Cover photo for Toda Illumi Illumination event

The Toda City Illumination event “Toda Illumi” is relatively new, it only started in 2019. (There are also other illumination events in Toda City which have been around for longer). The city aim to make illumination synonymous with winter in Toda, that become a winter tradition. According to Toda City,Read More →

Autumn leaves Ranzan Valley

Autumn leaves 紅葉 (koyo/ kōyō) Festival at the Ranzan valley / Gorge in 2023. Ranzan Valley¹ is a beautiful nature spot with several hiking routes in the Hiki area of Saitama Prefecture. It is particularly popular in Autumn when the leaves are in various shades of red, yellow and green.Read More →

Jomine Park winter cherry blossoms

Jomine Park in the unassuming Kamikawa Town in the North of Saitama is one of Japan’s most famous winter cherry blossoms spots. Moreover, it is one of only a handful of places in Japan where you can see red maple leaves and cherry blossoms at the same time. Normally, theRead More →