Kugenuma Named Most Livable Neighborhood in Tokyo Metropolitan Area
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Over an Hour from Central Tokyo
The area around Kugenuma Station on the Enoshima Electric Railway in Kanagawa Prefecture came top in a survey aiming to find where most people in the Tokyo metropolitan area say that they want to continue living. Ranking seventh in the previous 2024 survey on appealing neighborhoods, the area is nearly 70 minutes’ commute from central Tokyo. Along with its welcoming atmosphere that makes it “easy for foreigners and people from other regions to fit in,” other reasons given include its rich natural setting, such as “favorite spots” along the coastline and “walking and jogging routes.” Many respondents stated they “feel attached” to the area.
Second place went to the area around Sendagaya Station, Shibuya, on the Sōbu Line, which jumped up from eleventh place in the last survey. Respondents cited “the sense of freedom from the lack of community pressure” and the “substantial number of sports facilities” as their main reasons. Apart from Kugenuma in first place, all the other top 10 neighborhoods were located in the 23 municipalities of central Tokyo.
The survey, conducted between January and February 2026, targeted approximately 250,000 men and women aged 20 and over living in the Tokyo metropolitan area, asking them to rate their own neighborhoods for livability and how much they wanted to continue residing there. This was the fourth such survey since 2021.
Top 10 Neighborhoods Where People Want to Continue Living
| Station | Location | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (7) | Kugenuma (Enoshima Electric Railway) | Fujisawa, Kanagawa |
| 2 (11) | Sendagaya (Sōbu Line) | Shibuya, Tokyo |
| 3 (31) | Akasaka (Chiyoda Line) | Minato, Tokyo |
| 4 (43) | Hongō-sanchōme (Marunouchi Line) | Bunkyō, Tokyo |
| 5 (63) | Sangūbashi (Odakyū Line) | Shibuya, Tokyo |
| 6 (177) | Setagaya-daita (Odakyū Line) | Setagaya, Tokyo |
| 7 (18) | Shintomichō (Yūrakuchō Line) | Chūō, Tokyo |
| 8 (10) | Togoshi-kōen (Ōimachi Line) | Shinagawa, Tokyo |
| 9 (49) | Shirokanedai (Namboku Line) | Minato, Tokyo |
| 10 (15) | Ushigome-kagurazaka (Ōedo Line) | Shinjuku, Tokyo |
Created by Nippon.com based on data from Recruit. The numbers in parentheses indicate the ranking in the 2024 survey.
The catch is that these areas are typically expensive. Another part of the survey looked at neighborhoods where people wanted to continue living based on relatively affordable rents. This revealed that, in central Tokyo (for a family-sized apartment with a rent of ¥160,000 or lower), three of the top-ranking areas were Ontakesan (1), Kugahara (2), and Chidorichō (5), all located on the Tōkyū Ikegami Line, and that the majority of the neighborhoods ranked for their livability were concentrated in the municipalities of Ōta and Nerima.
Popular Affordable Neighborhoods in Central Tokyo
| Station | Location | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ontakesan (Tōkyū Ikegami Line) | Ōta, Tokyo |
| 2 | Kugahara (Tōkyū Ikegami Line) | Ōta, Tokyo |
| 3 | Shakujii-kōen (Seibu Ikebukuro Line) | Nerima, Tokyo |
| 4 | Shimomaruko (Tōkyū Tamagawa Line) | Ōta, Tokyo |
| 5 | Chidorichō (Tōkyū Ikegami Line) | Ōta, Tokyo |
| 6 | Unoki (Tōkyū Tamagawa Line) | Ōta, Tokyo |
| 7 | Hikarigaoka (Toei Ōedo Line) | Nerima, Tokyo |
| 8 | Toshimaen (Seibu Toshima Line) | Nerima, Tokyo |
| 9 | Senkawa (Yūrakuchō Line) | Toshima, Tokyo |
| 9 | Chitose-karasuyama (Keiō Line) | Setagaya, Tokyo |
| 9 | Kotake-mukaihara (Yūrakuchō Line) | Nerima, Tokyo |
Created by Nippon.com based on data from Recruit on family-size apartments with rents lower than ¥160,000.
For this survey, an additional section ranking the delicious food available in each area was introduced in order to gauge the appeal of shopping districts and local food culture. Two of the top three station areas, Bashamichi (1) and Minatomirai (3), were on the Minatomirai Line and four out of the top 10 were located in Yokohama. Another station area outside central Tokyo also made it into the top 10, with Hon-kawagoe on the Seibu Shinjuku Line in Saitama coming in ninth.
Top 10 Delicious Neighborhoods
| Station | Location | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bashamichi (Minatomirai Line) | Yokohama, Kanagawa |
| 2 | Kichijōji (Chūō Line) | Musashino, Tokyo |
| 3 | Minatomirai (Minatomirai Line) | Yokohama, Kanagawa |
| 4 | Inokashira-kōen (Inokashira Line) | Mitaka, Tokyo |
| 5 | Musashi-koyama (Tōkyū Meguro Line) | Shinagawa, Tokyo |
| 6 | Hiranumabashi (Sōtetsu Line) | Yokohama, Kanagawa |
| 7 | Togoshi-ginza (Tōkyū Ikegami Line) | Shinagawa, Tokyo |
| 8 | Togoshi (Toei Asakusa Line) | Shinagawa, Tokyo |
| 9 | Hon-kawagoe (Seibu Shinjuku Line) | Kawagoe, Saitama |
| 10 | Takashimachō (Blue Line) | Yokohama, Kanagawa |
Created by Nippon.com based on data from Recruit.
Data Sources
- Data on survey concerning popular neighborhoods in the Tokyo metropolitan area (Japanese) from Recruit
(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: Kugenuma Beach. © Pixta.)