The shopping center by Seiseki-Sakuragaoka Station and Ichinomiya on the Tama River, then across the Oguri River and up the Iroha-zaka slope from Whisper of the Heart to the hilltop homes of Sakuragaoka
Seiseki-Sakuragaoka Station is in Sekido 1-chome. Keio Line Special Express trains stop here, and right in front of the station you'll find Keio Corporation's head office and a shopping centre connected directly to the station. "Seiseki-Sakuragaoka" isn't actually a town name—it's the general name for the area around the station, and locals often just call it "Seiseki" for short. The area around the station sits on flat land by the Tama River; head south across the bridge over the Oguri River, climb up Iroha-zaka slope, and you'll reach the hilly residential area of Sakuragaoka.
Sakuragaoka is a residential area Keio developed in the 1960s, with plots averaging around 330 square metres. The district plan bars splitting plots into lots smaller than 165 square metres. The north side of the hilltop has open views, and on clear days you can see the high-rises of Shinjuku. Iroha-zaka is the real-life model for the slope the heroine walks up from the station to the library in the Studio Ghibli film Whisper of the Heart, and the Konpira Shrine at the top of the slope was the model for the shrine in the film. Based on our street photos, greenery ranks 90th out of Tokyo's 180 neighbourhoods—only middling—but it's still the best of the seven categories for this neighbourhood. Ono Shrine, northwest of the station in Ichinomiya, calls itself the "Ichinomiya" of Musashi Province (the highest-ranked shrine in a province), and that's actually where the place name Ichinomiya comes from.
Large stores are concentrated right by the station, and daily shopping ranks 178th out of 180 neighbourhoods—the weakest of the seven categories here. The Keio Line station is the only one in the neighbourhood, and from the homes on the hill, getting to a train or to the shops means walking a steep slope; public transport ranks 165th.
One theory says the place name Sekido comes from a checkpoint called Kasumi-no-seki that the Kamakura shogunate set up here around 1213. In 1333, near the end of the Kamakura shogunate, the Battle of Sekido was fought here. The station opened in 1925 as "Sekido Station," and was renamed to its current name in 1937. "Sakuragaoka" comes from the area being a famous cherry blossom spot, while "Seiseki" refers to Emperor Meiji having hunted nearby at Renkoji. Keio began grading the land in 1960 and started selling off plots in the Sakuragaoka residential development in batches from the early 1960s. The shopping centre in front of the station opened in 1986, and in 1988 the Keio Group moved its head office here from Shinjuku. Whisper of the Heart was released in 1995, putting this hillside residential area on screen. Since 2012, the melody played on the platforms as a train approaches has been "Country Road," the film's theme song.
Compared with the 180 Tokyo neighbourhoods in this guide (scores 0–10)
94 blocks · Curated boundary · Data version 2026-10-04
Compared against the Tokyo neighbourhoods in this guide; metrics without enough data are not ranked. Shopping counts convenience stores plus the nearer of a supermarket or a traditional market (public and private retail markets); night markets, vendor zones and shopping-street shops are not counted. Transit is rail-first with a lower weight for buses.
TidyMap rates the street environment and everyday convenience. It does not assess the home itself, safety, noise or actual living experience. About data limits
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How to read it: yellow = poor, blue = good; grey = not enough data
TidyMap rates the street environment and everyday convenience. It does not assess the home itself, safety, noise or actual living experience. Street environment scores use AI assessments of imagery; convenience scores use public facility data.
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