A long term resident of Saitama Prefecture
February in Saitama, 2023. There are some exclusive events and seasonal traditions that you can enjoy in Japan in the month of February. Between 2020 and 2022 there was slightly less to do, as many of the special / seasonal events didn’t go ahead. But the situation is much betterRead More →
Information for the Floating dolls of Iwatsuki in 2023. One truly enchanting event to mark the annual Dolls festival is the floating dolls of Iwatsuki event. Paper dolls are floated on a pond in the doll town Iwatsuki to mark the Dolls Festival, which is also girls day. The dollsRead More →
The Setsubun festival at Fudougaoka Fudouson Souganji Temple in Kazo is famous throughout Kanto and beyond. It is probably Saitama’s most famous setsubun-kai? So much so, champion sumo wrestlers, even yokozuna have participated in the mamemaki bean throwing in the past. It has the reputation of being one of theRead More →
Daffodil Festival (also known as the Narcissus Festival) in Gongendo Park, Satte, Saitama in 2023. Each year in winter, from early January until around early February, thousands of daffodils and narcissus grow in the number four park of Satte Gongendo Park. The daffodil were first planted in 2005 and theirRead More →
For the first time in three years, Kitain Temple in Kawagoe will have their Setsubun Festival with a mamemaki bean throwing ceremony. Below you will find a first hand account of the setsubun celebration at Kitain Temple, as well as the information for the 2023 bean throwing ceremony. Setsubun celebrationsRead More →
Saitama City Dezome Shiki – Dezome / Dezome Shiki is one of the those truly unique-to-Japan events. It is a ceremony and festival of sorts for and by firefighters, celebrating the coming of the New Year. But it is also a way to heighten safety awareness. Firefighters put on anRead More →
The Japanese New Year tradition of Hatsumode… Hatsumode is the first visit of the year to a shrine or a temple, an important and much practiced tradition in the New Year in Japan. There are many shrines and also temples all around Saitama where you can practise Hatsumode. It doesn’tRead More →
Kasa Natural Outdoor Ice Rink, Tokigawa. Sorry for the clickbait heading; truth is Kasa Rink is not just the best natural ice rink in Saitama, its the only one!! Moreover, as we lose more and more seasonal ice rinks in Saitama Prefecture, it is one of only handful of placesRead More →
I have been keeping an eye out for the return of this FREE Street Performance Festival for almost three years now! I had just checked the Saitama Shintoshin website again last night and it still wasn’t scheduled so I was losing hope for 2023. Then today on my WordPress ReaderRead More →
The Otaki Ice festival, illuminated Misotsuchi Icicles in 2023 – One of the most famous, and beautiful, winter scenes of Saitama is at the Otaki Ice Festival. Located in the former Otaki village (now part of Chichibu city) in the Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park. The Misotsuchi Icicles are the only naturallyRead More →