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Saitama · Core city

Kawagoe

川越市かわごえしKawagoe-shi

Little Edo on Tokyo's doorstep

Kawagoe is a former castle town in southern Saitama, about 30 minutes from Tokyo's Ikebukuro, nicknamed Koedo or 'Little Edo'. Its streets of clay-walled merchant storehouses, the Toki no Kane bell tower and the Kitain temple preserve the look of an Edo-period commercial town.

Overview

Kawagoe grew on the northern edge of the Musashino terrace, where the Shingashi River offered a route for boats to Edo. As a castle town guarding the northern approach to the shogun's capital, it was entrusted to trusted Tokugawa vassals, and its merchants prospered by shipping rice, timber and goods down to Edo. The close ties earned it the name Koedo, 'Little Edo'.

The city's signature streetscape dates from after a great fire in 1893. Merchants rebuilt their shops as kurazukuri – heavy, fireproof buildings with thick clay walls, black plaster and massive tiled roofs – modelled on the storehouse architecture of Edo, which has almost entirely vanished in Tokyo itself. The Ichibangai street and its side lanes form an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings.

Today Kawagoe is a large commuter city, but its historic core, the temple of Kitain with buildings moved from Edo Castle, the palace of Kawagoe Castle and the autumn float festival make it one of the most popular day trips from Tokyo.

Landmarks

  • Kurazukuri Street

    蔵造りの町並みKurazukuri no machinami

    The Ichibangai main street lined with black-walled storehouse shops of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

  • Toki no Kane

    時の鐘Toki no Kane

    Wooden bell tower, first built in the seventeenth century and rebuilt after 1893, still striking the hours four times a day.

  • Kitain

    喜多院Kitain

    Tendai temple with halls from Edo Castle – including the room where Iemitsu was born – and the Gohyaku Rakan, over 500 stone disciples of the Buddha.

  • Kawagoe Castle Honmaru Goten

    川越城本丸御殿Kawagoe-jō Honmaru Goten

    Part of the lord's palace of 1848, one of only two surviving honmaru palaces in Japan.

  • Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine

    川越氷川神社Kawagoe Hikawa Jinja

    Old shrine popular for matchmaking prayers, with a large wooden torii and a summer display of wind chimes.

  • Kashiya Yokocho

    菓子屋横丁Kashiya Yokochō

    Lane of old-fashioned sweet shops selling dagashi, candy and sweet-potato snacks.

  • Kawagoe Festival Museum

    川越まつり会館Kawagoe Matsuri Kaikan

    Hall displaying two of the festival's towering floats, with films of the October festival.

Districts

  • Ichibangai

    一番街Ichibangai

    The storehouse street and its side lanes, the heart of historic Kawagoe.

  • Taisho Roman Yume-dori

    大正浪漫夢通りTaishō Rōman Yume-dōri

    Shopping street of early twentieth-century Western-style facades south of the storehouse district.

  • Castle and Kitain area

    The quieter east of the old town with the castle palace, Kitain and the Senba Toshogu shrine.

  • Station area

    Modern shopping streets around Kawagoe and Hon-Kawagoe stations, the long Crea Mall leading north to the old town.

History

Kawagoe Castle was built in 1457 by Ota Dosei and his son Ota Dokan, builders of the first Edo Castle, for the Ogigayatsu Uesugi. In 1546 the Hojo of Odawara won the Battle of Kawagoe with a famous night attack, securing their hold on Musashi. Under the Tokugawa, the castle was held by senior retainers such as Matsudaira Nobutsuna, who laid out the town and improved river transport to Edo.

The abbot Tenkai, adviser to three shoguns, revived the temple of Kitain; after a fire in 1638 Tokugawa Iemitsu had halls from Edo Castle dismantled and reassembled there. In the Meiji era Kawagoe remained a commercial centre. After the fire of 1893 destroyed a third of the town, the kurazukuri streets were built. Kawagoe became Saitama's first city in 1922.

  1. 1457

    Ota Dosei and Ota Dokan build Kawagoe Castle.

  2. 1546

    The Hojo win the Battle of Kawagoe with a night attack on the besieging Uesugi.

  3. 1599

    The monk Tenkai becomes abbot of Kitain.

  4. 1638

    After a great fire, buildings from Edo Castle are moved to Kitain.

  5. 1639

    Matsudaira Nobutsuna becomes lord of Kawagoe and reorganises the town.

  6. 1848

    The present Honmaru Goten palace of Kawagoe Castle is built.

  7. 1893

    A great fire destroys much of the town; merchants rebuild in fireproof kurazukuri style.

  8. 1922

    Kawagoe becomes the first city in Saitama Prefecture.

  9. 1999

    The storehouse district is designated an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings.

Culture

Kawagoe's merchant culture lives on in its festival: the town's districts maintain towering, lavishly decorated floats topped by dolls of legendary heroes. When floats meet at intersections, their musicians and dancers engage in hikkawase, a contest of drums and flutes. The festival is part of UNESCO's inscription of Yama, Hoko, Yatai float festivals.

Festivals

  • Kawagoe Festival

    川越まつりKawagoe Matsuri

    On the third Saturday and Sunday of October, around thirty floats parade through the old town, with evening hikkawase contests.

  • Kitain Daruma Market

    喜多院だるま市Kitain Daruma-ichi

    On 3 January, stalls around Kitain sell daruma for the new year.

  • Wind chime festival

    縁むすび風鈴Enmusubi Fūrin

    In summer, Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine hangs thousands of glass wind chimes along its paths.

Food

  • Sweet potatoes

    川越いもKawagoe imo

    Kawagoe's famous produce, sold baked, as chips, in soft-serve ice cream and in traditional sweets.

  • Eel

    うなぎunagi

    Grilled eel on rice, served in old restaurants that once took their eels from local rivers.

  • Dagashi

    駄菓子dagashi

    Cheap traditional sweets and snacks sold in Kashiya Yokocho.

  • Craft beer

    小江戸ビールKoedo bīru

    Kawagoe is known for a craft brewery whose range includes a beer brewed with local sweet potato.

Getting around

  • Tobu Tojo Line trains run from Ikebukuro to Kawagoe and Kawagoeshi stations in about 30 minutes.
  • The Seibu Shinjuku Line connects Seibu-Shinjuku with Hon-Kawagoe, closest to the old town, in about 45 minutes.
  • The JR Kawagoe Line, with through trains from the Saikyo Line, links Kawagoe with Omiya, Shinjuku and Shibuya.
  • The old town lies about 1.5 km north of the stations; loop buses, rental bicycles and walking are the usual ways to get around.

Day trips

  • Saitama City

    Hikawa Shrine, the bonsai village and the Railway Museum in Omiya.

  • Chichibu

    Shrines, mountains and the Nagatoro gorge, reached via Seibu lines.

  • Shinjuku

    Back to central Tokyo directly on the Seibu Shinjuku Line.

Other cities in the prefecture

CapitalSaitamaSaitama-shiOmiya, Urawa and Iwatsuki joined as Saitama's capitalCityChichibuChichibu-shiFestival floats and pilgrim temples in Saitama's mountain basin

Frequently asked questions

Why is Kawagoe called 'Little Edo'?

Because of its close economic and political ties with Edo in the Tokugawa period and because its storehouse streets preserve the look of old Edo, which has almost vanished from Tokyo.

How long does it take from Tokyo to Kawagoe?

About 30 minutes from Ikebukuro on the Tobu Tojo Line, or about 45 minutes from Seibu-Shinjuku on the Seibu Shinjuku Line.

When does the Toki no Kane bell ring?

The bell tower strikes four times a day, at 6 am, noon, 3 pm and 6 pm, a sound listed among Japan's '100 soundscapes'.

Is Kawagoe busy?

The storehouse street is very crowded on weekends and during the October festival; weekday mornings are quieter.

Related

Sources

  1. 1.川越市ホームページ (opens in a new tab) — 川越市 (Kawagoe City)
  2. 2.令和2年国勢調査 (opens in a new tab) — 総務省統計局 (Statistics Bureau of Japan)
  3. 3.文化遺産オンライン (opens in a new tab) — 文化庁 (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
  4. 4.Japan National Tourism Organization (opens in a new tab) — JNTO

Editorial team · Published: