8 things to do in Kawasaki

Established nearly 900 years ago, Kawasaki Daishi (Heikenji) Temple has long been Kawasaki’s most famous attraction. Scores of devotees from around the country visit the Buddhist sanctuary for New Year worship, but on a regular weekday the spacious grounds allow for a leisurely stroll amidst towering halls, pagodas and a garden with a pretty red bridge. Don’t miss the Indian-style Traffic Safety Hall, where visitors can have their cars blessed for protection.

The Nakamise street leading up to Kawasaki Daishi is lined with dozens of souvenir shops, tea rooms and eateries, but you’ll want to resist temptation, walk right up to the huge main gate and into Sumiyoshi. This venerable purveyor of familiar Japanese sweets like manju buns and kakigori shaved ice is best known for its kuzumochi: a soft, chewy delicacy made from fermented wheat starch and served with roasted soybean flour and brown sugar syrup.

A tiny oasis of calm on the ground floor of a private home in the residential streets north of Kawasaki Daishi, Herb Tea Café Franc invites you to relax over nourishing lunch sets, healthy sweets and some 20 varieties of herbal tea.

New to Japan’s indigenous alcoholic drinks? You’ve come to the right place. Stand bar Craft Sake Shoten Kawasaki carries 50 types of seasonal sake. English-speaking staff take you on an intoxicating journey into the world of the brew, enlightening you on the terminology from ginjo to genshu while you sip the good stuff and dig into a seasonally rotating selection of elevated bar bites.

The views from Well-Hub toward Haneda Airport are picturesque, but equally striking vistas can be enjoyed in the opposite direction. Make your way down to Chidori Bridge at night to marvel at the steely majesty of the Keihin Industrial Zone, where massive canalside factory units, power plants, warehouses and cranes combine for scenery that looks like it’s been lifted straight from a sci-fi flick.

Twelve-screen multiplex Cinecitta is the crown jewel of La Cittadella, a sprawling mixed-use mall modelled on an Italian hillside town, and combines exotic design choices with reliably comfy seating, a booming ‘Live Zound’ audio set-up and eclectic programming.

Look for the sign with a panda handling a shaker and take the time-worn elevator to the third floor to find Bar Laugh, a relaxed cocktail sanctuary open from 4pm. Owner and award-winning bartender Hiroaki Kataoka is particularly proficient in classic gin concoctions, but also does creative mixtures inspired by cities and regions across Japan.

Innovating in the spice space since June 2026, chef Kensuke Ota at Spice & Spirits Chicken Yarou conjures up a steady smattering of limited-edition curries to complement his lip-smacking regular offering, a light but filling chicken and keema half- and-half. He’s also a trained bartender, who recommends pairing your dinnertime curry with some craft gin, mezcal or whisky.