The Fujimi Cosmos walkway along the Shingashi River is blooming lovely today. It is close to the Mizumiya “frog” shrine which has recently undergone a stunning transformation. In addition, Mizuko Kaizuka park in the area is an archeological site that preserves the land of a former Jomon period village. TheyRead More →
The Taisho (Taishou) period was between 1912 and 1926. Yono in Urawa Ward have been hosting an event in commemoration of the period for almost 30 years. If it had not been for the you-know-what it actually would be more than 30 years! The last time they held the eventRead More →
A special Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N exhibition is coming to the Kadokawa Culture Museum in Tokorozawa Sakura Town this autumn. This will be the second time Marvel exhibits at the EJ Anime Museum on the 3rd floor of the Kadokawa Culture Museum* in Tokorozawa Sakura Town. Last Autumn the highly successfulRead More →
October is a great month to get out and about in Saitama, and all of Japan. The night time temperatures have cooled right down and by mid October the day time temperatures are cool and comfortable. The occurrence of typhoons also decreases, but do bear in mind that there haveRead More →
Iruma Mando Festival – Mando or Mandou 万燈 means 10,000 lights and is a type of Japanese lantern. For this, the biggest annual festival held in Iruma, the festival field is decorated with Mandou (pictured). There are a huge amount of events you can enjoy from traditional floats and music to modernRead More →
The Urawa Misono Festival¹ and fireworks were cancelled in both 2020 and 2021. I am so happy they are back in 2022. For one, the day time event is a railway festival, held in and around Urawa Misono Station. Who doesn’t love a railway festival!? Moreover, at night fireworks areRead More →
The Saitama Museum of Rivers only started celebrating Halloween around 8 or 9 years ago, and then a series of events prevented them from having Halloween festivities since 2018. In summary – a typhoon in 2019 and then the pandemic! However, they are celebrating in 2022 and on four differentRead More →
When my children were smaller the Saitama Children’s Zoo was a fun place to bring them during the Halloween period as the zoo put up usually put up lots of Halloween decorations. Particularly in the Children’s Castle, which would transform to a Halloween Castle during the month of October! TheyRead More →
For the first time in years, the Halloween Afternoon Tea at Shikitei Cafe is not Disney themed. This year it is a more sophisticated affair with only subtle hints of Halloween and more use of Autumnal colors. Omiya Rikyu is a wedding venue, so the building and gardens are beautifullyRead More →
A notable absence from the blog all these years, the cosmos at Kazo Miraikan has been on my “must visit” list for far too long! I finally visited yesterday. And while they were nothing like I had expected, that is not necessarily a bad thing! From the photos I’ve seenRead More →