In this post, I want to focus just on Mito Station, and some popular places there that we international students frequented. From the dorms, it takes only about 20-25 minutes to get there by bus, and you can often find a lot of people hanging out there, particularly on the weekends. I wanted to make this separate post specifically for Mito Station, as it was probably the area we went to the most, because it had a lot of options to choose from.
Apart from there being many shops that sell omiyage (in case you want to take some back home for family and friends), imported foods from Korea, Thailand, America, and so on, there are a lot of entertainment options as well. Those who like arcades and winning prizes might like SEGA, where you can try out the claw machines or Japanese arcade games.
If you’ve always wanted to try purikura, there are also several purikura booths inside SEGA.
Right next to SEGA is COMBOX310, Mito Station’s movie theater. Here you can watch Japanese movies, as well as movies from abroad (while I was there for example, options included “Fantastic Beasts: The Tales of Grindelwald” and “Venom”). Foreign films come in two types, which are essentially subs or dubs, haha.
Additionally, as of the time of the 2018 Tokiwa Program, COMBOX310 had something that Fresno didn’t have yet: 4D movies! 4D, for those who don’t know, is the term for movies that incorporate more senses than just sight. In other words, seats move, wind blows, there’s mist, there’s scents. It’s more of an entire body experience.
Near both SEGA and the movie theater is MOFF Café, which is a cozy animal café. Although the main appeal are the adorable cats you can see playing from outside the café, they also have baby chicks, hedgehogs, mice, and a tortoise. If you want a relaxing time cuddling up to some animals, MOFF Café might be the place for you.
There are events at Mito Station too! For example, on the night of Halloween, there’s a large gathering of people at the station, as people come to show off their costumes and check out the costumes of others.
This was technically the first time I ever celebrated Halloween, and I had a great time! Whether you don’t really celebrate Halloween, or you go all out every year, you should definitely go to Mito Station for the Halloween Party!
As for food options, there’s a couple I recommend. For the classic gyudon bowl, nothing beats the Yoshinoya restaurant at the station.
There’s also a wonderful tsukemen (noodles that are dipped into a thick broth) restaurant next to the Bic Camera store, which is really good. If you’ve never tried tsukemen before, try it! It’ll change your whole perspective on ramen.
If Italian food is more your style, then I recommend going to Saizeriya for cheap but delicious Italian dishes. Make sure to try their chicken wing appetizers, though I’m not sure if it qualifies as traditional Italian food. Ugh, so good…
Another place that we discovered later in the semester is located in the OPA department store at the Station, and is called “Gram.” If you want pancakes or other breakfast items, this place really hits the spot, and has an amazing atmosphere.
There are also two Starbucks at Mito Station, one regular sized and a smaller one embedded in a bookstore. Every few weeks or so, the chain will release new seasonal items, and some are exclusive only to Japan.
However, my personal favorite café was Excelsior Caffé, located right across from the Yoshinoya. I would often go here to study, and the atmosphere was always so relaxed and sophisticated. I may or may not be a mild café snob at this point, haha.
So there you have it. These actually aren’t all my recommendations, but the list was getting pretty long as it was. There’s so much to do at Mito Station, that it’s no wonder it’s a popular place to hang out with friends. When you get to Mito, definitely take some time out to explore everything Mito Station has to offer.
Tokiwa University Exchange Program 