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 2021 Nagatoro Wintersweet season dates will not be released from the official website until closer to the time. However, normally the annual Nagatoro wintersweet festival is held from the second week in January to the last week in February. Wintersweet, which are also referred to as Allspice in English,Read 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 →
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. There are a total of 3000 cherry blossom trees in different locations throughout Nagatoro with twoRead More →
Information for the 2020 Plum blossom festival Nagatoro Where can I see plum blossoms in Saitama? Ogose Bairin, Shinrin Park, Omiya Dai ni Park and Mt Hodo are some of the more famous plum blossom groves in Saitama. Mt Hodo plum blossom grove is the location of the Nagatoro PlumRead More →
The Nagatoro Valley Autumn Leaves Festival is a month long autumn leaf / foliage / fall color viewing period. It is celebrated annually in 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 famousRead 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 →
Easter Hodosan Zoo – Hodosan Zoo is a small zoo at the top of Mt Hodo in Nagatoro in Chichibu. From Saturday March 23rd until Bank Holiday Monday May 6th, on the days that the zoo is open, they are hosting an egg hunt easter event. Egg Hunt The eggRead More →
Komainu are usually referred to as lion-dogs in English. They are the guardian stone statues you see near the entrance to a shrine. One on either side of the walkway. One if male, one is female. Commonly one, believed to be the male one, has its mouth open and theRead More →