Cocoon City Christmas – Cocoon City is just one part of Saitama Shintoshin. The whole area of Shintoshin is the most Christmassy location I have found in Saitama prefecture to date. In Cocoon city, between the illumination, the markets, the concerts, candle night, crafts and Santa visits, it really isRead More →
Information for the newest large scale Bandai Official Gashapon opening in Japan in summer 2023. Gashapon Bandai Offical Kawajima Branch A Gashapon, also known as Gachapon, is a vending machine dispensed capsule toy. The term refers to both the machine and the capsule it dispenses with a miniature toy orRead More →
Each year Cocoon City have a “Pantastic” bread festival for ten days, at the end of spring into early summer. In Japan, bread is called ‘Pan’ hence the name of the festival. This year (2023) the Pantastic fair is travelling Japan on a “Japapapapapapan Tour”! It will be back inRead More →
This spring the Taiwan Festa, a food and cultural festival, is in Lalaport Fujimi. Taiwan Festa If you recognize the name, it maybe because this is a travelling “festa” that has been held at several locations around the Kanto plain in the past. Including at Laketown Koshigaya, Japan’s largest shoppingRead More →
For the second ever Christmas celebration at Fukaya Hanazono Premium Outlets, they have a collaboration with Mario Brothers. In all honesty, it is rather disappointing and not very Christmassy particularly in comparison to last year’s Disney Christmas. But no doubt fans of Mario brothers will be delighted with this combination.Read More →
Information for the Cainz Super Mall, Kawajima Interchange, and its annual Rainbow Festival. The Rainbow Festival is a small local type mascot event, with the mascots from each of the Rainbow Cities of Saitama Prefecture. The Rainbow Cities are Kawajima, Kawagoe, Moroyama, Ogose, Sakado and Tsurugashima. More information about theRead More →
New in Saitama in 2022: Crayon Shinchan play area in Lalaport, Fujimi. Unfortunately, the very first “permanent” (the irony) indoor TeamLab Islands in Lalaport Fujimi, closed permanently on January 17th 2021. The space were it once held a place in the heart of Lalaport, was empty for a year andRead More →
Da Vinci Store – just one of dozens of new shops and attractions at the Tokorozawa Sakura Town. Tokorozawa Sakura Town is a unique entertainment mall. It is the brain child of Kadokawa Corporation and was developed with the cooperation of Tokorozawa City. Da Vinci Store The 507㎡ Da VinciRead More →
Metsä Village – Metsa Village opened in Hanno City in Saitama Prefecture on November 9th 2018. Metsa Village is the free part of the larger “Metsa”, a Finnish leisure park around Miyazawa lake. The charged area is a Moomin theme park Moominvalley Park. The resort encompasses relaxation, activities, shopping andRead More →
J.S. Pancake is a trendy chain cafe. The J.S. stands for Journal Standard, the name of the clothes shop behind the cafe. Each year for Valentines and White Day they have a special seasonal pancake. In 2023, they are using Nagasaki’s famous Koi Minori strawberries for their premium menu. J.SRead More →