accessAbout an hour by car from Tokyo — getting to Fujino, Kanagawa, and what the area is like

3771-7 Makino, Midori Ward, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-0186, Japan

〒252-0186 神奈川県相模原市緑区牧野3771-7

Around an hour from central Tokyo, and roughly 1.5 hours from Haneda Airport. If you are travelling with gear or in a group, driving is the easiest way in.

• From central Tokyo — about 1 hour
• From Haneda Airport — about 1.5 hours
• Parking for three vans, so you can drive gear in and load directly

The nearest station is Fujino on the JR Chuo line, about an hour from Shinjuku. You will need a car to get from the station to the studio, so let us know in advance if you plan to arrive by train.

At about an hour by car, leaving Tokyo in the morning gets you here before midday. Check-in is between 10:00 and 21:00, so a day-use booking gives you a full working day and back, while arriving in the late afternoon buys you the evening plus all of the following day.

You can drive your bags and gear right onto the site. The accommodation has a kitchenette with a kettle, coffee gear, and a fridge, so shopping on the way in cuts down how often you need to head back down into town.

The whole property is yours during your booking. Nothing is shared, so gear can stay set up overnight and you can pick up the next morning where you stopped.

Fujino (population around 8,000) is known as an art village. Artists were evacuated here during the Second World War, and since the 1990s the area has hosted art projects and residencies. For more than thirty years it has actively welcomed artists relocating from the city, and many makers still live and work here. It is also one of Japan’s Transition Movement towns.

Dozens of small villages are scattered through valleys overlooked by the Tanzawa Mountains, surrounded by forest and streams. That range is what you see through the studio window.

A map of places worth stopping at during your stay — shops, food, and a few things nearby.