Tachikawa is known for its big government-run park called Showa Kinen park. It’s so massive that it’s almost impossible to walk around the park in one day. I often go to the park from Tachikawa Garden Town but there are still areas that I have never been before.
The reason that this park is so big is because it used to be part of the military base. The base still exists right next to the park and it’s called Tachikawa base.
The base is open for public during 立川防災航空祭 (Tachikawa aerial festival) and I visited there in early November. You might have seen military airplanes and helicopters flying just above Showa Kinen Park. Tachikawa base is where those airplanes land.

The image above is the screenshot of the entire park and the base. You can see the base is located adjacent to the park and it’s as big as the park. It’s funny IKEA Tachikawa looks so small compared on this map.
The base does not work just as a military base but also as wide area shelter in event of an emergency such as natural disasters. Tachikawa base is actually designed to function as a government base when the event is so catastrophic that the government facilities located in the center of Tokyo are not functional. Basically, Tachikawa is our last stand.
It’s highly unlikely that both the center of Tokyo and Tachikawa (which is 30km away from the center) get affected by natural disaster at once but this was the case in the latest Godzilla movie released a few years ago. “Shin Godzilla” is the title of the movie and it was actually filmed in Tachikawa.

The aerial event is mostly taken place outside alongside the long and huge runway which is taking up most of the space of the base.
After walking from the gate for almost 15 mins, I found military airplanes and helicopters placed for display. People can get on those and take a picture too.

What attracted people the most is probably the free military helicopter ride. You need to come to the show early and queue for limited ticket for this but you actually get on one of the cargo helicopters (CH-47) and fly around the base. The helicopter goes up the sky but it never leaves the base).

The show day this year was perfect thanks to the weather. No single cloud in the sky as you can see the photos. I was told later that it always rain on the day they host the aerial show for some reason and it’s been many years since this day was sunny.
There are little shops and food on the go just for this day and it was actually fun just to walk around the base.

Overall, it was great to be there at the event. Maybe next year I’ll sign up for the helicopter ride.

Just a few days ago I heard a new bouldering gym ( called D.bouldering) is opening in Tachikawa in the coming Spring of 2020. The specific location of the gym is yet to be disclosed but it’s only 4 mins by walk from the north side of Tachikawa station.

It’s as big as 330 sqm ( and 15 walls!!)

I used to boulder often back when I was in Oakhouse Kichijoji 2. I kind of just stopped after I moved in Tachikawa Garden Town. There are still some gyms in Tachikawa too but they are kind of small. Small bouldering gyms usually have their own community and newcomers are kind of hard to blend in sometimes. I personally like bigger gyms like b-pump in Ogikubo where every group gets to boulder without waiting much and being part of the community isn’t really a big factor to boulder.
There are many bouldering gyms around Kichijoji area and I liked many of them. If you’re living in that area, they are definitely cool places to go but it’s always fun to try some news gyms every once in a while.

What excites me the most is the size of the gym. The teaser site of the new gym says the gym space is as big as 330 sqm and there are 15 walls. Every boulder in Tokyo knows and agrees that b-pump is one of the best bouldering gym brand in Tokyo. There’s a big one in Ogikubo and I’ve been there many times as well. That gym is 330 sqm in size. So this new gym in Tachikawa is the same size as the one in Ogikubo which is really amazing. There should be only a few gym bigger than 330 sqm. It’s really cool to know that one of the biggest bouldering gyms in Tokyo is available in Tachikawa.

Could it be in New Springs?

The question is where in Tachikawa? The website says 4 mins by walk from north side of Tachikawa station but there are not many buildings who can build such a big bouldering gym. In addition to the size requirement, bouldering gyms usually require multiple floors in order to offer a real climbing experience. Most buildings around Tachikawa station do not fit this requirement actually. The chance is low but it could be inside the new commercial district called Green Springs which is also scheduled to open in the coming spring of 2020. It would be really exciting to see such big gym in the area. There are already many shops in Tachikawa. I hope Green Springs don’t just turn into another shopping mall but something much more. Opening a bouldering gym there would be the ideal way to attract many more people around Tama region in my opinion.

It is at the end of October and it’s one of the best time of the year. Many people like spring time but autumn is as nice in my opinion. Cool at night and in the morning and sometimes it gets pretty warm in day time but it never gets humid as it usually is in summer.
So what do local people do in Tokyo in Autumn? Well, it’s basically the same as what we do spring. Go outside, hang out with friends, and BBQ. No hanami though.
Last week on Saturday was such a typical autumn day in Tokyo and let me tell you how it went.
The day started as early as 8 am and start heading to a local gym, Shibasaki gym right at the back of Tachikawa Garden Town. The gym is only 5 mins away by walk.

The purpose of going to the gym was to take a court for badminton which I planned to play with my colleague in the morning on the same day. The reservation starts at 8:50 am but by the time I got there at 8:50 am, I was too late. There were already 10-15 people ahead of me and they were all waiting for taking the badminton court. To reserve the time slot, you need to be at the gym reception counter even before then. Because this entire process is done in a first-come-first-served manner. It is better to be in front of the gym as early as possible. This was actually the first time I failed to take the court. I guess playing badminton especially on Saturdays is very popular in Tachikawa.

My colleague and I decided to go to Showa Kinen Park instead to play disc golf. This is something he was interested to try out because he has never played such a sport before. I used to play disc golf pretty often but it’s been years since I played last time. I thought it would be nice to play again.

For those who have no idea what disc golf is. This is it.

Basically, playing golf with frisbees is what disc golf is. There are 18 disc golf halls in Showa Kinen park and it is the biggest court. There are only two parks in Tokyo you can play disc golf by the way.

After the disc golf, we moved to an area called BBQ garden which is the only BBQ permitted area in this massive national park.

In my earlier post, I wrote about three types of places you can do BBQ in Tokyo.
This BBQ garden is one of the Public BBQ permitted area available to everyone. It is hard to book because it’s pretty popular. A group of friends in Oakhouse Kichijoji 2 somehow did and I joined them. I did nothing to prepare or make a reservation but they must’ve planned months ahead.

Many things and types of equipment can be rented on site. So what you need to bring is food only. The BBQ site actually does sell food to grill as well. It’s a bit pricy but this is a pretty convenient option. Charcoal can also be bought on site.

Prepping the BBQ was easy as all the gears and types of equipment were already there. The provided aluminum foils were also easy to grill everything people brought over.

The BBQ was served as the South African style. Everything was great. Every food I ate during this BBQ was something I have never tasted before. The smell of exotic spices and herbs was amazing.

I would totally recommend this BBQ garden if you actually can take the spot. Making a reservation is the hardest. Good luck!

I have been looking for places I can do BBQ in Tokyo. Despite the size of the city and an abundance of nature, I realized it is actually hard to find a place to do BBQ. There are, though, options that you can think of and these options might give you a better ideas in other cities as well.

■ Commercial BBQ services (BAAS)
Affordability: ★
Availability: ★★★
Flexibility: ★★★

The first and probably the easiest option of all would be signing up for a commercial BBQ service. This kind of service is widely available throughout Tokyo and this is a familiar choice for local people in Tokyo as well. Most of the times, the service has its own BBQ site and prepare and clean up everything for you. You don’t need to bring anything to the site. Their BBQ site is often times at good locations, like on the top of the station building or beach. It is supported by people who have full-time job as you can join the BBQ even after work. The only downside of this option would be the cost. BBQ PIT Lumine Tachikawa, for example, costs 3000 yen per hour for the site, food and drinks are not included (at this place, you’re expected to bring your own food and grill at the site). Wild Magic is the one pretty well known and they are one of the pioneers who started something I should call BAAS (BBQ as a Service.) They charge 5000 yen with all the BBQ food they serve at the site.

Talking about places like…

1. BBQ PIT Lumine Tachikawa
2. Showa no Mori BBQ garden at Akishima
3. Wild Magic

■ Public BBQ permitted area
Affordability: ★★★
Availability: ★
Flexibility: ★★★

The next probable BBQ option would be the Public BBQ permitted area. It is pretty similar as commercial BBQ service that I just explained. The only difference would be this whole thing is run by local municipal government. Hence, the cost of using these services is very inexpensive or even free of charge. The downside of this option would be the availability. These places often get too popular and booking is hard to make. These service provider have poor booking system which makes it even harder to book (sometimes you have to make a phone call to book a spot).

Talking about places like…

1. BBQ garden at Showa Kinen Park
2. Tama river BBQ site
3. Asagawa BBQ site　

■ River / Camp sites
Affordability: ★★
Availability: ★★
Flexibility: ★★★

The last option would be going far away from the city. This takes more time and effort with this option but this can be a very nice excursion with friends. My only experience with such plan is with Hikawa Camp site in Okutama. This place is in the wild nature, right along the riverside but reachable by train. It is about 1 hour and half away from Kichijoji at this area is also known as gateway to all the hiking trails in Tokyo. I personally recommend this option because it is the most practical and nice and affordable one. All you need is enough time to make such a trip.

Talking about a place like…

Hikawa Camp site　　

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I hope you have a better idea for automn BBQ in Tokyo. It is pretty comfortable to be outside at this time of the year but this won’t last for very long. Dry and bitterly cold winter is coming soon.
Hope you get to do some good outdoor activity before winter!