For the first time in four years the real Santa Claus will be visiting Maruhiro in Kawagoe. He will also visit the branches in Ageo and Higashimatsuyama and brief information for those two locations is also included in this post. However, you need to reserve a place and pay inRead More →
Today, December 1st 2023, is Kawagoe Citizen’s Day. As I wrote on the December event round up, several places offer free entry to everyone – not just Kawagoe Citizens – on December 1st annually. However, when the day falls on a weekday, they also have the same offer on theRead More →
U place, written U_place, opened at the west side of Kawagoe during the pandemic. Each month they have an handmade market and other events at the mall – which is more a eating mall than a shopping mall! The next event is a Charity Bazaar on the first Saturday ofRead More →
Unicus Kawagoe host several Kawagoe Farmer’s Market throughout the year, but they also host various different festivals and markets too. In this post: general information for the farmer’s market as well as information for upcoming events. Kawagoe Farmer’s Market Kawagoe Farmer’s Market is relatively new. It started during the pandemicRead More →
Information for the annual Koedo Kawagoe Chrysanthemum Festival / Kiku Matsuri / 菊祭り (not Choyu no Sekku) at Kitain Temple. The chrysanthemum is a very important and symbolic flower in Japan. It is the official national flower of Japan. In Japanese there is even a word for chrysanthemum viewing; “kangiku”Read More →
Kawagoe Remix was a very low key affair in 2022. Thankfully, this year (2023) for the first time in four years, they will have the usual fusion of music, art, food and light up event. However, it is still very different to how it was before the pandemic. Kawagoe RemixRead More →
Did you know that Kawagoe has a red spider lily shrine? Neither did I when I stumbled upon it a few years ago, while visiting another lesser known spot for red spider lilies in Kawagoe. I have since visited it several times each September, but have yet to see theRead More →
The Kawagoe Festival is one of the largest and best Autumn Festivals in all of Japan. Moreover, the festival is an Important Intangible Cultural Property of Japan. In addition, the Yama, Hoko, Yatai float festivals are an UNESCO cultural heritage. The festival started at Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine in 1648 afterRead More →
Smiley is the name of a cafe in a Kominka in the Isanuma area of Kawagoe. The cafe is located in a Kominka: a traditional type of farmhouse, quintessential of rural Japan before the war. it is a ‘time share’ eatery – in the morning, until 2 pm, the kominkaRead More →
Cafe Chocotto is a very special place to me. I found it in on a cycle in the Kawagoe Satoyama Initiative area of Fukuda. I hit it off with the owner, one of the loveliest people you could meet. And so started a new relationship. The only reason I haveRead More →