Kawagoe, "Little Edo"

On Sunday we made a day trip to Kawagoe, a small city about 40 minutes by train from Ikebukuro station in Tokyo. It's known as "Little Edo" for its many Edo-period (1603-1898) buildings that remain there. The main attractions include the Tokino Kane (Bell Tower), and a street lined with black clay-walled stores known as Kurazukuri. We visited one of them which now acts as a museum (entry 100yen) and which used to be a tabacco wholesaler's shop. Elsewhere in town there are some large temples, an utterly cute candy-store alley, several museums, and part of the former castle (below).
One of the temples, known as the Kitain, has 538 stone statues on its grounds. The panorama below shows most of them, click on the image for a closer view.
On the last visitor bus through the street with the clay-walled stores I made the video below, which gives a good impression of the street. Highly recommended for a quick and easy day trip from Tokyo.


Links: Koedo Kawagoe Tourist Association (English pages)
Next post: Happy Mascots spotted in Kawagoe!