Tokyo's Hiroo tops comfy neighborhood ranking

TOKYO -- The neighborhood around Hiro-o Station on Tokyo Metro's Hibiya Line was ranked greater Tokyo's nicest place to live in a residents' survey released on Feb. 20 by major rental apartment developer Daito Trust Construction Co.

Hiroo, in Minato Ward, is known as a luxurious residential area in the center of the capital. Also in central Tokyo, the neighborhood around Ichigaya Station on East Japan Railway Co. (JR East)'s Chuo-Sobu Line, Tokyo Metro's Namboku and Yurakucho lines, as well as the Toei Shinjuku Line came in second, followed by the suburban area around the far less famous Kitayamata Station on the Yokohama Municipal Subway Green Line in Yokohama, south of Tokyo.

While rankings of popular train stations to live near are common, rating the neighborhoods based on points allotted by actual residents is a new approach, according to Daito Trust.

The survey was conducted between last October and December, covering residents who live around 1,224 stations in Tokyo as well as neighboring Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures. A total of 61,319 residents answered 54 questions in eight categories such as "peace and security," "transit," and "life convenience." Hiro-o Station gained high ratings for features including "good access to the center of Tokyo," "fashionable and sophisticated," and "plenty of parks and green spaces."

A Daito Trust official in charge of the survey said, "Resident satisfaction is a valuation determined by people actually living there, so it's useful to help choose an area to live."

(Japanese original by Masahiro Kawaguchi, Business News Department)