Sakuranoyama Park is located in Ogose Town, Saitama, Japan. It is a small park, but very picturesque in spring. As you can probably guess, it is thanks to the eponymous cherry blossoms (sakura) of the park. And as the name also suggests it is a mountainside (yama) park. The parkRead More →
Ogose town is full of surprises. This year we have visited the town several times and unearthed lots of hidden treasures. Such as the purple mountain, the crying dam, Cafe St Gallen (Kuroyama Kosenkan) to name but a few. Last year, when visiting Godaison, one of Ogose’s better known attractions,Read More →
Kuroyama is a beautiful, mystical, rugged area of Ogose town. It is best known for the three waterfalls of Kuroyama (Kuroyama Santaki), which were once ranked as the 9th most scenic waterfalls in Japan. They don’t enjoy as much fame these days and the area – while beautiful – doesRead More →
The crying dam and mannequin pis, Akasakazawa Dam, in the woods of the Kosugi area of Ogose hiking Town, Saitama Prefecture. The crying dam The Akasakazawa Dam is a dam of the Akasaka river, a tributary of the larger Mugihara river. It is nicknamed (and better known as) the cryingRead More →
Day two of the four day 300 year old Satte Summer Festival sees the children’s mikoshi event. A mikoshi is a portable shrine. Local children participate in carrying the portable shrine through the town. This year, 2020, the date has been set for Thursday the 16th of July. This eventRead More →
Fukaya Tanabata Festival – also known as the Fukaya Star Festival. The 2020 Fukaya Tanabata Festival was scheduled to take place from Friday July 10th until Sunday July 12th. However, due to the coronavirus outbreak the festival was cancelled. About 200,000 spectators from Saitama, Tokyo and even further afield, descendRead More →
Update April 2020. Normally at this time of the year the Konosu fireworks committee start to plan the annual Konosu fireworks. On April 18th they released a press statement to say they have not yet made a decision about the 2020 fireworks. They are very aware of the tumultuous situationRead More →
The Nakasendo matsuri is just one of many festivals that is normally held in Omiya at the end of July and start of August each summer. They are collectively called “Omiya Summer Festival”. Unfortunately, but understandably, they have all been cancelled in 2020 due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Official notificationRead More →
Grape picking at Tokorozawa Vineyard annually from early August to mid September. There is rarely advance notice of when the season will begin. They will just post on their website when the grapes are ripe enough for picking. In 2020, there is a chance there will be changes in theRead More →
Sakado Yosakoi 2020 – For the second year in a row, the Sakado Yosakoi festival has been cancelled. Last year it was due to a typhoon, this year (2020) it is due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The decision was made quite early to cancel the event with confirmation coming throughRead More →