I'm not so sure I should call Kichijoji a suburb. Yes, it has a lot less of the hustle and bustle of central Tokyo but the houses are no less packed together. There is something different about this neighborhood, however. It's a 20 minute subway ride away from downtown and is a shopping destination. There are some areas of the town that have shops and restaurants - small shops lining narrow lanes - but only a block or so away from the train station are some lovely, quiet streets. We walked down a few just to get a measure of the place. It was an early Sunday afternoon and the crowds had not yet arrived. Older folks were out walking or riding their bikes. It was a chilly, sunny day - about 45 degrees.
It was jarring to see an orange tree full of fruit in December on a cold day. I saw this first one in Kichijoji but saw many more during the days that followed. Someone explained to me that in Japan there are 4 seasons for oranges, so you can have fresh oranges all year. They went on to explain that a Japanse scientist had recently created the square watermelon - so it can more easily fit into the fridge.
I'd been to Kichijoji before - it's where I got the best hamburger of my life. This time, we tried two new things: a Katsudon sandwich and a deep fried meatball. You can read about that here and here.
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