Gyoda’s “Hanachozu week” starts again tomorrow. And you cannot visit Gyoda’s hanachozu (floral font / floating flowers) without visiting Gyoda Hachiman Shrine. Not only is the shrine one of Saitama’s most prominent, it is home to the piece de resistance of the monthly hanachozu week in Gyoda. Moreover, it isRead More →
The 2023 fiscal year (from April) information is now available on the Gyoda City website. I will eventually update this post with that information and republish as new as I will be making quite a few changes. Please bear with me while I get through the cherry blossom season first!!Read More →
Washinomiya Shrine (previously Washimiya Shrine) is known as the oldest shrine in the Kanto region. It is located in Kuki City, Saitama Prefecture, just North of Tokyo. There is a lot a debate over the age of the shrine. Some put it at 1900 years old, which actually wouldn’t makeRead More →
‘Tanbo’ Art – art made from rice in a ‘tanbo’, the Japanese for rice paddy. A must see in summer / early Autumn in Saitama. There was no rice paddy art in 2020, but it has been back since 2021. This year, 2022, the rice was planted on June 11th.Read More →
Saitama’s best Kawazu zakura spot? Its funny, all these years I thought Saitama didn’t really have a particularly head turning kawazu zakura spot. And then last year, I realized that we do, its just not been marketed very well. I have dozens of books about Saitama – not one hasRead More →
Information for the first sunrise, Hatsuhinode 初日の出, in Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Ibaraki in 2023. However, some of the locations in this post are suited to watching a sunrise anytime of the year. Unfortunately, there are also some that do not open for sunrise except for the very first sunriseRead More →
Cherry blossoms Sakitama – One of Saitama’s famous cherry blossom viewing spots is the Sakitama Tomb Park in Gyoda City. While renowned within Saitama as a sakura viewing spot, the cherry blossoms are not that eminent outside of Saitama. However, the “kofun” burial mounds of the park are well knownRead More →
Mustard Seed is an old train carriage converted into a railway restaurant in Gyoda City, Saitama Prefecture. I didn’t have an opinion on trains one way or another until I came to Japan. But, as happens to so many after spending sometime in Japan, I jumped on the train-loving-train andRead More →
Geocaching Saitama. Sakitama Kofun Park has several caches to discover. The majority of them are relatively easy to find and within 200 meters of the main entrance. A great beginners site in Saitama for geocaching. Read More →
Child friendly Vert Café, in a converted Cultural Property in Gyoda Suijo Park Vert Café in Gyoda Suijo Park captivates the passerby with its atypical European appearance. A beautiful wooden mansion glossed in a light fern green, it is not only aesthetically pleasing, but it has an interesting backstory ofRead More →