Kotoku Temple (Kotoku-ji Temple) is a temple belonging to the Shingon sect Toyozan school. According to official records the temple den, the main hall and the monastery were destroyed by fire in both Shoho and Kyoho. However, incredibly and luckily for us except for the Omido and Niomon of theRead More →
Summer in Saitama 2020 – Things are a lot different this summer in the shadow of the Coronavirus outbreak. For one, summer holidays are much shorter for most people, whether you are a child or an adult. Then of course there is the fact that the majority of our belovedRead More →
Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo – The world renowned travelling puppet show Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo is coming back to Saitama this summer. Due to the phenomenal success and popularity in its inaugural year, the Erth’s zoo keeps coming back to Saitama Prefecture. They added more locations and more dates to be enjoyedRead More →
This is one post I am particularly happy to be bringing you! We have been trying to stay at Kinomura Camp in Tokigawa for the last five years. However, as it is extremely popular we have never been able to secure a booking for a date we wanted. This year,Read More →
Hachimangu is one of several shrines in Kawagoe with a long rich history. It is a “ichinomiya” meaning it was the first shrine of the Hachimangu sect in Kawagoe. (There are older shrines, such as Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine, in Kawagoe). Kawagoe Hachimangu was founded in 1030 A.D. by Minamoto Yorinobu.Read More →
Riverside hydrangea, Okegawa. Sometimes it pays to get lost. I was attempting to go to one of the three safflower fields in Okegawa today. The safflower where nowhere in sight and I thought that both I and Google had remembered the place incorrectly. So I opted to abandon Google mapsRead More →
Hatchoko Park is the park around the eponymous Lake Hatcho in Yoshimi town in the Hiki District of Saitama. Lake Hatcho is a man-made lake in a natural woody hillside in the Prefectural Hiki Nature Park. Hatchoko Park In my personal opinion there is nothing exceptional about Hatchoko park. Don’tRead More →
Five year old really wanted to play in some water today. However, most of the water play areas in parks are closed on account of the Coronavirus. It was a blessing in disguise, because instead we went to a Suzumegawa Sabo Dam park with a natural river. My favorite kind!Read More →
Toda Summer Pool for kids at Kodomo No Kuni. Kodomo no Kuni is the name of the Children’s Center in Toda city, Saitama. Among their many facilities they have outdoor pools for children in the summer. They have a 30 cm pool and a 45 cm pool making them idealRead More →
Cluster Amaryllis / Higanbana / Red spider lilies at the Terasaka terraced Rice fields in Yokoze What is another name for cluster amaryllis? The cluster amaryllis is a flower of many names. In Japan, they are most frequently called Higanbana or Manjushage. In English the most common name is redRead More →