Living in Moriya

A newly emerging bedroom town whose population grew 1.4 times in 20 years since the Tsukuba Express opened. As a planned residential development, the roads are wide and the view is open, public safety is good, and a large shopping mall within walking distance of the station makes daily life easy. It is clearly cheaper than central Tokyo, but you have to accept the sense of distance that comes from being in Ibaraki Prefecture administratively and the fact that the stock of small rental units is still not large.

Moriya is a bedroom town at the southwestern tip of Ibaraki Prefecture where the TX (Tsukuba Express) and the Kanto Railway Joso Line meet. It has commercial facilities such as AEON Town, and it has the highest growth rate of child population along the TX line, so there are many young families. However, TX fares are on the high side and the commercial area in front of the station is weak, so dependence on a car is high. It is within a 32-minute rapid-service commute to Akihabara, which makes it suitable for office workers and families raising children.