The entire length of the street was heavily decorated with lanterns, banners and large paper mache cartoon figures. There were a handful of videogame characters, but they were relatively poorly made compared to this pink bundle of joy.
This is a very common sight at a matsuri. Using a paper "net", kids try to scoop goldfish from a large tank to take home. The paper easily rips when wet, so they must continue to try using the edges of the paper.
Finally! I got to see some stag- and rhino beetles on sale. These wrestling beasts are summer pets for Japanese kids. Admittedly it's difficult to see, but there's a big one feeding at the front, just to the left of the metal ring.
Also on sale were this singing Long-horned Grasshopper, hermit crabs, white salamanders, turtles and crickets.
Of course no street festival is complete without excessive amounts of food. Here scallops and squid-on-a-stick are being sold. 
Onions are usually associated with making people cry, but these can only put a smile on your face.
Local delicacy the sweet potato is more likely to scare off tourists with that grumpy face. Still, if you're ever in Kawagoe, I can recommend you try the sweet potato ice cream. It's purple and tasty.
These mochi-making mascots look none too happy. Presumably it becomes less fun if you have to do it all year round.
The one hundred million yen (ichi oku yen) note exists, is made of dried squid, edible, and will set you back only 350yen.
Usually in Japan you find people in bright coloured clothing either handing out tissues or shouting at passers-by outside mobile phone shops in order to promote their wares. Here, a trio of superhero ninja monkeys serve the same purpose.
I just love this antique. The frog is asking the rhino beetle car to let the turtle and caterpillar cross the road. Crawl safely.
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.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles originate from an American comic book, so I don't think this one is related.
This turtle boy is a Kappa, a river sprite found in Japanese folklore. While it looks cute, it has an absolutely disgusting eating habit. Read about it here.
It's a tortoise and a hare! I think we have a winner here...
This Saturday, games developer Grasshopper Manufacture held the 2nd edition of its annual Hopper's festival. The festival was a one-day event in Club Asia in Shibuya, featuring talks by prominent video game developers and live music. While in one part of the venue the talks were held, live music was played on another stage elsewhere. Various Grasshopper goods such as their soundtrack CDs and signed copies of the book Hand in Killer7 were on sale at the event and seemed to be selling well.
That's a very fluffy-cheeked cat.
Acorn, dog...or both?
The sign says it's a dog hair salon. Cats are also welcome, by the looks of it.
That boy and his dog...they've got the same eyes!
If you have an orange dog or green cat, visit this pet clinic.
International shipping company Yamato's famous black cats. 