Current Time in Fuchū, Japan

Fuchu lies in the western part of Tokyo, about twenty-five kilometres from the centre of the capital, on the northern bank of the Tama River where the Musashino plateau slopes gently down towards the water. It is one of the cities that make up the Tama area of Tokyo Metropolis, a district of quiet residential streets, temple groves and broad avenues lined with zelkova trees. The climate is that of the Kanto plain, with hot humid summers, dry sunny winters and cherry blossom in late March.

Around two hundred and sixty thousand people live here. Fuchu is largely a commuter city, but it also has a substantial industrial base, with electronics, precision engineering and a large brewery among its employers, and it serves as a commercial centre for western Tokyo with department stores and offices around its station.

The name means provincial capital, and it is literal. In the eighth century this was the seat of government for Musashi province, and the ruins of the provincial office and temple have been excavated near the centre of the modern city. The road that linked the capital of the day with the eastern provinces passed through, and Fuchu remained an important post town on the Koshu highway during the Edo period, its inns serving travellers between Edo and the mountains. Suburban growth arrived with the railways in the twentieth century, and the city expanded rapidly after the war, though it has kept far more of its historic fabric than most of Tokyo's suburbs.

The heart of the city is Okunitama Shrine, said to have been founded nearly two thousand years ago and one of the most important shrines in the Kanto region. Its approach is a magnificent avenue of ancient zelkova trees, planted as a thank-offering after a battle a thousand years ago and now a national natural monument. Each May the shrine holds the Kurayami Matsuri, the darkness festival, when great drums are beaten through the streets and portable shrines are carried at night, drawing hundreds of thousands of spectators in one of the most atmospheric festivals in Tokyo.

Fuchu is also known throughout Japan for horse racing. Tokyo Racecourse, the largest and most prestigious in the country, stands here, and the Japanese Derby and the Japan Cup are run on its turf before crowds that fill the enormous grandstands. Nearby are a horse racing museum, parks laid out on former military land, and the wide riverside paths of the Tama, popular with runners and cyclists. Fuchu no Mori Park combines an art museum with woods and playing fields, and the city's old temples and the remains of its provincial capital offer quiet places to walk.

Several private and national railway lines cross the city, giving journeys of half an hour or less to Shinjuku, and expressways run nearby. The Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology have campuses here, giving the city an international student presence.

Fuchu rewards visitors with ancient shrines, famous festivals and world-class racing within easy reach of central Tokyo.