けやきプラザ千葉県福祉ふれあいプラザ Keyaki Plaza

Municipal services, study space, and awesome views

I'm impressed by Abiko City's municipal and regional services building, Keyaki Plaza. It's right outside the south exit of Abiko Station and open from 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. every day but Mondays. The ground-floor cafe, Popora, is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., serving coffee and cake. It's a project of the welfare system. The 8th floor is a community center with rental meeting rooms, including a tea room. Keep going up! On the 11th floor, "Unakichi-san's House", a space for studying and meetings, is open to the public and free to use for up to 3 hours. The space overlooks the city. If you can snag a seat on the counters on the 8th to 11th floors, you also get a window over Teganuma Marsh. Vending machines are tucked into the study spaces. When I visited, the observation decks were closed to the public for safety reasons. You won't catch the breeze off the marsh, but you get a million yen view.