Best Places to Live in Kanagawa Outside Yokohama? 5ch Debates Ebina, Kawasaki, and Hiratsuka

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A thread titled “I want to live in Kanagawa Prefecture outside Yokohama City” popped up on 5ch’s “Livegalileo” (live-discussion) board, sparking talk about what it’s actually like to live in places like Ebina, Kawasaki, Hiratsuka, Chigasaki, and Hayama.

Ebina drew praise for its transit convenience, but others warned about liquefaction risk and the Sagami River’s flood potential, while more practical voices pointed out that the Shonan coastal area is rough to live in without a car — leaving the thread split.

1Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:20:03.69ID:ID:Fwg5R3FJ0
Ebina, maybe?
2Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:21:55.91ID:A7jqG04p0
Say what you want, but Kawasaki's convenient — way better than ending up somewhere like Atsugi.
7Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:24:18.22ID:Fwg5R3FJ0
>>2
Kawasaki's air is way too polluted.
3Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:22:33.04ID:ZDIGRpYq0
Ebina's population is exploding, but if a big earthquake hits, that ground looks primed to liquefy.
10Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:25:15.72ID:Fwg5R3FJ0
>>3
By that logic you couldn't live anywhere around there.
46Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:36:19.83ID:Fg5nHICS0
>>3
Just so you know — if the Sagami River overflows, it's Ebina that's in trouble, not the Atsugi side.
5Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:23:00.00ID:Z9UIb2RP0
Isn't Machida pretty convenient?
8Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:24:34.87ID:Fwg5R3FJ0
>>5
Not interested in Tokyo proper (Machida is technically part of Tokyo, not Kanagawa).
9Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:25:10.00ID:U5CYm7Dx0
I live in Ebina and it's honestly easy to live in — it's a bit out in the countryside, but there's decent shopping and it's easy to get into the city too.
13Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:26:04.18ID:Fwg5R3FJ0
>>9
Walked around Vinawalk today and now I'm sure of it — this place is livable. (Vinawalk is the big shopping complex by Ebina Station)
12Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:25:21.33ID:5prhxr7K0
Once you want a no-transfer train ride into Tokyo's 23 wards, rent stays high. Stop caring about access to central Tokyo and it drops fast.
20Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:27:52.11ID:Fwg5R3FJ0
>>12
Honestly the area along the Sagami Line isn't bad either.
14Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:26:20.59ID:vK1wg1rH0
Central Kanagawa ("Kenou") has cheap land, bad public safety, and a low rate of kids taking private middle-school entrance exams — I'd skip it. (Writing this from Hayama, by the way.)
54Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:38:38.54ID:x3vMPGFSd
>>14
Compared to Fukuoka or Kansai, Kanagawa's crime rate is nothing.
23Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:29:11.17ID:vK1wg1rH0
Even within Yokosuka, somewhere like Akiya near Hayama seems nice. If you're living in Kanagawa, go coastal.
29Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:30:13.35ID:Fwg5R3FJ0
>>23
A spot that gets wiped out by the Nankai Trough megaquake… not so sure about that.
28Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:30:03.45ID:SAVrADRF0
Ebina's hot. If you can handle brutal heat waves, it's probably fine?
31Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:30:42.29ID:Fwg5R3FJ0
>>28
Walked around today and it wasn't even that hot.
30Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:30:24.90ID:U5CYm7Dx0
>>13
You've got JR, Sotetsu, and Odakyu lines, and Ebina's even the starting station for the Sotetsu Line — it's the best.
32Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:31:17.67ID:Fwg5R3FJ0
>>30
JR needs to move its station already.
35Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:32:13.88ID:vK1wg1rH0
>>29
I'm in Hayama, and it's marked pink on the hazard map, so if a tsunami hits, I'm done for. But if you're going to live in central Kanagawa anyway, why not just live in Tokyo proper? If you're deliberately moving to Kanagawa, the coast makes more sense. Personally I think somewhere like Ninomiya is also a nice rural pick.
38Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:32:51.71ID:Fwg5R3FJ0
>>35
If it's coastal, Hiratsuka or Chigasaki would've been good calls.
40Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:34:28.10ID:vK1wg1rH0
>>38
Hiratsuka's fine if you're on the south side. The Beniya-cho area is a bit sketchy, so I wouldn't want to live near the north exit. (Beniya-cho is a nightlife district by Hiratsuka Station)
45Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:36:01.93ID:Fwg5R3FJ0
>>40
Haven't been to the side near the velodrome, but the area near city hall is nice.
48Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:36:38.63ID:rKXGRhwR0
The Tama side of Kawasaki is really nice, I think.
51Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:37:34.08ID:Fwg5R3FJ0
>>48
Somewhere like Asao Ward has way too high rent.
49Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:37:10.70ID:Fwg5R3FJ0
Saw the old Sagami Kokubunji temple ruins today — up on that high ground, it's probably pretty disaster-resistant.
58Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:39:56.32ID:YCpV7HHh0
>>49
Central Kanagawa sits on a river terrace, so past a certain slope it's all elevated plateau. (a stepped landform carved by the river over time)
56Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:39:08.98ID:OBB0WokN0
The stretch from Chigasaki to Kamakura is rough to live in without a car, and even with one, the traffic is hell. Hiratsuka's just barely tolerable, but even if you head to the beach there, people still laugh and go 'lol, Hiratsuka.'
60Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:42:15.44ID:Fwg5R3FJ0
>>56
Can't really blame it — the Miura Peninsula got urbanized in an era that never planned for getting around by car.
70Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:47:36.11ID:mBT1gofq0
What about along Ibaraki's Joban Line or the Tsukuba Express?
74Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:48:26.20ID:Fwg5R3FJ0
>>70
That's basically Chiba at that point.
78Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:49:43.50ID:OBB0WokN0
>>60
Still, the location can't be beat — every morning I walk my dog on the beach with a massive Mt. Fuji staring right back at me.
80Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:51:00.52ID:Fwg5R3FJ0
>>78
Then why are there so many vacant houses?
98Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:55:47.72ID:sTW9gzsg0
Fujisawa and Kamakura are nice, but it's a long haul to central Tokyo.
102Anonymous2026/08/19(水) 20:56:31.36ID:Fwg5R3FJ0
>>98
Ebina's actually close to Shinjuku.

*This article is composed from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Livegalileo board) thread “I want to live in Kanagawa Prefecture outside Yokohama City”.

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