Exclusively on “In Saitama”: a new wind chime festival in Kawagoe City since 2023. I’m calling them the candy cane wind chimes, because they hang from red and white poles that remind me of candy cane! In June 2026, they also have wind chimes around, and mini rubber ducks in, the hanachozu – the purifying font with floating flowers.
Wind Chime Festival
In June 2023 when I was driving to Cafe Magnolia to try out the trendy cube shaped cheesecake, I passed Naritasan Kawagoe Betsuin Hongyoin. (Hereafter I just call it Naritasan). There was quite a bit of traffic and I got stopped right outside the turtle pond in Naritasan. You can’t see the turtle pond from the street, due to the high wall. But I could see vibrant lanterns peeping out from behind the wall. Intrigued, I decided to go Naritasan on my next visit to downtown Kawagoe and what a surprise was awaiting me;
Candy Cane Wind Chimes!
Not only are there beautiful red lanterns on display at the turtle pond, but there is a colorful display of wind chimes also. Incredibly, apart from the official website (linked in information) these wind chimes had not made it on to the worldwide web yet, when I wrote this post in 2023. They have since made it on to social media though, but they still haven’t gone viral. Moreover, they have yet to feature on any of the event or tourism websites. Not even the Kawagoe tourism websites!
However, due to this, the end date is unknown. The official website only says when they start, but not when they will take them down. The kind ladies in one of the tourism offices inquired for me, and in 2023 they just said “sometime in July”. However, in June 2024, they finally made it on to the news and reportedly they will be up until mid August. They will also have their tanabata fair until mid August too. You can write your tanabata wishes on a strip of paper (100 yen) and add it to the bamboo displays. You can also purchase tanabata paper-cut design temple stamps (1500 yen).
It is not a particularly large display, but it is very striking. Moreover it is bigger since 2024 as they now also have wind chimes on each of the beautiful gates to the temple. Also, they are very different to the famous wind chimes of Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine. They make a different sound too. According to the official website, they are on display in celebration of the “Aoba Matsuri”. Aoba matsuri is a festival for Kobo Daishi’s (the founder of Shingon Buddhism) birthday, which falls on June 15th. Aoba literally means blue leaves, what we call “new green” in English.
Hanachozu with rubber ducks and wind chimes June 2026
Currently, mid June 2026, there are dozens of mini yellow rubber ducks in the ‘hanachozu’, purifying font. There are also wind chimes hanging from the eaves of the Hanachozu in the same style of the Aoba Festival.
Matchmaking Benzaiten Festival
There are also some color lanterns up for the Matchmaking Benzaiten Festival, which is on June 24th. The ceremony takes place after the 11 am Goma Ritual.
>>Find even more events on in June in Saitama Prefecture this year.
Information
Event: Wind Chime / Aoba Festival 風鈴まつり（青葉まつり）
Dates: from June to either end of July or mid August (exact date not yet decided) 2026.
Time: from 8 am to 4 pm
Cost: free to view, 100 yen for a tanabata strip of paper, 1500 yen for the limited edition paper-cut tanabata design goshuin temple stamps.
Venue: Naritasan Kawagoe Betsuin Hongyoin 成田山川越別院（本行院）, 9-2 Kubomachi, Kawagoe, Saitama 〒350-0055. View on Google maps.
Access
Naritasan is about a 20 to 25 minute walk from Kawagoe station. From Honkawagoe its about a 12 to 15 minute walk. The Koedo Kawagoe loop bus that goes from the East exit of Kawagoe Station stops in front of Naritasan. It is the third stop (2nd if you exclude the station) on the route, after Kitain.
There is a small parking lot on the grounds, but you can also park at Kitain. Kitain recently improved their charging system. It used to be a flat rate of 500 yen for the day, but they now charge 200 yen for the first half hour and 100 yen for every half hour after that. Which actually makes it cheaper than most if you are only visiting for an hour or two. The standard rate in Kawagoe for parking is 200 per half hour.
Official event page on the Naritasan website
Information in English about Naritasan – and its famous monthly antique fair.
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