Information for the newest large scale Bandai Official Gashapon opening in Japan in summer 2023. Gashapon Bandai Offical Kawajima Branch A Gashapon, also known as Gachapon, is a vending machine dispensed capsule toy. The term refers to both the machine and the capsule it dispenses with a miniature toy orRead More →
They cancelled the Koshigaya Fireworks three years in a row (2020 – 2022) due to the pandemic. But this year, they are on! Koshigaya Fireworks 2023 The date for the 2023 Koshigaya fireworks has been set as Saturday July 29th. This event attracts about 250,000 spectators annually. It is theRead More →
For the last couple of years Ageo City have been replacing the playground at Ageo Sports Park. The old equipment is now almost all gone, but there is still two pieces that may or may not remain. Several pieces have been completely demolished including a cement monstrosity which was visuallyRead More →
The Saitama Shintoshin Water Fight Festival and World Festa is one of the summer holiday highlights! It attracts a large number of visitors each year. Approximately 60,000 people participated in the 2019 event. The event was cancelled for three years in a row during the pandemic (2020 to 2022) andRead More →
A weird and wonderful junk yard ~ meets open air museum, at one of Kannabe Doken construction company work yards, reportedly once the Ogose Sake Brewery. For this week’s photo Friday, I want to share with you one of my happy places in Ogose town! And I promise you, thisRead More →
A selection of 10 Strawberry Picking farms in Saitama, near and commutable from Tokyo, for the 2023 Ichigo-gari season. Strawberry Picking near Tokyo Strawberry picking is called “ichigo-gari” イチゴ狩り in Japanese. Ichigo イチゴ means strawberry and gari means picking or, literally, hunting. In Japan, strawberry picking is predominantly indoors, inRead More →
A selection of 10 flowers that bloom in Japan in January. I say it often, because it is true, but my favorite month in Japan is January. There is so much to do in Japan in January. And as it is one of the driest months of the year, itRead More →
This post is mainly about the annual Daruma Market, but you will also find information for the temple’s main ‘hanamatsuri’ festival, on May 5th annually, in the paragraph before “information”. Original post If you missed the Daruma Market in Kawagoe, here is another chance to buy a Daruma for thisRead More →
Thank you for 2022, Toshikoshi and Toshikoshi Oharai and Happy New Year – the year of the rabbit. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your readership and support in 2022. Thanks to you, “In Saitama” had its best year yet, in its 16 year historyRead More →
Information for the Cainz Super Mall, Kawajima Interchange, and its annual Rainbow Festival. The Rainbow Festival is a small local type mascot event, with the mascots from each of the Rainbow Cities of Saitama Prefecture. The Rainbow Cities are Kawajima, Kawagoe, Moroyama, Ogose, Sakado and Tsurugashima. More information about theRead More →