Two weeks ago I really wanted to go outside of Tokyo but when I contacted one of my friends (we said we will go on a girls trip together someday but due to our schedules conflicting, it can't seem to happen), she said she was working on Saturday morning. So, I tried to look for a place that had a non-Tokyo feel to it but was easily reachable as we could only spend the afternoon there.
And I found Todoroki (等々力), or rather Todoroki valley. If you are in Central Tokyo -around the Yamanote area, it will take from around 30 minutes to 1 hour to get there, depending from where you are coming.
While it is still Tokyo, Todoroki feels more like Tokyo surroundings, with no skyscrapers or such.
If you want to eat in the Todoroki area, please be aware that a lot of restaurant are around the previous station (Oyamadai・尾山台）.
I had found a restaurant on Internet that seemed nice but it was impossible to find and when we called no one answered the phone. Thus, we decided to go back around Todoroki station but it was already around 14:20 and the (very) few restaurants had stopped their lunch service. As we were almost giving up and settling for one of the one or two chain restaurant that serve food whenever, we found an Italian restaurant which served until 15:00!
I had found a restaurant on Internet that seemed nice but it was impossible to find and when we called no one answered the phone. Thus, we decided to go back around Todoroki station but it was already around 14:20 and the (very) few restaurants had stopped their lunch service. As we were almost giving up and settling for one of the one or two chain restaurant that serve food whenever, we found an Italian restaurant which served until 15:00!
The food was good and it was a full course! Very reasonably priced! Which free baguette like back in France (for the price of the menu, I was very surprised about that). I definitely recommend! The only slight complains I would have is that my friend ordered spicy pasta and when ordering, she asked the waitress how spicy it was, the answer was “そこそこ辛い“ (mild)... It was verrrrryyyy spicy, if you go to this restaurant, be aware that their spicy pasta is really spicy. Ah! And the dessert might be small but it comes with the menu as well as coffee or tea.
It's called Loasy and the adress is Setagaya, Todoroki, 4-8-1 2F
Upon leaving when noticing that it way already +30 minutes past opening hours, I said sorry to the chef for staying that long and it kind of sparkled a conversation. A very nice man!
After that , we decided to go to our main goal: Todoroki Valley.
Todoroki valley is a 3 minutes walk from Todoroki station and goes on for 1,2km. The Yazawa river flows along the valley. The walk is paved for some part so it adviced not to go on rainy days.
The view from above
It is a really nice place, especially in the hot season as the trees create enough shade to protect you from the sun and the river makes the air cool.
It is a nice walk, midway through the path, you can seat along the river and even get your feet inside (it's slippery tho!) .
You also have a Japanese garden. Well, from what I remember the signs where indicating a Japanese garden but once there it seemed strangely tropical.
Japanese Garden?! (I have to admit that I got other pictures that are more Japanese Garden-ish)
And there is also a temple, the Todoroki Fudo Temple.
If you like nature and lack the time to go out of Tokyo, I strongly recommend this place. In a lot of Tokyo's parks, you can still somewhat see the buildings surrounding you but here, you really feel outside of the big city!
I lurked on a few Japanese blogs before going, I learnt that this place is considered a "power spot". Kind of a New Age thing mixed with some Feng Shui. If you go to these power spots, you can receive spiritual power from these places.
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