According to Kawagoe Hikawa shrine’s social media, the 2026 pinwheels went up on May 16th. This is much earlier than an average year. (Except for in 2022 when they went up in March for the 100 year anniversary of Kawagoe city!) The information for this annual June event has been on the site since the inauguration of th, but it is updated every year. Moreover, I included hydrangea information a few years ago, which wasn’t included when the post was first published. The ‘Hikawa’ hydrangea generally bloom roughly around the same time that the pinwheels are up. However, as the pinwheels are up much earlier than normal, the hydgrangea might not yet be in bloom.
Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine Pinwheels
Last year, 2025, they also went up earlier as normal, for the last week of May. The reason then was that the famous ‘enmusubi’ wind chimes were put up earlier than ever. They take the pinwheels down before putting up the wind chimes. So I suspect that the wind chimes will also go up early in 2026. You can find information for the enmusubi wind chimes here . Insaitama.com was the very first website to share information about the now famous wind chimes in English on the whole web, back in 2014, their very first year.
This year the colors are, blue / white and beige / white combinations. Currently the pinwheels are only up under the stone torii, which faces the front of the shrine. They usually put another display in the square across the road from the stone torii, in front of the Naoraidan, banquet hall. The Naoraidan was the main parking lot of the shrine until 2020! In addition, they sometimes have another display in a wooden frame to the side of the front of the shrine. Furthermore, in previous years they had a another display down the side of the shrine, but that not might be the case in 2026. In 2025, they started putting wind chimes up there before the main display period.
Previous displays
I have visited these pinwheels every single year since their inception. However, I haven’t kept all the previous years photos on the blog. But I have left the 2022 post up as it was a special one for the 100 year anniversary of Kawagoe as a city (it was a domain before that). They went up three months early in March. Moreover, they changed color every few weeks which was unique to the 2022 event. You can also take a look at the special 2019 red and white pinwheel X wind chime event for Emperor Naruhito’s ascension to the throne here!
Hydrangea
The main hydrangea associated with Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine are on the approach road to the south, running alongside the courtyard of the Naoraidan and leading to the stone torii. There is also some hydrangea on the west of the shrine. They are on the shrine’s grounds, but you can’t actually see them from inside the precincts due to the trees and the shrine’s buildings. You need to go out the stone torii, walk west and take the first right down the side of the shrine. As if you were walking down to Shingashi Bridge where the famous sakura are. The photo above was taken on May 24th 2025.
In addition, there are some hydrangea around the new Kaikan (like a wedding hall). However, currently that garden can only be accessed by wedding guests. You can see a couple of the hydrangea from beside the large orange torii though. You will also find a bush here and there on the grounds and in the courtyard of Naoraidan!
Information
Event: Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine Pinwheels (& Hydrangea) 川越氷川神社風車・あじさい
Dates: from May 16th 2026 to a date yet to be announced. ⚠There maybe times that the pinwheels are taken down due to extreme wind or weather alerts.
Hours: office hours of the shrine 9 am to 6 pm. In theory, the pinwheels are up 24 hours, but the precincts close at night. Before the pandemic the precincts were open until 9 pm and they even lit the pinwheels up at night.
Cost: it is customary and polite to, at the very least, leave a donation in the prayer box. Please note that since 2021 the remaining parking lot, on the opposite side of Shingashi River, is no longer free at the shrine.
Venue: Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine, 2-11-3 Miyashita Machi, Kawagoe, Saitama 350-0052, Japan. View on Google Maps.
Access
Please note as of April 2021 there is no longer any official and / or free parking for Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine. Dai Ichi car park is now the new pinwheel display area! But Dai Ni parking lot is still there, but it is now a coin parking lot. It costs 100 yen for half an hour. By public transport you can get a bus relatively near. The CO-EDO loop bus (Tourist bus) stops near the shrine. You can also walk from either Hon-Kawagoe, Kawagoe or Kawagoeshi stations, but it takes about 25 / 30 minutes.