Last year, 2021, for the first time ever, the Go Go Halloween event was on at Marigold Hill. Due to the pandemic they hosted it there, so it would be completely outdoors. However, this year the event will be back at its real home: at Hanipon Plaza and the GinzaRead More →
Cosmos and fireworks, say no more! Cosmos Fireworks The former Okabe town, which is now part of Fukaya City, is renowned for its cosmos fireworks. Thankfully both the fireworks and the festival will be back in 2022 for the first time in three years. Moreover, apart from being able toRead More →
Setsubun Saitama- Setsubun is a religious ceremony practiced every year on February 3rd. Historically setsubun, which literally means seasonal division, was a four day period marking the changing of the seasons. Risshun is, with rare exceptions, on February 4th. Risshun is the first day of spring and historically the startRead More →
Just a mini post today, to share information about the Hanazono Furusato Summer Festival, which is scheduled for 2022. Furusato means hometown. Hanazono is an area in Fukaya City, best known for its interchange and its roadside station! The Fukaya Fireworks weren’t on this year, but other than that theRead More →
On the last weekend of July there are normally dozens of festivals all over Saitama Prefecture. However, in 2022 there are only a few. Including the Fukaya Festival. This is the second large scale festival Fukaya has hosted in July of 2022. The other, their Tanabata (Star) Festival, was heldRead 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 →
Information for the Fukaya Tanabata Festival – also known as the Fukaya Star Festival – in 2022. For the first time in three years, the Fukaya Star Festival is scheduled to go ahead in 2022. Fukaya City cancelled the festival in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. However, theyRead More →
The Kumagaya Fireworks are normally on in August annually. However, in 2020 they intentionally scheduled them for June, so as not to clash with the Olympics. Then… the pandemic happened! And the 2020 Kumagaya fireworks, like so many other, were completely cancelled. In 2021, they scheduled the fireworks for anRead More →
The Wakaizumi area of Honjo has three “Wakaizumi” parks; Wakaizumi Dai Ichi, Dai Ni and Wakaizumi sports park. Dai Ichi and Dai Ni are right beside each other, both quite small independently, but together they make a nice medium sized park. The Wakaizumi Park is a lovely park for childrenRead More →
Have you heard of Yoko Sakura 陽光桜 or, in English, Sunlight Cherry Blossoms? They were made relatively better known thanks to a movie about their creator in 2015. I say creator, because they are manmade. Cultivated by a school teacher, by crossbreeding the Taiwan and Amagi Yoshino cherries, in memoryRead More →