Higashimatsuyama is famous for pear picking. There are about 20 tourist pear farms in Higashimatsuyama City, Saitama Prefecture. However, in 2022 only three of them will offer picking. I am quite surprised by this as even last year, 2021, when things were stricter, there were 8 places you could pick.Read More →
This is a long overdue post about the famous Starbucks on Kanetsuki Street in the old warehouse district of Kawagoe. The branch opened in March 2018 and most of the photos in this post are actually from back then! But it hasn’t changed much in the two years since itRead More →
Arakawa Roadside Station is a rest area in the Arakawa Hino area of Chichibu. The area is also known as the Hino Sightseeing Plantation Village. Attractions within and around the roadside station include fruit picking, nature museum, flowers, playground, restaurant, shopping, hot spring and steam locomotive! And in September theRead More →
Yamato natural spring water is one of Japan’s “top 100 water” as selected by the Ministry of the Environment. Some people call the water Fuppugawa water. The spring water is pumped from the source at the 100 Tatami Mat Rock on Mt Kamabuse (585 metres) to a more accessible locationRead More →
The Chichibu area is known for its Dahlia. The Dahlia Garden at Mt Ryokami Fumoto Hana no Sato is one of the largest and most popular places to see Dahlia in Saitama. It has an average rating of 4.2 (out of 5) from 449 reviews on Google Maps. The gardenRead More →
Donguri Yama Totoro in Tokigawa is one of three Totoro Instaspot in Saitama. That is, places with characters from the Ghibli Movie My Neighbor Totoro. The one at Donguri Yama Totoro is just a quick stop for a photo opportunity with Totoro, if you happen to be in Tokigawa. ItRead More →
A Little known river play spot, where you can also barbecue, along the Oppe River at Daima Nozon Hiroba in Ogose. River play / BBQ Ogose Given the year that’s in it, we’ve been spending a lot of our time “off the beaten path”. On our spring adventures this yearRead More →
Chichibu Highland Ranch, also known as Sai No Kuni Fureai Farm, is a free prefectural farm on top of a 766 meter high mountain ridge in Higashichichibu village. It affords a particularly beautiful view and is a great spot for watching both the sunset and the sunrise. Located on anRead More →
Kawasemi-gawara is the name of a BBQ spot and free cheap campsite by the Arakawa (Ara River) in Yorii, Saitama Prefecture. If you’ve ever been to the Saitama Museum of Rivers you will have seen it by the car park entrance to the river museum. You can also see itRead More →
Fish your own lunch at Fuppu Nijimasu Fishing Ponds! Fuppu is the name of the area in Yorii. Nijimasu is the Japanese for Rainbow Trout. Fuppu Nijimasu fishing ponds is a type of fishing restaurant cum fishing center. You can fish for rainbow trout for consumption. You can either eatRead More →