For my last full day in Japan, I made an effort to visit Kawagoe, which I had actually meant to go to years ago. Kawagoe makes a good day trip outside of Tokyo, as it’s about 30 minutes away by train and there’s lots to see in the area. It’s known as Little Edo, as most of the buildings and streets are still reminiscent of the old trading town.

I visited Kawagoe on a Saturday, as it was the only day that worked with my schedule. It was unfortunately very crowded, but as oppose to the crowds in Kyoto, I felt like the majority were Japanese people enjoying the weekend out with their families.

Early that morning I took the train to Ikebukuro Station. There are limited express trains from Ikebukuro that takes you to Kawagoe in 30 minutes. I stopped by the tourist information centre to buy my discount pass for Kawagoe. It took me a while to locate the counter, but it was very easy to purchase once I got there. I bought the premium discount pass as that gave me unlimited travel on both the train and bus. There’s also special offers from different shops you can take advantage of with the pass.

Once I arrived at Kawagoe Station, I walked over to the bus stop and boarded a bus that would take me to the Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine. I was a bit surprised by how far the shrine was – from the map it didn’t seem like a long walk, but it took a good 15 minutes on the bus. My plan was to take the bus to the furthest point, then slowly walk back to the city centre. 

Hikawa Shrine was pretty busy when I got there. A lot of families were with their young children celebrating shichi-go-san. The shrine itself isn’t very big, but it’s popular with people who are praying for enmusubi, or match-making. I wasn’t prepared to line up at 8am for my chance to get one of 20 enmusubi-damas that they hand out every morning, but I did try fishing for a omikuji. =P

After leaving the shrine, I took a detour to see the outside of the city art museum as well as the Honmaru Goten of Kawagoe Castle. Then I made my way to the Kurazukuri Zone, with the old storehouses, a fancy Starbucks, and the Time Bell Tower. It was already past lunch hour, but I didn’t feel like waiting in line to eat at a restaurant, so I bought a whole bunch of snacks on the street. I started with osatsu chips, akashiyaki takosen, black nikuman and then the most amazing fig daifuku.

I took my time exploring the streets and even visited Kashiya Yokocho, which is known as penny candy lane. There were many shops still selling traditional candy. Later that afternoon I took a stroll down Taisho-roman Street, then visited both the Kita-in Temple and the Kumano Shrine. Personally I enjoyed the Kumano Shrine more, as I felt it had a certain charm to it. There was a stone path to help stimulate acupuncture points on your feet, a lucky ring toss, and you can enter the Musubi Garden to pray to the Yatagarasu in front of three crystal balls to have your fortune told. 

Overall I had a great time in Kawagoe and I’m glad I finally made it there after all these years. I would highly recommend purchasing the premium discount pass to take advantage of the buses. For dinner that night I ended up chilling at a friend’s house in front of the tv with their cat. It felt nice to wind down from all the traveling I’d done the past week and get ready for my flight back home the next day.