Kawagoe has dozens of equinox flower, aka red spider lily, spots. Several of them quite hidden from the mass public. Equinox flowers is the literal translation of “higanbana”, a flower most commonly called red spider lily in English. I generally use “Red Spider lily” myself, but for this post IRead More →
Normally, one of the earliest parks to open their outdoor pools for the summer season is Numakage Park in Urawa, Saitama. However, in both 2020 and 2021 they announced early on that they would not open the pools due to the pandemic. Also, in 2021 they did some work onRead More →
Tobu Super Pool is one of the many offerings of what is officially called the Tobu Hybrid Park, but most commonly referred to as Tobu Zoo park. The pools are officially located in Shiraoka City, but as the vast majority of the Tobu Zoo park is in Miyashiro City theyRead More →
The John Deere Park is a work in progress, but it has huge potential. It is a “Satoyama” flower park in rural Hatoyama. A place unscathed by telephone or electrical wires, which is rare even in the Hiki District which is largely countryside. Initially, the ‘real’ name of the parkRead More →
Information for both the Iris Garden at the site of the former Shobu Castle and the annual Kuki City Blue Festival. Iris Garden at the Former Shobu Castle This is one of Google Map’s funniest auto translate locations; on Google Maps the site is called “Iris Castle Toe Iris Gardens”!Read More →
The summer pools / aqua park at New Sunpia Hotel and Resort in Ogose is one of the most popular in all of the prefecture. In fact, Walkerplus, has given them a coveted “Walker Award” in 2022, naming them as thee most popular summer pools in all of Japan. DespiteRead More →
Ten FREE (artificial) water play areas that are open this summer AND currently operating in Saitama in May 2022. You will will also find even more water play areas in the free map in this post. The weather has really started to warm up this week. And its only goingRead More →
Kawagoe Aquatic / Aqua Park aka Kawagoe Suijo Kouen, or Kawagoe Water Park, is one of the bigger and most popular summer pools in Saitama. In 2022, Walker have listed it as the 5th most popular aqua park in all of Japan. In addition, now that several pools have closedRead More →
Komonoyasan means accessory shop. But this little gem along the Toki River is actually an outdoor cafe, rich in character and charm. Furthermore, it is a particularly photogenic cafe; in a scenic natural setting with dozens of photo props. Currently, you can get a front row seat to the yaezakuraRead More →
A village of hidden gems, including the only Nihon (Japan) Shrine in all of Japan, near the Honjo Agriculture Tourism Center in Northern Saitama. The Honjo Agriculture Tourism Center is quite different to any other location I have visited in the last few years. It reminds me greatly of theRead More →