In 2020, the organizers of the Konosu Fireworks announced that they were postponing the infamous Konosu Fireworks. They normally take place in October. However, they never did release a new date. Moreover, on June 23rd they made a further announcement that the fireworks are postponed indefinitely. The 2019 Konosu FireworksRead More →
Koma Jinja aka Koma Shrine, Hidaka, Saitama Prefecture Many years ago my husband and I visited a shrine on the way home from Chichibu. I didn’t think too much of it to be honest. The thatched roof former residence – a nationally designated Important Cultural property – out the backRead 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 →
‘Tapioca and Tart’ at Layer cafe, located along the Arakawa riverbed on the grounds of a Karinto factory in Fukaya. Layer Cafe Layer cafe opened on the grounds of Asahi Karinto’s Hanazono factory in April 2020. Karinto is a type of sweet deep fried traditional Japanese snack food. The frontRead 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 →
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 →
Along the scenic route 299 from Hidaka to Yokoze (Chichibu), there is a very picturesque temple – Chonenji – that scintillates in June with stunning hydrangea. I had this one saved on my Google Maps with a note “hydrangea”. However, I have absolutely no recollection of making that note orRead 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 →