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Restaurant/Café
Sample life-changing shaved ice
One of the most popular purveyors of kakigori (shaved ice desserts) in the greater Tokyo region, Jigen is not a place you can just pop into. You’ll need to pick up a queue ticket at the shop from 7am or 9am depending on the season, and then make sure not to be late for your designated seating time.
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Restaurant/Café
Devour a different kind of sushi
In business for a respectable 200 years, Morikawa specialises in inarizushi – balls of rice stuffed into soft, aromatic tofu pockets. This shop’s version is about twice the size and significantly sweeter than the kind you find at supermarkets, and tends to sell out around 2pm every day.
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Things to do
Take part in a tea ceremony
Following the walking path around the pond in this traditional Japanese garden is the ideal way to admire its seasonal greenery. Entrance is free, and tea ceremonies are held regularly at the three rest houses on the grounds.
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Restaurant/Café
Rave about roasted tea
If you like hojicha (roasted green tea), a visit to Buichi near Menuma Shodenzan temple should definitely be on your itinerary. Besides roasted tea leaves, the shop offers a mouth-watering range of takeaway desserts, including hojicha latte and creamy hojicha gelato.
Read moreVenue name:
Kogashi Buichi
Contact:
CALL VENUEOpening hours:
Wed-Fri 11am-5.30pm, Sat-Sun 10am-5.30pm, closed Mon-Tue
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Bars & Nightlife
Learn more about natural wine
This standing-only bar dedicated to natural wine can be a little hard to find, but will reward intrepid epicureans handsomely. The resident sommelier has worked at wineries in France, New Zealand, Italy and Japan, and has a knack for describing each wine as if it were an old friend. The roughly 3,000 bottles in stock can also be purchased.
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Restaurant/Café
Power up with a pancake
A curious local delicacy, Kumagaya’s ‘fry-yaki’ is a savoury pancake that usually features pork and leek but can also be topped with seafood, veg and/or eggs. It may look like a small snack, but it’s quite filling, perfect for foodies with a big appetite.
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Restaurant/Café
Slurp like a local
The quick service, ideal location (inside Kumagaya Station) and low prices mean that the ten seats along the counter at this simple udon (wheat noodle) joint are always occupied. Kumatamaya’s most popular dish is ‘niku negi tsukejiru udon’ (¥600): cold noodles made from 100 percent local wheat, served with a hot dipping sauce topped with pork and leek.
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Bars & Nightlife
Partake in local pub culture
A cultural hub run by a local music lover, this cosy bar is a safe choice if you’re looking to kick off the evening with a few cold ones. In business for 28 years, it offers a plentiful drink menu and tasty pub grub, from small bites to pizza and pasta.
Read moreVenue name:
Dog’s nose
Opening hours:
6pm-2am closed Mon
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Restaurant/Café
Enjoy the big game over dinner
A self-proclaimed ‘rugby izakaya’ on the fifth floor of a building connected to the Kumagaya Station complex, this spacious spot lets you catch the action on a TV screen while munching on teppanyaki treats from steak to ‘tonpeiyaki’ (pork omelette). The restaurant is also open for lunch.
Read moreVenue name:
Teppachi Hakkai
Contact:
CALL VENUEOpening hours:
Mon-Fri 11am-3pm & 4pm-11.30pm, Sat 4pm-11.30pm, Sun 11am-11pm
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Things to do
Catch a match
One of the few rugby-only stadiums in Japan, the Kumagaya Stadium is well known for its annual high school competitions held in spring. It was renovated in 2018 and now has a capacity for about 24,000 spectators. It also hosts international rugby matches, so if there’s a game here while you’re in town, do consider checking it out.
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Art & Culture
Study up on Buddhist symbolism
Designated a national treasure of Japan, the Shodendo hall is the centrepiece of this temple, which is particularly popular among worshippers looking for luck in love. Paying the ¥700 entrance fee is worth it, as the hall is decorated with a variety of curious-looking sculptures. Book a free guided tour (in English) to find out what they stand for.
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Restaurant/Café
Find bliss in pancakes
Organic wheat, local eggs and other top-quality Saitama ingredients are whipped into perfectly soft, mouth-watering and aromatic pancakes at this cosy café. The piles of pure goodness come topped with a generous serving of vanilla ice cream.
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Shopping
Eat a football for dessert
Edible rugby balls, anyone? This traditional Japanese dessert dealer offers several options for fans with a sweet tooth, including a soft cake filled with red bean paste and coated with white and green tea chocolate. Pick up Hanaougi’s ball-shaped ‘All Out Try’ gift box for a full set of their rugby-themed sweets.
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Things to do
Create a truly unique souvenir
Housed in a former high school, this cultural centre offers classes in traditional Kumagaya-zome dyeing. Classes are held about ten times per month, and you can choose to try either the ‘yuzen’ (painting directly onto a cloth) or the ‘komon’ (pattern-dyeing with paper) technique.
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Things to do
Soak in supreme comfort
About ten types of baths and saunas await weary travellers at Hanayu, a vast shrine to relaxation where many of the tubs are outdoors, offering views of the facility’s Japanese garden. Hop from the ‘silk bath’ to the hot stone sauna and you’ll end up spending the entire day soaking.
Read moreVenue name:
Hanayu Spa Resort
Contact:
CALL VENUEOpening hours:
Sun-Thu 10am-11pm (last entry 10.30pm), Fri-Sat 10am-9am the next day (last entry 12midnight)
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Shopping
Dig deep for fine discs
Fans of Japanese indie tunes can spend hours going through the selection at this superbly stocked CD store, where a patient digger can discover gems that aren’t readily available on online streaming services. If you still own a CD player, More Records merits a visit.
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Restaurant/Café
Taste local fish the traditional way
Saitama’s lack of coastline means that freshwater fish has always been a big part of the local diet. The river delicacies are best savoured at eel eatery Yamazakiya, which has been going strong since the Edo era (1603-1868). Besides grilled eel over rice, specialities here include various carp dishes.
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Things to do
Travel back to the 19th century
Huffing and puffing the distance between Kumagaya and Mitsumineguchi stations once per day on the weekends, the SL (steam locomotive) Paleo Express is always popular and requires a special ticket to ride. We recommend booking a non-reserved seat on the Chichibu Railway’s website and heading to the platform well before departure time.
Read moreVenue name:
SL Paleo Express
Contact:
N/A
Opening hours:
Hours vary by venue
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Bars & Nightlife
Down a pint of local ale
Saitama has earned quite a reputation for its beer scene, and Hikawa no Mori is one of the prefecture’s best brewpubs. You’ll find about ten original brews on tap at all times, of which one or two types change weekly. We love their eponymous flagship beer Saitama Sodachi, made entirely with Saitama-produced ingredients.
Read moreVenue name:
Hikawa no Mori
Opening hours:
Mon & Wed-Fri 5.30pm-10.30pm, Sat 4pm-10.30pm, Sun 12pm-8pm, closed Tue
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Art & Culture
Delve into the history of Manga
Built on the site where pioneering cartoonist Rakuten Kitazawa (1876-1955) lived out his life, this museum highlights Kitazawa’s caricatures, comic strips and other works, which helped form the foundation of Japan’s manga culture. The exhibits offer an interesting look into the early days of modern comics in Japan.
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Restaurant/Café
Hang out at a strange soba shop
Once a storehouse for fabric used to make Gyoda’s famed ‘tabi’ socks, this sturdy structure now houses a soba noodle eatery that also serves ‘fried jelly’ – a curious croquette-like creation made with potato and tofu refuse.
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Things to do
Feel the flower power
While various flowers lend it colour throughout the year, this woody field along the Koma River is at its most spectacular during the second half of September, when the blooms of a whopping five million red spider lilies cover the area with a stunning red carpet.
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Things to do
Pray at the shrine in the sky
Perched on a mountainside 1,100m above sea level, Mitsumine Shrine exudes a mysterious aura. After passing through the main gate, which is guarded by wolf statues, you can walk for about an hour and a half to reach the innermost shrine building – but remember to wear shoes appropriate for the unpaved path.
Read moreVenue name:
Mitsumine Shrine
Opening hours:
6.30am-5pm daily
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Bars & Nightlife
Move to the music
Looking to dance until dawn? Located right by Omiya Station, 444quad puts on a diverse range of parties and other events, with the sweatiest sessions usually taking place on weekend nights. Note that you’ll need to be 20 or older to enter – picture ID required.
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Restaurant/Café
Take a breather with the fam
Formerly a travelling coffee salesman, the owner of Cafe Uwaito decided to open a brick- and-mortar café after noticing the dearth of such establishments in his native Urawa. Children’s chairs and picture books contribute to the family-friendly mood, while the delectable desserts are made with seasonal fruit.
Read moreVenue name:
Cafe Uwaito
Contact:
CALL VENUEOpening hours:
Tue-Wed & Fri-Sat 11am-8pm, Sun-Mon 11am-6pm, closed Thu
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Things to do
Meet the Moomins
Saitama’s latest family-friendly attraction opened on March 16, 2019 and is a must-visit for fans of the adorable Moomintrolls. Highlights include an interactive theatre, a 400m zip line stretching across the surface of Lake Miyazawa, and the obligatory studio for snapping photos with the Moomins themselves.
Read moreVenue name:
Moomin Valley Park
Opening hours:
10am-8pm daily
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Art & Culture
Marvel at rice paddy art
Blessed with an abundance of paddy fields, the city of Gyoda has been using some of its agricultural land as a gigantic outdoor art gallery since 2008. Created using rice plants of differing colours, these images are too big to make out from ground level, so you’ll need to climb the tower here (¥400, ¥200 for children aged 6-15) to view them in their full glory. While mid July is the best time to visit, the images remain visible until mid October.
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Things to do
Watch a movie at a sake brewery
A 300-year-old sake brewery turned arthouse movie theatre, the 60-seat Fukaya Cinema screens three or four flicks daily. Paying an extra ¥1,000 gets you access to the special soundproof room in the back, which is ideal for families with small children.
Read moreVenue name:
Fukaya Cinema
Opening hours:
See website for screening times
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Things to do
Walk down a sacred path
Passing through a torii gate, you’d usually expect to find a shrine soon after. Not so at Musashi Ichinomiya, where the 2km approach from the first gate to the main sanctuary is lined with about 650 trees, making for an impressive 30-minute stroll through the greenery.
Read moreVenue name:
Musashi Ichinomiya Hikawa Shrine
Contact:
CALL VENUEOpening hours:
5.30am-5.30pm (March, April, September and October), 5am-6pm (May-August), 6am-5pm (November-February)
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Art & Culture
Sit down in the midst of art
Boasting a collection of works by Monet, Chagall, Picasso and many Japanese masters, this distinctive structure in Kita-Urawa Park makes for an art experience that is both impressive and comfortable – thanks to the many stylish chairs scattered around the rooms for visitors to rest on. The museum also arranges workshops for children and their parents.
Read moreVenue name:
The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama
Opening hours:
10am-5.30pm, closed Mon
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Things to do
Drive the shinkansen
Heaven on earth for train geeks, this massive museum tells the history of Japan’s railways from steam locomotives to the shinkansen through exhibits that include 36 actual railway cars, a spacious kids’ area and a bullet train simulator, plus a shop selling 12 kinds of authentic station bento boxes.
Read moreVenue name:
The Railway Museum
Opening hours:
10am-6pm
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Art & Culture
Sleep at a temple
Escape the modern world up in the mountains of Chichibu, where the 700-year- old Taiyoji Temple invites weary visitors to meditate, eat healthy Buddhist cuisine and stay the night at the temple (¥9,500 per night). The resident monk will pick you up at Mitsumineguchi Station, from where it’s a 25-minute drive up the mountain. Bookings can be made in English.
Read moreVenue name:
Taiyoji Temple
Opening hours:
Hours vary by venue
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Restaurant/Café
Make a pit stop at the pasta counter
Come for the freshly made noodles served ramen-style from behind the counter, stay (on Sundays) for the mind-bending ‘Napoli de melon’ – melon pan (a dry, melon-shaped bun) stuffed with Japanese-style ‘Napolitan’ spaghetti. Add a sprinkle of tabasco to the curious combo of sweet bread and ketchup- flavoured pasta for best results.
Read moreVenue name:
Pasta House Sakana no Kimochi
Contact:
CALL VENUEOpening hours:
11am-3pm & 6pm-9pm, closed Thu
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Bars & Nightlife
Enjoy sake at the bottle shop
When this 126-year-old liquor store ended up with an empty storage space next door, the owners made the obvious decision and turned the extra room into a bar, where you can now drink sake on the cheap (¥350-600 per cup). About 10 to 15 cold and warm varieties are available at all times, along with a few booze-compatible eats.
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Things to do
Dive deep into the world of bonsai
If miniature trees are your thing, missing out on this museum simply isn’t an option. Enthusiasts from around the world come for its weekly changing exhibits of about 60 bonsai and a stroll in the picturesque bonsai garden. Audio guide is available in English, Japanese, Chinese and Korean.
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Things to do
Create your own paper
Spend the day learning all there is to know about traditional ‘washi’ paper at the Ogawa Washi Centre, where you can also create a washi postcard of your own and admire an extensive collection of other paper products. Note that all washi-making classes need to be booked in advance by calling 0493 72 7262.
Read moreVenue name:
Ogawa Washi Centre
Contact:
CALL VENUEOpening hours:
9.30am-5pm, closed Mon and over New Year Holidays
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Things to do
Embark on a wet adventure
Gliding down the river in a traditional Japanese boat, you may be tempted to try snapping a few Instagram-worthy shots of the gorgeous Nagatoro nature. But don’t get too carried away: the 20-minute ride also includes a few sudden rapids.
Read moreVenue name:
Rafting in Nagatoro
Opening hours:
Hours vary by venue
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Bars & Nightlife
Say cheers with the locals
Open from 10am, this homely izakaya oozes nostalgia and gets packed with local boozehounds as early as noon on weekdays. If you can’t read the menu, written on paper slips hanging haphazardly around the room, just ask for whatever your neighbour’s having – it’ll most likely be delicious.
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Bars & Nightlife
Get your greens in booze form
Over 100 kinds of craft gin and more than 300 varieties of whisky await liquor connoisseurs at Sazerac, a gem of a bar hidden close to Omiya Station. Those partial to cocktails should try the vegetable-based concoctions, made with locally grown produce. The cover charge is ¥500.
Read moreVinplus
The Bar Sazerac
Opening hours:
7pm-5am, closed Thu
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Things to do
Opt for a wilder view
Thrill-seekers of all ages will find plenty to get excited about at the new Chichibu Geo Gravity Park, where you can experience the natural beauty of the Arakawa Valley by zip-lining across it or traversing the 50m-high, 100m-long suspension bridge. Entry is ¥3,000.
Read moreVenue name:
Chichibu Geo Gravity Park
Opening hours:
9am-5pm daily
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Restaurant/Café
Feast with the sleepless in Omiya
Famished at 3am? Make a beeline for this 24-hour coffee shop, which is renowned more for its giant food portions than its joe. The eclectic menu ranges from old-school favourites such as omelette over rice and Japanese-style spaghetti to Thai, Sri Lankan and Indian cuisines, plus a few select delicacies from the owner’s native Okinawa.
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Art & Culture
Live the country life
How about swapping your hotel comfort for tilling fields, cooking meals over a wood-fired stove and gathering around the fireplace to eat? An old country home turned haven for temporary refugees from the modern world, Corot offers both daytime experiences (10am-4pm, ¥1,200, ¥800 for children aged 3-12) and overnight stays (5pm-9am, ¥4,300/¥2,800).
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Things to do
Fish for good fortune
Said to have been established way back in the year 541, Kawagoe Hikawa is a ‘love shrine’ popular with couples and hopeful singles alike. Use a wooden lure to pull out a cute, fish-themed ‘omikuji’ fortune slip from one of the pots at the shrine grounds.
Read moreVenue name:
Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine
Opening hours:
9am-5pm
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Restaurant/Café
Stick a spud in your soft serve
Sweet potato soft serve is available throughout Kawagoe, but no rival can compete with Kenpi’s extremely Instagram-friendly version, which comes with a tasty ‘karinto’ (deep-fried sweet potato) snack stuck into the ice cream. It’s also petite enough to finish, even after a lengthy street food stroll.
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Restaurant/Café
Satisfy your potato cravings
Kawagoe is famed for its sweet potatoes, which dominate the ‘mini-kaiseki’ tasting menu at this unique restaurant. The singularly focused meal begins with a potato cocktail (or potato tea), includes spuds in fried, stewed and boiled forms, and ends with a serving of sweet potato ice cream. Note that the mini-kaiseki is only available between 11.45am and 3pm (or until ingredients run out).
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Art & Culture
Spot street-level art
You’ll be tempted to stare at the gorgeous scenery when visiting Kawagoe, but do remember to look down every once in a while, too: many of the town’s manhole covers are decorated with local motifs, including the iconic Toki no Kane bell tower.
Read moreVenue name:
Designer manhole covers
Contact:
N/A
Address:
N/A
Opening hours:
Hours vary by venue
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Restaurant/Café
Munch on a famous rice ball
Spotting a queue in Kawagoe usually means you’re getting close to Nakaichi Honten. Every day, hordes of visitors wait patiently in front of this shop for their ‘yaki-onigiri’ (¥250) – grilled rice balls seasoned with soy sauce and fish flakes. Available from noon every day, they usually sell out before closing time.
Read moreVenue name:
Nakaichi Honten
Opening hours:
10am-7pm, closed Wed
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Shopping
Shop for colourful candy
In business for well over a century, this venerable candy store deals in about 50 kinds of handmade, mainly hard drops. Our favourite is the ‘kumiame’, a long stick that can be cut into small pieces to reveal a cute picture of a flower, fruit or something even quirkier. If you’re lucky, you might spot the candy-makers at work behind the glass.
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Restaurant/Café
Sip your latte by a Japanese garden
Starbucks is everywhere in Japan, but few of the ubiquitous coffee giant’s shops fit in as perfectly with their surroundings as this one. Its modern Japanese architecture, inner garden and terrace seats make it hard to believe you’re sitting in a multinational chain café.
Read moreVenue name:
Starbucks Coffee Kawagoe Kanetsuki-dori
Contact:
CALL VENUEOpening hours:
8am-8pm daily
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Shopping
Get the authentic look
Strolling the streets of Kawagoe in kimono is high on many visitors’ to-do lists. Vivian offers kimono rental and hair arrangement for only ¥2,160 (¥3,240 for men), including underwear, ‘geta’ sandals and accessories, and is conveniently located right in the middle of old Kawagoe.
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Schedule
