埼玉の小江戸、川越散歩
Hello! This time I’m in Kawagoe, KOEDO in Saitama! Taken on February 24, 2024 around 1:00 p.m. Subtitles explain the spots along the way. Please turn it on or off if you like. Walking from Taisho Romantic Dream Street toward the warehouse-styled townscape!
Kawagoe is a major tourist spot famous for its kura-zukuri rows of houses and Kashi-ya-yokocho. Ichibangai shopping street and Toki no Kane no Dori are especially famous I’m walking along Taisho Roman Yume Dori. You can enjoy fashionable street stores and stalls selling interesting products.
Is that a stove I see in front of me right away? There are many restaurants, and you can enjoy not only eating in the restaurant but also walking around eating Looks like this place deals in tableware. There are products and store names all over the place that have “kura” in mind.
It was the middle day of a three-day weekend, and the weather was beautiful, so there were so many tourists… The streets lined with kura-zukuri, or warehouses, are very Japanese, and seem to be a popular spot for foreign tourists as well… I didn’t know they sold picture frames. That’s amazing.
You can see so many different kinds of products like this. The Taisho Romantic Dream Street is a no-vehicle zone, so it’s a relatively relaxing place to visit. The main Ichibangai shopping street I will be walking through later on is on the sidewalk beside the roadway…
It gets very crowded on days like today when there are a lot of tourists That pattern is also shown well! I’m starting to see the typical Koedo warehouse buildings. Now I am heading for the main Ichibangai shopping street. I have arrived at Koedo-Kawagoe Ichibangai shopping street! So-called “kura-zukuri” townscape!
But as you can see, it’s very crowded. Tourists line the sidewalks alongside the roadway where cars come and go in both directions…. It’s not a situation where you can relax and enjoy the kura-zukuri townscape… The taste of the buildings is obviously different from the rest of the area.
There are several areas called “Koedo,” Tochigi City in Tochigi Prefecture, Katori City in Chiba Prefecture… And here, Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture. With its streets lined with warehouses that retain the Edo atmosphere and its float festival influenced by the Edo Tenka Matsuri They call it “KOEDO.”
The “kura-zukuri” style is a fireproof construction to prevent similar fires, and was common in the Edo period (1603-1868). This may be because there were so many fires that “fire and quarrels were the flower of Edo”.
There are many sightseeing spots in Kawagoe City, and the city seems to have divided it into several zones. “Kita-in Zone” in the eastern part of the city, centering on Kita-in Temple, an important cultural property “Honmaru Goten Zone” in the northeast, where visitors can enjoy Kawagoe Castle Honmaru Goten and Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine.
And the “Kura-zukuri Zone” where I am walking now There are buses that go around the sights, so You can make good use of public transportation to get around! I don’t want to come here by car…
Looking at the very warehouse houses, it’s time to enter the next spot, the street of the bell of time! I have arrived at the Street of Time Bells This is the street facing the Bell of Time, the symbol of Koedo-Kawagoe
You can still hear the sound of the bell being struck by an automatic bell-striking machine. It’s four times: 6:00 a.m., noon, 3:00 p.m., and 6:00 p.m. This street is another famous spot, and as you can see, people! people! people! Lots of restaurants and souvenir shops.
Unlike the Ichibangai shopping street earlier, there is no roadway, so it is easy to walk leisurely. There are many sweets shops where you can enjoy eating and walking, and you can also enjoy gourmet food while taking your time to enjoy the townscape. … If only there were fewer people….
Here’s Starbucks in a place like this. By the way, Kawagoe is very famous for its Osatsu chips! You can buy these chips at this “Koedo Osatsuan” but… Long queue! There was about the same line when I came here beforehand to check the shooting route… But the taste is outstanding! Worth the line!
So I head back the way I came and head for Kashiya Yokocho. Kashiya Yokocho is right across this pedestrian crossing, but let’s turn off to the left and go down a side street The Ichibangai shopping street is pretty crowded, so I want to take the side streets as much as possible.
It was hard to notice with so many people earlier, but the ground is cobblestone Storehouse-style houses and cobblestone flooring This is the townscape of Koedo Straight ahead you will enter Yukizuka Inari Shrine and Choki-in Temple, but take a right as you head for Kashiya Yokocho
Kawagoe is also characterized by many temples and shrines Kumano Shrine, which is good for marriage, and Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine, which I will pass through on this walk. You can enjoy not only the streets of Koedo but also visiting temples and shrines
Perhaps the reason for its popularity is that you can enjoy a number of uniquely Japanese spots in a very small area! This is not yet Kashiya Yokocho, but there are a lot of people here. There are ordinary houses, so of course there are people living here…
People who live here might have a hard time on a daily basis. I wonder if they feel at ease with the large number of tourists around their homes every day… Why is a chameleon…? I have arrived at Kashiya Yokocho! As the name suggests, confectionery shops line the narrow alleys
Like the Osatsuri Chip I mentioned earlier, Kawagoe seems to have a lot of sweets made from oimo (sweet potatoes). This bun called “Imo Koi” is also famous There were also many people buying very thick fu snacks. Other items included taiyaki, dango, senbei, potato kenpi as well as okonomiyaki
Enjoy Japanese sweets and other gourmet delicacies that are uniquely Japanese! Although it is a narrow and short alley, there are quite a lot of stores, and you can have a lot of fun just on this side street!
They are calling out to you with great vigor, aren’t they? I wonder if you can sample the food? So, that’s all for Kashiya Yokocho! Next, I’m heading to Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine! There are a number of famous spots such as Kashiya Yokocho and Ichibangai Shopping Street, but…
There are many good stores around the spot, even if it’s not in the middle of the spot… The walking map provided by Kawagoe City is also useful, so please refer to it when you come to Kawagoe!
You’ll find stores dotted around the city that sell a variety of goods based on the theme of kura or Koedo. I wandered around to check out the shooting route, and saw many stores with “Koedo” as a selling point. It reminded me of Oshiage and Kuramae when they were excited about the Tokyo Skytree.
Now I walk toward Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine for a while! This is the Ichibanmachi shopping street, a warehouse townscape. Straight ahead! You can see a few warehouse-like houses along the way, as you would expect in Kawagoe. As one would expect, the street does not have the same atmosphere as the main street. ….
I like it because I feel like the whole town is making good use of the Koedo. There are cafes, souvenir shops, and pastry shops scattered throughout the town. If you get tired of the crowds on the main street, it might be fun to take a stroll around the neighborhood Suddenly a line!
Looks like a restaurant featured on a TV program. Kawagoe is often featured on TV, so I wonder if that’s why some of the stores became famous I continue to go down paths that are not featured on TV! This far away from home, there is indeed no little Edo or anything!
So I just keep walking to Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine. I mentioned earlier that the city of Kawagoe is divided into several zones of sightseeing spots… The “Kurazukuri Zone” is where I was just now. And now I am going to the “Honmaru Goten Zone”
There are several sightseeing spots around the Honmaru Goten of Kawagoe Castle One of them is Miyoshino Shrine, said to be the birthplace of the children’s song “Toryanse” The famous verse, “Iki wa yoi yoi kaeri wa kowai” (“It’s all right to go to your destination, but it’s scary going back home”)…
I found a theory that it has a very scary meaning… There’s an old children’s song like that! Unfortunately, I didn’t visit the Miyoshino Shrine on this shoot… I’d like to visit it next time I’m here on a private visit but…. I’m afraid… I’ve arrived at Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine
But unfortunately, video recording inside is not allowed, so please watch the slideshow to see what’s going on inside! Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine, which is said to have been founded about 1,500 years ago, is known for its blessings for matchmaking and marital bliss.
With a magnificent dance hall and nearly 20 branch shrines, this popular shrine is visited by more than 2 million people each year! The torii shown in the video is the smaller one, and there is a magnificent Otorii (grand gate) on the right side of the entrance.
There was also a rare love fortune called “Aitai-mikuji”, which is said to bring good luck in marriage! So unfortunately I couldn’t show you a video of the inside… There are many things that are not shown in the pictures, so please visit Hikawa Shrine when you come to Kawagoe!
Now let’s head to the last spot, the Honmaru Goten of Kawagoe Castle! There are several sightseeing spots within a 10-minute walk, so it’s easy to go sightseeing. By the way, Kawagoe Castle Honmaru Goten is very close to the Kawagoe City Art Museum and Museum but… It was closed on this day…
Closed on this left side of the street is the museum and the art museum On the right is the goal of this tour, the Honmaru Goten of Kawagoe Castle. It is different from the image of a so-called castle, but it is actually a very valuable cultural heritage from a historical point of view.
There are only two Honmaru Goten with a large hall still in existence: Kochi Castle in Kochi Prefecture and this Kawagoe Castle Remnants remain around the Honmaru Goten, allowing visitors to imagine the size of Kawagoe Castle in the past
The area around the Goten is very peaceful and relaxing, a far cry from the crowds that had gathered there earlier. You can also tour the inside of the Goten for 100 yen admission fee. Video recording is not allowed…
By the way, the Taiyakisoba from Komine Shoten right in front of the Goten is inexpensive and delicious! So that’s it for the Koedo/Kawagoe walk! Please subscribe to my channel! And don’t forget to like the video! Also, please comment if you have any requests.
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0:00 大正浪漫夢通り
4:35 蔵造りの町並み
8:25 鐘つき通り
13:00 小江戸の脇道
15:10 菓子屋横丁
19:20 川越氷川神社へ
28:50 川越氷川神社
29:45 川越城へ
33:20 川越城本丸御殿
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