Kawagoe
Important Preservation District For Groups Of Traditional Buildings; Known As Little Edo · Kawagoe, Saitama
A former castle town in Saitama, just north-west of Tokyo, known as Koedo or Little Edo because its centre keeps the look of an Edo-period merchant town that Tokyo itself lost to earthquake, fire and war. Its signature is the kurazukuri, heavy clay-walled storehouse shops with thick black plaster walls and massive tiled roofs, built by merchants after a great fire in 1893 as fireproof homes and shops. They line Kurazukuri Street, a designated preservation district, near the wooden Toki no Kane bell tower that still rings the hours. Nearby, Kashiya Yokocho is a short cobbled alley of old-fashioned sweet shops. Kitain temple holds rooms moved from Edo Castle, including the room where the third shogun was born, and a garden of some 540 stone rakan statues, each with a different face. Hikawa Shrine hangs thousands of wind chimes in summer. The town is famous for sweet potatoes, eel and its October festival of huge floats. It is 30 to 60 minutes from central Tokyo by train and very busy at weekends.
Kurazukuri Street, Saiwaicho, Kawagoe, Saitama, 350-0062, Japan
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The typical pattern: the old town streets are open at all times, and most shops open around 10 am and close by 5 or 6 pm, some closing on one weekday. Kitain's castle rooms and the town museums are open roughly 9 am to 4:30 or 5 pm with last entry about 30 minutes before, and the town museums often close on Mondays and at the New Year. Popular eel restaurants may close when sold out. The October festival closes the old town to cars. Confirm current times before relying on them.