Information for the 14th annual Pink Ribbon light up on this October, 2023, in Kumagaya and Gyoda. As well as the candle night at Menuma Shodenzan on the opening night of the event. Pink Ribbon Light up Each year in the month of October, Saitama’s famous Menuma Shodenzan temple isRead More →
For the first time in three years, Shinrin Park have grown the Cock’s comb (aka Keito / Cockscomb / Celosia) and Kochia at the ‘Undo Hiroba’. The Undo Hiroba is larger than the area where they were grown in both 2022 and 2021. In fact, the display will be twiceRead More →
Big Mouse Coffee and Fermentation shop is a cafe in a ‘kominka’ (old Japanese country house) in a rural part of Nishi Ward in Saitama City. It is located in a former ‘Forest of Horses and Art’ that was destroyed by typhoon Hagibis. The Kominka used to house a bonsaiRead More →
Delicious, colorful, magical kakigori… and cheap too! Surprisingly cheap given that it is in a high end restaurant specializing in Kyoto Style food. Moreover, the restaurant is located in Saitama Prefecture’s capital city, albeit in a somewhat rural area of the city, in Nishi Ward. Be sure to check outRead More →
Smiley is the name of a cafe in a Kominka in the Isanuma area of Kawagoe. The cafe is located in a Kominka: a traditional type of farmhouse, quintessential of rural Japan before the war. it is a ‘time share’ eatery – in the morning, until 2 pm, the kominkaRead More →
Cafe Chocotto is a very special place to me. I found it in on a cycle in the Kawagoe Satoyama Initiative area of Fukuda. I hit it off with the owner, one of the loveliest people you could meet. And so started a new relationship. The only reason I haveRead More →
Information for the seasonal afternoon tea at Shikitei Cafe in Saitama City. The 2023 Halloween event is called “Treat Afternoon Tea”. Seasonal Afternoon Tea Shikitei Cafe is a cafe restaurant located in a wedding venue Omiya Rikyu which since 2023 is more commonly known as Art Grace. Shikitei cafe isRead More →
Moominvalley Park Harvest 2023 in the Moomin theme park at Metsa, Hanno, Saitama. This year the theme is ‘apples’. Moominvalley Park Harvest 2023 The Harvest event at Moominvalley Park was started during the pandemic, in the autumn of 2020. I donned it a balloon sky, as the Harvest displays areRead More →
The Terasaka Terrace Rice Fields is a beautiful area in Yokoze in the Chichibu District. They are known for both their fireflies in summer and the cluster amaryllis in September. Each year, for one day only, during the bloom period of the flowers, they have a cluster amaryllis festival. However,Read More →
Gongendo park is one of the three principal places to see higanbana, aka red spider lilies, in Saitama Prefecture and one of the bigger spider lily festival locations. It is one of my personal favorite spots for higanbana in Saitama Prefecture. Hopefully the picture below, which I took during theRead More →