If you are staying in Tokyo and don’t go to old capital of Kyoto this time, you might like to spend a day in Kawagoe. Kawagoe is a city not far from central Tokyo and has plenty to do and see.
About Kawagoe
Kawagoe is located in Saitama prefecture, north of Tokyo. You can reach there quite easily from downtown Tokyo. It retain an atmosphere of the good old days of Edo era (1503-1868) when Shogun was in power. It was a prosperous area with many wealthy merchants. They made shops and warehouses that would withstand fire. (During the Edo period, there were frequent fire and many traditional wooden buildings were destroyed by fire.) Kawagoe was not air-raided during the war so you can still see the original buildings from pre-war period.
How to get to Kawagoe
You can take Tobu line from Ikebukuro Station. It will take about 30-40 minutes from Ikebukuro station depending on the train. You can take express and limited express. You can get off at either Kawagoe Station or Kawagoe-shi Station.
If you are coming from Shinjuku area, you can also take Seibu Shinjuku line to Hon-Kawagoe (45 minutes by express train).
What to see
”Kurazukuri Old Town” The main street has old buildings from late Edo to early Showa. The most famous landmark here is “Toki no kane” or old bell tower that was used to tell time. Old buildings are used as sourvenir shops, restaurants and cafes.
Temple and shrines- There are many temples and shrines in Kawagoe. The most famous temple is Kitain. You can see a part of the original building from Edo castle which was moved to here. The original Edo castle was burned down, so this is the only place you can see part of what it was like. Kitain is also famous for Daruma and 500 Rakan.
For Shinto Shrine, Hikawa Shrine and Kumano Shrine are famous.
Festival Hall Kawagoe is famous for its Kawagoe Festival that is held third Saturday and Sunday in October. There is a museum that display real floats for the festival.
What to eat
Most famous thing to eat is sweet potato. You can find variety of sweet potatoes here– from traditional sweets such as “Imo-koi” to sweet potato cakes, sweet potato ice cream etc.
Another famous food there is eel. As Kawagoe is surrounded by river, historically eel was their speciality. You can still find many eel restaurants. Some famous restaurants are: Ichinoya（いちのや）, Ogakiku（小川菊）, Azumaya,（東屋） 、Ogato（小川藤）
There is also “Kashiya-Yokocho” literally meaning Sweets Alley. In this small area, there are many shops selling sweets and snacks for children. Many Japanese people visit there feeling nostaligic.
How to get around?
If you don’t mind walking, you can walk to most of the places. There are also bus from the station. You can find walking map of Kawagoe
If you prefer bus, you can buy one day bus ticket at: Tourist information at Kawagoe Station, and 2nd floor of EQUiA Kawagoe for 400 yen (200 yen for children) https://www.tobu-bus.com/en/kawagoe
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