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 →
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 →
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 →
Yamazaki Park’s Seseragi Iris Garden, 2021. Second post of the day (first one here) and another mini one. The flowering season is so short that if I don’t get these posts out now they will be of no use for 2021. The Iris at Yamazaki Park in particular probably onlyRead More →
Hoanji is a 400 year old temple in Kumagaya City, Saitama. It is regarded locally as an hydrangea temple. However, it is not “thee” hydrangea temple: the most famous one is Nogoji. Nogoji’s hydrangea are off limits in 2021. Thankfully Hoan-ji is open to the public and welcomes hydrangea hunters!Read More →
There are several different lavender fields in Kuki City, mostly within the vicinity of City Hall Shobu Branch. Between them they grow three different type of lavender: Hidcote (English lavender), Lavandula Grosso (French lavender) and Lavandula stoechas (Spanish lavender). The site at Kuki City Hall, known as Lavender Street, growsRead More →
If you are looking for somewhere to view hydrangea in Kazo City Saitama, the Kisai area has a really beautiful selection. Furthermore, you can see Annabelle hydrangea backdropped by Kisai Castle. At the base of the castle you will find more hydrangea in bloom. There is also a lotus pondRead More →