On my last trip I enjoyed a relaxed walking tour of a small city, Uji, as my final day sightseeing. I'm repeating this with a day trip to Kawagoe. I took a Tobu train from Ikebukuro to get to Kawagoe, about a 30 minute ride.
From the Kawagoeshi Station I walked towards the first stop, Kita-in Temple. On the way I stopped for lunch at a small restaurant in Crea Shopping Street. Kita-in was your typical temple with 2 major attractions, the 500 statues of rakan (disciples of Buddha), and the historic buildings transported from Edo Castle in the 1600s to support recovery following a fire that destroyed much of the temple.
Next stop was Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine, a "love-related" shrine. As soon as I entered the Torii, there was a long line of people waiting for blessings. Then it occurred to me this was the day after Valentine's Day and it was related to this.
I continued to the historic Kura (warehouse) district but this held little interest for me as it was your typical crowded tourist area with souvenir shops and restaurants with long lines.
The last stop was the Kawagoe Kumano Shrine which was filled with games, like a fortune ring toss game, money washing stream, and a foot massage walking path.Read more
February 15 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F