suppose for most people, Kawasaki just feels like any Japanese city. There are too many bicycles, and old drunk guys and a red light district. But I do like it better than any other place. I suppose that's mostly because it's full of good memories for me, but also, its layout feels satisfying.
For example, while Kawasaki station is a hub of three train lines, the station itself is compact; there is only one exit, and it's impossible to get lost. The department stores and entertainment areas are all immediately around the station. In Yokohama station or Nagoya station, the department stores are rather a mess of underground and above-ground all mixed up into one immense labyrinth. Even now, while I can find my way around in Yokohama station, I can't remember which mall is which.
In Kawasaki, everything is distinct; you can tell the stores apart and most of the department stores are not underground. In LaZona and Citadella you have nice outdoor public spaces where there are often free concerts. There are lots of places for karaoke, games or movies, and all my favourite chains and franchises are in the area, from Krispy Kreme to five different Starbucks. There are lots of different stores, including large electronics stores, bookstores and so on, and everything is nearby. There's a
good variety of different food, not only Japanese.
Yes, I like Kawasaki a lot. You could say that as you get further from the station, some of the areas get a bit dodgy, but I've never felt it unsafe.
One of my only pet peeves with Kawasaki is the bicycles; people ride them on crowded, narrow pedestrian streets where they really shouldn't. The streets are half-jammed with parked bicycles, and in the space left, there are lots of pedestrians walking. But people still don't get off their bikes. I've never seen anyone get hit, but it's a bit of a miracle.
Kawasaki bicycles.
I went back to Kawasaki last weekend. I always feel great happiness at going there, like 'I'm going home'. As far as I could tell, all of the things I mentioned in the aforementioned blog posts are still valid. There are a few new things. For example, Saika-ya (the department store I described as the least interesting) now has a big Kaldi Coffee, which has lots of import foods. There are a few different stores here and there. The clothes and accessories store at the entrance to Citadella, for example, is now a kushi katsu (fried pork on skewers) restaurant.
Cinecitta, in Citadella
Since it's coming up to Christmas, Le Front had Christmas characters on its front steps, and Cinecitta was lit up with Christmas lights (in Japan, 'illuminations'). In Citadella there was an open-air ice skating rink.
Considering the temperature on Saturday was a pleasant 17 degrees, this seemed a little premature, but oh well. I'd never seen an ice skating rink in Kawasaki before, although I know there is an indoor one near Higashi-Kanagawa station in Yokohama nearby.
While in Kawasaki this time, I went to the Peruvian restaurant, Inti Raimi, which is a little down the street which runs between Muza and La Zona. It has good food and is reasonably priced.
I also went to Salvatore / Crystal Jade, a rather odd fusion of Italian food and Chinese food, which is in Citadella. Within the restaurant there are two kitchens, and both types of cooking are good quality. They have a wood oven for their pizza. Sitting in this restaurant, you can order from either menu. I gave my friends leave to order anything they liked - they had the Italian menu open, and it's full of delicious things, so I couldn't imagine they could find anything I didn't like.
The dishes they chose included deep-fried chicken cartilage, and a dish of motsu (entrails). Hah! It amazes me that so many people like eating chicken cartilage (which tastes exactly as you would imagine), or that anyone would think to seek out cartilage and entrails on a menu. But we also had many delicious things. :)
Salvatore pizza (nothing weird on this one, only deliciousness ^_^)
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