8 days done and we’re coming to the midpoint in our 18 day trip. On Day 09 today, we headed to Kawagoe, a town with a rich history – and specifically that was made prosperous by merchants during the Edo period from 17th to 19th century. The town retains a good amount of its heritage and alleyways The town often features as a day trip activity out of Tokyo, though if you’re coming to this town specifically for the Warehouse District and also Candy Alley, then 4 hours should suffice before the shops start to feel a little same-y.
As it turns out, there’s a direct train from near our hotel to Kawagoe: but our plan required us to alight at Ikebukuro Station first where we picked up the Kawagoe Discount Pass: something that is available only to tourists. Interestingly, some of the web sites we researched Kawagoe alerted that you’d need to show your passport in order to buy the pass, but we were not asked to do so. The Discount Pass Premium includes rides from Ikebukuro Station to Kawagoe Station, selected bus rides within the town, and also discounts at selected retail and dining establishments. The tourist information booth at Ikebukuro Station where these passes are purchased though were a little tricky for us to find, and when we tried getting help from the station staff, one rudely refused to help and did not bother answering the missus’ query.
We arrived at Kawagoe Station just before 9AM, and hopped onto the Bus 02 that brought us to the first stop: Kita-in Temple. There was some refurbishment work going about the Temple, so we didn’t stay long. There were a couple of what looked like volunteer temple guides that tried their best to help, though they didn’t speak English well.
We next walked to Naritasan Kawagoe Betsuin Hongyoin shrine which was a short 5 minute walk. There were priests offering morning prayers to a team of rickshaw pullers, so we stayed outside to observe and take a few pictures.
From the temple, the Bus 01 brought us to the start of the main shopping street – the Kanetsuki-dori Street – and also where the famous Starbucks outlet is. We were fortunate to find a free table for the four of us, so the missus could get her morning staple: coffee. LOL. Morning beverages done, we started our exploration of Kanetsuki-dori Street proper. Pictures!
Continued in the next post!