Kamata is a busy Tokyo neighborhood filled with shops, bars, restaurants and traditional Japanese bathhouses. Visit Kamata to go searching for clothes, gifts, souvenirs, food and much more. Then treat yourself to a relaxing soak in mineral-rich warm waters.
Devote several hours to exploring Kamata's shotengais, or retail shopping streets. There are around a dozen in the neighborhood encompassing hundreds of shops.
Browse the small independent stores of Kamata Nishiguchi Shopping Street and look for bargains in the arcade section of Zoshiki Shopping Street. Purchase gourmet food ingredients in the stores of Ookayama Kitaguchi Shopping Street. Pause for a drink and a bite to eat in one of the many bars and restaurants you will come across on your shopping or window shopping expedition.
Move away from the busy shops to soak tired limbs in the mineral-rich black water of one of the neighborhood's bathhouses. These include Kamata Onsen and Yu City Kamata Onsen.
Unwind some more at the Kamata Hachiman Shrine, an early 17th-century place of worship dedicated to Inari, the Japanese god of foxes. Meet the shrine maidens, two white poodles dressed in traditional Miko costume. Usually, temple shrine maidens are women. If you are in Tokyo during March, be sure to visit the temple for the sights and smells of the cherry blossoms.
At the western edge of Kamata is another place for relaxation, Nishikamata Park. Find a spot on a bench under the shade of a tree and take some time out. The park also encompasses a children's playground and statues of children at play.
Stay in Kamata for evening drinks and dinner. Make tracks for Bourbon Road, a popular lantern-lit street of pubs, izakaya bars and bars with karaoke machines.
Reach Kamata easily by arriving at Kamata Station or Keikyu Kamata Station. If you're coming by rental car, there are parking garages in the area where you can park for a fee.