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 →

Japanese fan decorations at Aobaen

The latest display at Aobaen in Saitama City is a colorful corridor of Japanese fans, ‘uchiwa’. Since around August 2022, Aobaen Cemetery in Saitama City, have a permanent wooden trellis in front of their three tiered pagoda. Each month they create a tunnel of color with something different! They haveRead More →

Stunning cement water basin with yellow floating flowers at Gyoda Hachiman Shrine in Gyoda City

As promised, a completely revamped post for the free monthly Hanachozu Week event in Gyoda City. The event has gone some through changes. Because I updated the original post frequently, the post had become a bit ‘messy’. Moreover, this year (2023), they are switching the event from the fiscal yearRead More →

Koshigaya Sun City Illumination

The Christmas tree and Winter Illumination at Koshigaya Sun City will be switched on Saturday November 11th 2023. For the switch on event they had a number of performances at Sun City including a gospel choir and ballet dance performance. Koshigaya Sun City Illumination Koshigaya Sun City is a shoppingRead More →

Metsa Christmas

Metsa is the largest Nordic Lifestyle recreation spot in all of Japan. It incorporates Metsa Village and Moominvalley Park. Metsa Village is the ‘free’ part of the Nordic and Finnish theme park in Hanno, Saitama. Each year they have a Christmas Village, but it has been quite different since theRead More →