In February 2025, I went along to the opening of the Chiikawa shop (Chiikawa Mogumogu Honpo) in Kawagoe. There were several social media posts online about it at the time and great excitement about the Chiikawa shop opening in the Penny Candy Alley. It would seem the world and its mother had seen the social media posts, because for months on end there were queues out the door. That continued right up until July 2025. But in September 2025 it was finally possible to get into the Chiikawa shop, on a weekday anyway, without having to wait in a long line outside the store. I was lucky to get a sneak peak before the opening but hadn’t really been into the shop until July since February, as I don’t like to queue!
Chiikawa Mogumogu Honpo Shop Kawagoe
I did intend to publish this around the time of the opening, but it was a busy time and I never got around to it. I thought in the meantime somebody else would write about the store in English language, but surprisingly I haven’t seen anything. Meanwhile in Japanese there are literally hundreds, possibly thousands, of posts online about the new shop. Chiikawa is super popular in Japan. And until this branch there was no Chiikawa store in the Kanto region, just in Kyoto. With the result when the branch in the Penny Candy Alley of Kawagoe opened, people travelled from far and wide to visit it. And they still are. Even though the queues have gone right down, inside the store is still very busy. Especially on weekends.
Officially the shop is called Chiikawa Mogumogu Honpo. Chiikawa, a manga series by illustrator Nagano, originally started on Twitter. The story follows the everyday adventures of Chiikawa and quirky friends Hachiware and Usagi. Their daily lives are filled with fun, bittersweet moments, and a touch of hardship, which has captivated fans everywhere. There is now a book series too; “Chiikawa: Nanka Chiisakute Kawaii Yatsu,” . Moreover, since April 2022, the “Chiikawa” TV anime has been airing as part of “Mezamashi TV” on the Fuji TV network. The first Chiikawa Mogumogu Honpo opened in Kyoto in 2023. The Kawagoe branch is only the second ever branch to open and the first in the Kanto region, i.e. the Greater Tokyo area.
Mogumogu is the Japanese onomatopeia for munching food. So I find it quite curious that the branch in Kawagoe doesn’t have a cafe! And that it is so incredibly popular despite not having a cafe. The food it does sell is mainly souvenir type food. But they have limited edition food souvenirs. Moreover, many of the food is sweet potato flavored as Kawagoe is known for its sweet potatoes. They also have sweets from the Kyoto branch and other flavors of goodies too. In addition, they have a wide range of cute character goods and merchandise. Again, some of which is exclusive to Kawagoe, with art inspired by the famous kurazukuri traditional storehouses of Kawagoe. Moreover, there are a few cute photo spots and both inside and outside the store you can find several Chiikawa details. You’d almost miss them if you weren’t looking out for them.
Information
Store: Chiikawa Mogumogu Honpo Kawagoe Branch (Penny Candy Alley) ちいかわもぐもぐ本舗 川越店(小江戸横丁)
Hours: from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm daily
Cost: from 300 yen
Address: 2-7-9 Motomachi, Kawagoe, Saitama 〒350-0062 Japan. View on Google Maps.
Access: about a 20 minute walk from both Hon Kawagoe station (Seibu line) and Kawagoeshi station (Tobu Tojo line). You can also walk from Kawagoe station, it takes about 30 minutes on foot, or get any bus from the station that goes near to Penny Candy Alley or Fudanotsuji bus stop. The store is about a five minute walk from that bus stop. There is no parking lot in the Penny Candy Alley. There are several coin parking lots nearby, but please note they are often full and they usually cost 200 to 300 yen for half an hour.
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well… there are so many different anime creations out there and I must admit its surprising how many have their own shop!