Begonia are called “Shukaido” in Japanese, ‘a flower that blooms in Autumn’. As such they are a harbinger of Autumn. I went to visit my favorite spot for begonia on September 1st, 2021, to welcome Autumn. I was on my break from blogging at the time (haha) so I didn’tRead More →
Have you heard about the Peacock Shrine in Saitama City? Or maybe you know it as the Quiz Shrine? It is one of those shrines that is very famous among Saitama residents and further afield among the history buffs. But it is off the tourist trail. Maybe the locals preferRead More →
The annual Halloween afternoon tea at Shikitei in Omiya is going ahead this year despite the Coronavirus. They are keeping the Alice in Wonderland theme from the last two years, but the food – as always – will be different. Moreover, within the theme within the theme is also different!Read More →
With summer holidays around the corner, it has me thinking about places to bring the kids. In a “normal” year we visit Ireland for the whole of summer. However, due to the pandemic, we have been confined to Japan the last two years. As we are avoiding indoors at allRead More →
Ukiya no Sato is a nature reserve in Kazo City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It is part of what is known as the Saitama Green (greenery) Trust – conservation area number ten of fourteen areas in total in Saitama Prefecture. Ukiya no Sato The name of this nature reserve comes fromRead More →
Cosmos grow on the Arakawa riverbed near “Cosmos Arena Fukiage” in Konosu annually in October. During the period of the bloom there is usually a two day cosmos festival. However, in 2020 the festival was cancelled due to the pandemic. On September 22nd the Konosu Tourism Assocation officially declared thatRead More →
In both 2020 and 2021, the Higanbana festival in Satte’s Gongendo Park was cancelled on account of the Coronavirus outbreak. The other large spider lily festivals in Saitama, such as at Kinchakuda, were also cancelled. In 2021, Gongendo Park opened for all other seasonal blooms – daffodils, cherry blossoms, hydrangeaRead More →
A round up of events in Saitama in summer 2021. Includes information on those events and fireworks that have been cancelled in 2021 and those that are going ahead. Update July 28th 14:08 JST. This information is all very tentative at the moment. Saitama Prefecture is poised to request aRead More →
Saitama Summer Pools 2021 – where is open and where is not. For all 20 pools open in a ‘regular’ year and mapped on Google see here. Update July 29th 20:18 JST.Saitama Prefecture announced today that Saitama will be under a State of Emergency from Monday August 2nd to TuesdayRead More →
Yano Fishing Park is located in a valley in Kamikawa Town in the Northern (Kodama) area of Saitama Prefecture, right on the border of Gunma Prefecture. Kamikawa Town doesn’t get a lot of publicity. With the result it is one of the most unspoiled areas of Saitama Prefecture. However, KamikawaRead More →