Kawagoe Old Town
Kawagoe Old Town : 川越旧市街
Kawagoe (川越) is located in the Saitama prefecture (埼玉県) of Japan, which is out of Tokyo. During my trip, I visited the Kawagoe old town which it retained most of its old buildings of the olden days. The journey there took me almost an hour from central Tokyo by JR train. With the latest train fare system, you can use PASMO / SUICA almost in every area of Japan. It makes travelling in Japan pleasant. To get here, you can take the Yamanote JR train to Ikebukuro station (池袋駅). Then, from there, transfer over to Tobu Tojo JR train (東武東上電車) and alight at Kawagoe station. Next, exit the station using the west exit. From the exit, navigate yourself to a unique bus stop that shows the picture of the tour bus. Take the bus tour to the old town, it cost ¥500 per adult for one-day trip.
My bus ticket to Little Edo! :)
My trip started off at one of the museums in the area. I am not sure whether should I call it a museum though, hahas. In here, I see Japanese styled rooms, garden and some old items that were used in the olden days. It's kind of interesting but it doesn't appeal much to me. It cost me ¥100 to enter the house to explore around. But, it is one nice place to take photos. Anyway, the name of the place is called "本丸御殿" (Honmaru Goten). Click here to read more about it.
本丸御殿
Inside the place
One of the artifacts found at the 本丸御殿
After finished exploring the place, we took the tour bus again and alight at "蔵の街" (Warehouse District). This area is the most popular area in Kawagoe. There are many shops here selling foods, snacks, books and souvenirs. Another highlight and must-visit place here is the "時の鐘" (Bell Tower) which the bell will ring at 0600 hrs, 1200 hrs, 1500 hrs and 1800 hrs. As a typical tourist, I took a lot of photos here.
Street of the warehouse district
Spotted the bell tower!
Photo time with the bell tower!
One of the snack stores here.
The waffle cake which I bought, quite tasty. :P
From this area, you can easily navigate yourself to various attractions such as the "菓子屋横丁" (Candy Alley) and "川越まつり博物館" (Kawagoe Festival Museum). The candy alley is one great place to shop for light snacks and candies. In here, you can find candies of the olden days which you can buy as souvenirs for your friends too. Festival Museum is one of the museums located here. It showcased the festivals celebrated annually in Kawagoe. As for the entry fee, it's ¥300 per person. I cannot comment much on the museum as I did not went for it, but hopefully, for my next trip...I will be able to visit it. :)
菓子屋横丁
The Festival Museum.
I am coming to the end of this short travel post. I hope you have enjoyed reading it and probably, you have gained some insights from it. Please do support me by visiting back soon for more travel posts. Ok, I shall stop my words here then. See ya.
Story Closed on 21.09.13.
Photo Credits:
- http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2849/8876938418_2f3b4ad60e_k.jpg
- http://www.nipponnews.net/media/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/little-edo-kawagoe-2.jpg
Kawagoe (川越) is located in the Saitama prefecture (埼玉県) of Japan, which is out of Tokyo. During my trip, I visited the Kawagoe old town which it retained most of its old buildings of the olden days. The journey there took me almost an hour from central Tokyo by JR train. With the latest train fare system, you can use PASMO / SUICA almost in every area of Japan. It makes travelling in Japan pleasant. To get here, you can take the Yamanote JR train to Ikebukuro station (池袋駅). Then, from there, transfer over to Tobu Tojo JR train (東武東上電車) and alight at Kawagoe station. Next, exit the station using the west exit. From the exit, navigate yourself to a unique bus stop that shows the picture of the tour bus. Take the bus tour to the old town, it cost ¥500 per adult for one-day trip.
My trip started off at one of the museums in the area. I am not sure whether should I call it a museum though, hahas. In here, I see Japanese styled rooms, garden and some old items that were used in the olden days. It's kind of interesting but it doesn't appeal much to me. It cost me ¥100 to enter the house to explore around. But, it is one nice place to take photos. Anyway, the name of the place is called "本丸御殿" (Honmaru Goten). Click here to read more about it.
Inside the place
One of the artifacts found at the 本丸御殿
After finished exploring the place, we took the tour bus again and alight at "蔵の街" (Warehouse District). This area is the most popular area in Kawagoe. There are many shops here selling foods, snacks, books and souvenirs. Another highlight and must-visit place here is the "時の鐘" (Bell Tower) which the bell will ring at 0600 hrs, 1200 hrs, 1500 hrs and 1800 hrs. As a typical tourist, I took a lot of photos here.
Spotted the bell tower!
Photo time with the bell tower!
One of the snack stores here.
The waffle cake which I bought, quite tasty. :P
From this area, you can easily navigate yourself to various attractions such as the "菓子屋横丁" (Candy Alley) and "川越まつり博物館" (Kawagoe Festival Museum). The candy alley is one great place to shop for light snacks and candies. In here, you can find candies of the olden days which you can buy as souvenirs for your friends too. Festival Museum is one of the museums located here. It showcased the festivals celebrated annually in Kawagoe. As for the entry fee, it's ¥300 per person. I cannot comment much on the museum as I did not went for it, but hopefully, for my next trip...I will be able to visit it. :)
The Festival Museum.
I am coming to the end of this short travel post. I hope you have enjoyed reading it and probably, you have gained some insights from it. Please do support me by visiting back soon for more travel posts. Ok, I shall stop my words here then. See ya.
Story Closed on 21.09.13.
Photo Credits:
- http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2849/8876938418_2f3b4ad60e_k.jpg
- http://www.nipponnews.net/media/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/little-edo-kawagoe-2.jpg
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