The Nagatoro Fire Festival is the largest fire festival in the Kanto Plain / Greater Tokyo area. Nagatoro Fire Festival A truly awesome and invigorating festival, the fire festival is one of those only-in-Japan occasions that are a must see for the long term expat in Japan. It is aRead More →
Information for the Floating dolls of Iwatsuki in 2023. One truly enchanting event to mark the annual Dolls festival is the floating dolls of Iwatsuki event. Paper dolls are floated on a pond in the doll town Iwatsuki to mark the Dolls Festival, which is also girls day. The dollsRead More →
The Setsubun festival at Fudougaoka Fudouson Souganji Temple in Kazo is famous throughout Kanto and beyond. It is probably Saitama’s most famous setsubun-kai? So much so, champion sumo wrestlers, even yokozuna have participated in the mamemaki bean throwing in the past. It has the reputation of being one of theRead More →
Short notice, but I just heard myself earlier today that the Daruma Market in Eigenji, Sakado will be on tomorrow. If you missed the Daruma Market in Kawagoe, here is another chance to buy a Daruma for this year. But don’t worry if you can’t make this one either, thereRead More →
Saitama Prefecture has three main Yabusame events. Kawagoe Yabusame is the newest and least prestigious. Moroyama Yabusame is the most famous and celebrated. And Tokigawa Yabusame, while lesser known, is historically and culturally rich. It is a designated cultural property of Saitama. However, the Tokigawa Yabusame, unlike the other two,Read More →
Iwadono Shohoji is a small mountainside temple, known for its Purple or ‘Mitsuba’ Azalea, in Tokigawa Town. I was updating the information for the 2023 Kasa natural ice rink in Tokigawa town today. Which reminded me that Shohoji temple is one of more than 300 posts I have sitting inRead More →
New Year Event Dezome Kumagaya – One of the many New Year traditions in Japan. Dezome Shiki has been practised since the Edo period. It involves a ceremony of firefighters with an acrobatic show, put on to simultaneously entertain the audience and raise safety awareness. It is one of myRead More →
Seien Park illumination in Fukaya is a relatively new addition to “In Saitama”. I’m not sure when the very first display was, but the event has been around for at least four years. It started grabbing attention in 2019 and has proved to be a very popular and photogenic illuminationRead More →
For the first time in three years: the Honjo Festival, ‘the best float festival on the Nakasendo’. The Honjo Festival is one of two festivals that take place in Honjo City in early November. The Kodama Autumn Festival takes place on the Culture Day public holiday, November 3rd, only. ButRead More →
The Kodama Autumn Festival is a traditional festival float festival that takes places on Culture Day annually. A highlight of the festival is the parade of sacred horses. Culture day is on November 3rd and is a public holiday in Japan. This festival centers around Hachiman Shrine. Kodama Autumn FestivalRead More →