On April 27th 2020, months ahead of its scheduled date, the Nagatoro Tourist Assocation announced the cancellation of the 2020 Nagatoro Fundama Festival. Like the majority of events cancelled in 2020 it was due to concerns about the Coronavirus outbreak. It is too early to tell (September 2020) if theRead More →
The Nagatoro Cherry Blossom Festival is one of the most popular in the whole of Saitama. It is also one of the longest, stretching from the end of March to the end of April, even early May some years. There are a total of 3000 cherry blossom trees in differentRead More →
The Nagatoro Plum Blossoms / festival or season should start from around mid February, when the ume (plum blossom) typically begin to bloom in that part of Saitama. On the lower grounds they bloom from the end of January. Even on Mt Hodo in Nagatoro there are always a fewRead More →
The 2021 Nagatoro Wintersweet season is in full swing. Normally the annual Nagatoro wintersweet festival is held from the second week in January to the last week in February. However, this year on account of the State of Emergency they are not having a “festival” per se. But the wintersweetRead More →
Information for the Kotatsu Boat Nagatoro in 2021. Its all happening in Nagatoro and Chichibu in January! Icicles, strawberry picking, wintersweet festival and a truly only in Japan activity of Kotatsu boat riding! From January 1st until Sunday February 28th you can ride a boat on the Arakawa in JapaneseRead More →
Hodosan shrine, one of my top ten favorite shrines of all time, is one of those rare shrines that is well worth going out of your way to visit. Apart from its intriguing 1900 year history, the beauty and detail of the shrine and the grounds will captivate you inRead More →
The best time to view Autumn leaves in Nagatoro is generally November. Stretching 6 kilometers along the Ara river from Iwadatami, resplendent fall colours decorate the Nagatoro Valley. Trees include Momiji, Kunugi and Oak. Taking the famous Kudari line down the river is a great way to take in theRead More →
Nagatoro is one area renowned for wisteria. The area has naturally grown wisterias historically and is referred to as the valley of wisteria. There are about 3000 wisteria trees in the area, with the most famous around the Iwadatami. Iwadatami is also a celebrated natural phenomenon of Nagatoro and hasRead More →
Wintersweet Nagatoro, Chichibu at Hodosan Robaien. In the hottest month of the year, I am nostalgic for the coldest month of the year. And judging by my blogs currently trending posts, it would seem I am not the only one. At the moment, the top three read posts of AugustRead More →
Our first camp of the year, back in January, was in Waterpark Nagatoro. A delightful trailer and camping grounds with water activities in scenic Minano, on the border of Nagatoro, in Chichibu. We didn’t brave the extremes and actually stayed indoors. In a pleasing trailer house, a first for theRead More →