Stand at the edge of Yakushiike and the surface holds the cherry trees, the wisteria frames and the reconstructed farmhouses all at once. Machida rewards the traveller who treats it as a day of small, distinct stops rather than one grand monument.
This guide suits anyone with a spare day on the western edge of Tokyo who wants gardens, print art, a hot spring and a football match without crossing the city. It covers the parks, museums, shrines and baths that the sources describe, with the practical detail you need to string them together.
Top things to do in Machida
1. Yakushiike Park (薬師池公園)
A pond called Yakushiike sits at the centre of this park, with cherry blossoms and wisteria in spring, irises and lotus in summer, and autumn leaves in fall. A small temple, Notuda Yakushido, stands nearby, and late-17th-century private homes and a doctor's office and residence have been relocated and reconstructed here, giving a sense of old Japan.
The park is open daily 06:00-18:00. Pair it with the Welcome gate for food and the smaller gardens that sit within walking distance.
2. Welcome gate (ウェルカムゲート)
This is the information and direct sales office for the Machida Yakushiike Park Shikisai no Mori area, with a local food market, a cafe and restaurant using Machida ingredients, a workshop for crafts, and a park for BBQ and picnics without bringing your own gear.
Hours are 09:00-17:00 for information and the library lounge, 10:00-20:00 for the cafe and restaurant, and 09:00-19:30 for the lab and experience workshop. Use it as the base for a Yakushiike afternoon.
3. Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts (町田市立国際版画美術館)
The only museum in Japan focused on prints, with fees that vary by exhibition and a free mini-exhibition in the permanent exhibition room.
Weekday hours are 10:00-17:00 with admission until 16:30; Saturdays, Sundays and holidays run 10:00-17:30 with admission until 17:00. It closes every Monday and 28 Dec-4 Jan, so check the calendar before you build a day around it.
4. Snoopy Museum Tokyo (スヌーピーミュージアム)
The world's only official satellite of the Schulz Museum of Art in Santa Rosa, California, showing original Peanuts drawings and a giant Snoopy sculpture, with workshops and a cafe built around the strip's world.
It is open 10:00-18:00 at 3-1-1 Tsuruma. Combine it with Manyou no Yu Machida, which is also on Tsuruma.
5. Buaiso (武相荘)
The former Shirasu residence, where you can walk an old Japanese house and a beautiful garden, with a museum inside the house.
Open 10:00-17:00, admission ¥1100. It is a quiet, slow stop, so give it room rather than squeezing it between two others.
6. Taigan Historical Museum (泰巖歴史美術館)
Japanese swords and armour of samurai from the Sengoku period are on display, along with a life-size replica of part of Oda Nobunaga's castle.
Open 10:00-17:00 at 1-4-10 Nakamachi, admission ¥1,500 for adults and ¥500 for children. It sits in the Nakamachi area, so pair it with a walk through the surrounding streets.
7. Machida Squirrel Garden (まちだリス園)
A park with about 100 squirrels where you can get close to them, play with them and feed them; squirrel feed costs ¥100.
Adults pay ¥400 and children aged 3-12 pay ¥200. Hours vary by season: 10:00-17:00 from 16 Mar to 15 Oct, 10:00-16:00 from 16 Oct to 15 Mar, and 10:00-15:00 from 1 to 26 Dec. It is closed 27 Dec-2 Jan and on the first Tuesday to Friday of June, September and December.
8. Serigaya Park (芹ヶ谷公園)
A park with sculptures scattered through lush greenery and water at 5-16 Haramachida, open 06:00-18:00.
The Poke Lids are here in the same park, so you can see both in one visit.
9. Poke Lids -Pokemon Utility Hole Covers- (ポケふた -ポケモンマンホール-)
Pokemon manhole covers in the park, in the city where Pokemon creator Satoshi Tajiri spent his childhood. The poke lid is a Pokemon Go pokestop.
Open 06:00-18:00 at 5-16 Haramachida. It is a quick stop, so fold it into a Serigaya Park wander rather than making a separate trip.
10. Machida Peony Garden (町田ぼたん園)
A botanic garden a 7-minute walk north of Yakushi Pond, open 08:30-16:00. It charges a fee according to the blooming period of peonies, usually mid-April to early May, and is free of charge outside the bloom.
Time your visit to the flowering window if the peonies matter to you; otherwise treat it as a free add-on to Yakushiike.
11. Machida Calanthe discolor Garden (町田えびね苑)
A botanic garden a 10-minute walk north of Yakushi Pond, open 08:30-16:00. It charges during the limited late-April to early-May period when the orchid Calanthe discolor blooms, and opens free of charge during the hydrangea season, usually early to mid-June.
Because the paid window is short, check the bloom before you commit a morning to it.
12. Machida Dahlia Garden (町田ダリア園)
A garden open 09:30-16:30 that charges during the dahlia bloom, from early July to early November each year. The rest stop and flower shop are open all year round, and the garden closes 1-3 Jan.
Admission is ¥500, free for junior high school students and younger. It sits at 1213-1 Yamazaki Town, away from the Yakushiike cluster, so plan it as its own leg.
13. Furusato Museum of Agricultural Tools (町田市ふるさと農具館)
Various farming equipment and agricultural tools are on display, built so that older generations' farming traditions carry on to younger successors. The museum has a nice atmosphere.
It is 7 minutes from Machida Station at 2288 Nozuta-machi, which makes it an easy stop on the way to or from the Nozuta gardens.
14. Kojima Shiryokan (小島資料館)
The head of the family, Shikanosuke Kojima, was a close friend of Isami Kondo of the Shinsengumi, and the museum displays materials related to the Shinsengumi.
Open 06:00-18:00 at 950 Onoji, admission ¥600. Combine it with the Canon Eagles ground at 5290 Onoji if a match is on.
15. Natural Hot Spring Roten Garden (天然温泉 ロテン・ガーデン)
The first genuine bicarbonate natural hot spring in Machida City, pumped up from 1,381 metres below ground, open 10:00-24:00 at 358 Aihara.
From ¥760. It is the natural end to a day of walking, and the late closing means you do not have to rush dinner.
16. Sugawara Shrine (菅原神社)
People worship the god of learning, Sugawara, at this shrine at 802 Haramachida. In the Heian period, Sahara was a scholar.
You climb a long flight of stairs to reach it, so wear shoes you can manage steps in and pair it with the Haramachida cluster of library, museum and karaoke.
17. Machida Chuo Library (町田市立中央図書館)
A big library at 3-2-9 Haramachida with a wide selection, useful if you are looking for books and want a seated break between sights.
It sits in the same Haramachida area as the graphic arts museum, so the two fit naturally into one stretch of the day.
18. Machida Eisa Festival
An Okinawan folk dance festival held annually in September on Haramachida Odori just outside JR Machida Station. Many Eisa teams come to Machida, the festival is lively, and food can be bought from small stalls around the area.
Because it is a September event, it is worth checking the date before booking travel if this is your reason for coming.
19. Round 1
A large amusement complex at 1-13-14 Morino with bowling, karaoke, billiards and many arcade games.
Hours run 10:00-06:00 Monday to Friday, 09:00-06:00 Saturday and 08:00-06:00 Sunday, which makes it a reliable late option when the gardens have closed.
20. Neko-no-mise (ねこのみせ)
A cafe with cats running around that you can play with, open daily 12:00-22:00 at 1-2-9-202 Haramachida.
It suits anyone who wants time with cats without keeping one long-term, and its central Haramachida address slots into an afternoon of shopping streets.
21. Manyou no Yu Machida (万葉の湯 町田)
A hot spring facility at 7-3-1 Tsuruma where you can take a day trip or stay overnight, open 24 hours, from ¥2,300.
The overnight option is useful if you want a late finish at Round 1 or the karaoke places without worrying about the last train.
22. Tamasakai Natural Hot Springs Mori no Irodori (多摩境天然温泉 森乃彩)
Surrounded by the greenery of the Tama Hills, this bath has an open-air bath with flowing hot spring water described as having a skin-beautifying effect, open 09:00-24:00 at 1-11-5 Oyamagaoka.
From ¥780. It is a good pairing with the Yamazaki Town dahlia garden on the same side of the city.
23. Sports Park Partners Machida (スポーツパークパートナーズまちだ)
A venue inside Nozuta Park that holds 6,200 people, hosting many soccer games and university contests. Prices start at ¥520.
Check the fixture list first, then combine it with the Furusato Museum of Agricultural Tools, which is in the same Nozuta-machi area.
24. FC Machida Zelvia (FC町田ゼルビア)
A J-League football club based in Machida City, with Machida Gion Stadium, also known as Machida City Athletic Stadium, as their home ground at 550 O-kuramachi.
If you want a match, build the day around the kick-off rather than the other way round.
25. Pescadola Machida (ペスカドーラ町田)
An F-League futsal club based in Machida City, playing at Machida Sougo Taiikukan, also known as Machida City General Gymnasium, at 5-12 Naruse.
Futsal fixtures are a compact evening out and pair well with dinner in the Naruse area.
26. Canon Eagles (キヤノンイーグルス)
A Top-League rugby club based in Machida City, with Canon Sports Park as their home ground at 5290 Onoji.
Onoji is also where Kojima Shiryokan sits, so a match day can include the Shinsengumi materials before kick-off.
If you only have one day
Morning. Start at Yakushiike Park when it opens at 06:00, walking the pond for cherry, wisteria, iris or lotus depending on the season, and looking into Notuda Yakushido and the reconstructed houses. Walk north to Machida Peony Garden or Machida Calanthe discolor Garden if you are inside their bloom, then take the Welcome gate for the local food market and a coffee.
Afternoon. Move to Haramachida for Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts, noting the Monday closure and the earlier last admission on weekdays, then climb the stairs to Sugawara Shrine and take a seated break at Machida Chuo Library. If you have energy left, add the Poke Lids and Serigaya Park, which share the same address.
Evening. Finish at Natural Hot Spring Roten Garden, open until 24:00, or at Manyou no Yu Machida if you want the option of staying overnight. Eat at the Welcome gate restaurant if you are still near Yakushiike, or stay in Haramachida for Neko-no-mise and Round 1.
Frequently asked questions
When is the best time to see flowers in Machida?
Yakushiike Park gives cherry blossoms and wisteria in spring, irises and lotus in summer, and autumn leaves in fall. The peony garden blooms usually mid-April to early May, the Calanthe discolor garden from late April to early May with free entry during the hydrangea season in early to mid-June, and the dahlia garden from early July to early November.
Which sights close on Mondays or over New Year?
Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts closes every Monday and 28 Dec-4 Jan. Machida Dahlia Garden closes 1-3 Jan, and Machida Squirrel Garden closes 27 Dec-2 Jan as well as the first Tuesday to Friday of June, September and December.
Can I visit a hot spring without staying overnight?
Yes. Natural Hot Spring Roten Garden, Tamasakai Natural Hot Springs Mori no Irodori and Manyou no Yu Machida all take day visitors, and Manyou no Yu Machida also offers overnight stays.
Where can I see live music or play games in the evening?
Flava, The Play House and West Vox host live music, with schedules and prices depending on the event. For games, Round 1 has bowling, karaoke, billiards and arcade games, and Big Echo, Karaoke Kan and Karaoke Manekineko Machida second store cover karaoke, with the last of these open 24 hours.
Pick your season, check the bloom and fixture calendars, and start laying out your Machida day.