Strawberry Candle flowers and Lotus Grass in Kawagoe and general information for May flowers in Japan. As of Children’s Day May 5th 2022, the Lotus Grass is in full bloom in many areas of Saitama and the Kanto area beyond. And the Strawberry candle flowers aka Crimson Clover are startingRead More →
Daily life brought me to Kawagoe today, right by the Shingashi River. As I turned the corner to the street that runs along the river by Hikawa Shrine, I could see straight away that the cherry blossoms have opened. There are a few trees that are quite far along, butRead More →
Kawazu Zakura, early blooming cherry blossoms, at Semba-gashi Historic Park in downtown Kawagoe During the week I was searching online for Kawazu Zakura, early blooming cherry blossoms, in Kawagoe. Its a search I’ve done several times over the last few years. In the past it has brought up the sameRead More →
Cosmos flowers at Aina Water Park, October in Saitama. Aina Water Park Aina water park is a riverside park used by locals in Kawagoe. It is along the Iruma river. For the most part, this stretch of the Iruma river is not suited to water play. However, there is another,Read More →
The latest information in English on the web for LGBTQ+ friendly, discrimination free 800 year old Saimyouji, Kawagoe. Includes information for seasonally themed floral water fonts, temple illumination and new in 2021 – wind chimes. New in 2021 The latest addition to the temple, May 2021, are wind chimes. ItsRead More →
Kawagoe is famous for many things, not least its sweet potatoes. Even the city’s main mascot Tokimo is a mash (if you’ll pardon the pun!) of the sweet potato “imo” and the symbol of Kawagoe the bell tower “Toki”. Moreover, there is even a “Kawagoe Imo” which refers to sweetRead More →
Homemade bakery Nicori Kawagoe is a small, but popular take-out bakery in ‘local’ Kawagoe; outside the tourist area. It is only open a couple of years (since 2018), but is well established in the neighborhood. It attracts custom from out of town too. Whenever we visit I have seen regRead More →
This is a long overdue post about the famous Starbucks on Kanetsuki Street in the old warehouse district of Kawagoe. The branch opened in March 2018 and most of the photos in this post are actually from back then! But it hasn’t changed much in the two years since itRead More →
Summer sunflowers AND Autumn sunflowers, Ancient Lotus, Cosmos and Hydrangea in the Isanuma area of Kawagoe. At Isa Marsh and the Isa marsh East Bank Flower Garden or Isanuma Tōgan Hanabatake in Japanese. Jump to Autumn Sunflowers. New cafe with a great outdoor seating area added in spring 2021. IsaRead 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 →