Kawaguchi city is the southern-most point in Saitama prefecture, just across the Tokyo border. On the JR Keihin-Tohoku line you can get to Ueno or Tokyo stations with no transfers. Or just change once and get to Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, or Shibuya. Today, the Oak Explorers set out to discover what kind of place the Nishi-Kawaguchi neighborhood is.

Great station front!
The closest station to Social Residence Nishi-Kawaguchi is, of course, Nishi-Kawaguchi station, on the JR Keihin Tohoku line. Just outside the station you will find many restaurants, cafes, and more places to eat and drink. There is also a drug store, banks, gym, and other things you might use day to day. Another good thing about this location is that there are a hospital and the Kawaguchi city hall within biking distance.

Bread with organic ingredients
A 10-minute walk from Social Residence Nishi-Kawaguchi is this cute bakery. We recommend the fresh croissants. The name of the store in Latin means "friends you can share bread with". While browsing for what bread to buy, we chatted with the staff, and definitely lived up to the name! Finally we were able to pick what we wanted to eat.

Cum Panis
Address; Saitama, Kawaguchi, Kami-Aoki-Nishi 5-27-6 1F
URL:Cum Panis

Walking, sports, and more!
Kawaguchi residents come to spend a relaxing time at Aokicho Park. It's a sport center that they will actually be using in 2020 as a camp for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. There's baseball, tennis, a pool, and even an archery range and sumo ring. There are also of course running and walking courses. We walked around the park looking for the best spot to eat our bread. We sat on the bench we found and took in the fresh air. It's only a 5-minute walk from the house!

Aokicho Park and sports center
Address: Kawaguchi, Nishi-Aoki 4-8-1
URL：青木町公園総合運動場

Cat cafe in Nishi-Kawaguchi
Just 5-minutes from Nishi-Kawaguchi station, we found the cat cafe Neko no Tsubuyaki. 8 cute cats came out to greet us. According to the staff, they each have their own unique personalities, some preferring belly rubs, some preferring back scratches, and they were very friendly. It was so nice to play and spend time with the animals. Come check it out if you like cats!

Neko no Tsubuyaki
Address: Saitama, Kawaguchi, Namiki 2-33-10 Cerulean Heights 1F
URL：ねこのつぶやき

Recommended Tantanmen in Nishi-Kawaguchi
Now to the west side of the station, we headed toward Eikichi. We heard this place was famous for making it into the なんでも「Tabelog Top 10 Ramen of 2013. There were lots of people sitting at the counter when we came in, and we ordered the recommended tantanmen with lots of meat. The soup was red and the noodles were crowned with pork ribs! Beware the spice, however! But we love spicy food so we were very satisfied. Don't worry though, there's plenty to eat if you don't like spicy. It's just 3 minutes from the station. Perfect for lunch or dinner.

Tantanmen Eikichi
Address: Saitama, Kawaguchi, Nishi-Kawaguchi 1-5-5 MF Heights 1F
URL：担々麺 永吉

Learn about the cutting edge of video technology
Now completely full, we headed to the SKIP City Sai no Kuni Visual Plaza. This is a museum where you can learn about the history of video. You can experience making a news announcement or forecasting the weather on a green screen and learn more about the processes of video. They also have limited-time events; for example the day we went the theme was "arcades vs. Famicom". They had many old arcade classics and nostalgic home titles to play. At SKIP City you can also enjoy the planetarium and more, so come explore!

SKIP City Sai no Kuni Visual Plaza
Address: Saitama Kawaguchi city Kami-Aoki 3-12-63
URL：SKIPシティ映像ミュージアム