The Kuki Lantern Festival, also known as Kuki Tenno Festival, is one of the most famous festivals in Saitama Prefecture. In 2020 the event was completely cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak. In 2021, a small part of it was on, without any type of food or festival stalls. Moreover,Read More →
Kumagaya Uchiwa Festival is one of the Kanto area’s largest summer festivals. It is open to the public from July 20th – 22nd annually, but it is actually celebrated from the 19th to the 23rd by patrons of Yasaka Shrine of Kamakura-cho. However, it was not open to the general publicRead More →
Saikasai – Asaka City Festival. For the last two years, due to the Olympics, they scheduled the Saikasai festival for Autumn. But in 2022 for the first time in three years, they are planning to have the festival in August again. This festival is on the first Sunday of AugustRead More →
The Sayama City Irumagawa Tanabata Festival and Fireworks are officially one of the three great Star Festivals of the Kanto region. Sayama City have decided to have the festival in 2022. However, it is very much a festival “lite” with many of the usual elements of the festival missing, includingRead More →
The Kazo Citizen’s Peace (Heiwa) Festival is held on May 3rd annually. May 3rd is a national public holiday that falls during Golden Week. The festival is a type of spring festival, but the highlight is the jumbo carp streamer. It is the world’s longest carp shaped windsock. The carpRead More →
The Kasukabe Wisteria Festival was cancelled in both 2020 and 2021. However, the Wisteria of Ushijima – Tokaen, which is just one location of the Kasukabe Wisteria Festival, was open to the public. It is opening in 2022 too: from April 11th to May 5th. Update May 2nd 2022: TokaenRead More →
Izumo Iwai Shrine, the Yabusame shrine, in Moroyama town in the Iruma-gun of Saitama Prefecture. Please note that the yabusame event is not open to the public in 2022. Following on from yesterday’s post about the horse blessing temple, today a shrine known for its horse back archery! Moroyama TownRead More →
The Batou Kannon Ema market is an only in Japan festival. Actually, there are only a few places in Japan that have an ema festival or market, so this festival is quite unique even in Saitama Prefecture too. Ema are the wooden prayer plaques or votive tablets you see atRead More →
The plum blossom grove at Chichibu Muse Park is particularly beautiful. There is something about it and Shinrin Park’s plum blossom grove that sets them apart from the other “bairin”, plum blossom groves, in Saitama Prefecture. Possibly, the clever design that makes them more picture perfect than others. And inRead More →
Every year on January 3rd, Kitain temple in Kawagoe have a Daruma market as part of their New Year celebrations. January 3rd marks the final day (of three) of the official New Year period at Kitain. Approximately 440,000 people visit Kitain over those three days for the first prayers ofRead More →