La Cittadella

La Cittadella is a large open-air shopping and entertainment complex about five minutes' walk from Kawasaki Station, in Kawasaki. Designed to evoke an Italian hill town, its stone-paved walkways, masonry-style facades, towers, and chapel give it a distinctive Mediterranean character that sets it apart from a conventional shopping mall. The name "La Cittadella" is Italian for "citadel", and the complex took the hill towns of Tuscany as its design model.

The site has deep roots in Kawasaki's history as a cinema district. Its predecessor was the "Kawasaki Film District", created in 1937 when the company that would become CITTA' Entertainment opened the city's first cinema street of six theatres. In 1987 the Cinecitta cinema complex opened on the site, followed in 1988 by the large live-music hall Club Citta. The whole site was then redeveloped under an Italian medieval-town concept and reopened as La Cittadella on November 23, 2002. The complex was designed by architect Jon Jerde, known for Roppongi Hills and Canal City Hakata, working with Ishimoto Architectural & Engineering Firm, with the tower town of San Gimignano as a reference point.

Shops, Dining, Entertainment and Facilities

The complex houses around 66 shops, with a strong emphasis on food and drink. Dining options span Japanese and Western cuisine - including Italian - along with izakaya, other Asian cuisines, cafés, a bakery, and dessert specialists, plus apparel, general goods, and beauty stores.

At the center is Cinecittà, the cinema complex that anchors the site and is among the larger multiplexes in the Tokyo area. Club Citta, the live hall, is one of Japan's pioneering 1,000-capacity music venues and has hosted a wide range of domestic and international artists over the decades. Other facilities include a modern urban sauna house with multiple saunas and cold baths; a sports court (the Kawasaki Brave Thunders Court); a sharing space offering internet, comics, and magazines; relaxation and beauty salons; training and sports programs; an after-school day-service program; and gaming and crane-game amusements. La Cittadella also offers wedding and ceremonial facilities, including a hilltop chapel, and family, kids', and school-oriented services.

The complex frequently hosts festivals, street concerts, and art installations, using its plazas and European-style streetscape as event space.