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Spring 2024
June 2024
Only one month left until Japan's Tanabata festival!
Tanashi Shrine in Nishitokyo is known as a power spot where five dragon gods are enshrined. Also, from mid-June to mid-July, the "Tanabata Teru Teru Tunnel," set up especially for the Tanabata festival, is a must-see! Since it was established to pray for protection from typhoons and harsh weather, it has attracted visitors from all over Japan.
A vibrant symbol of early summer during the rainy season! Let's go see the hydrangeas!
At Ajisai Park in Kodaira City, Tokyo, around 1,500 hydrangea plants bloom beautifully every June! These hydrangeas, in soft shades of pink, purple, white, and blue, look stunning even in rain, attracting many visitors. During the blooming season, the park will be illuminated for about 10 days, and the hydrangeas look even more enchanting under the night lights.
Let's experience the classical atmosphere of the Taisho era!
Located in the Taisho Romantic Dream Street in Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture, Shimano Coffee Taisho-kan is a charming retro-style café. Embracing the beauty of both Japanese and Western cultures, this café is themed around the Taisho Romantic era, evoking a nostalgic feeling that attracts many visitors.The menu features beloved classics, such as the master's own roasted coffee, thick-sliced pizza toast, and old-fashioned pudding.
Let's feel the refreshing early summer breeze with our eyes and ears!
Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine in Kawagoe City, Saitama, famous as the god of matchmaking, is loved by many as a symbol of early summer. Seasonally, numerous windmills and Edo wind chimes are hung around the shrine grounds with approximately 1500 colorful Edo wind chimes! Handcrafted by artisans, each wind chime has its own unique appearance and sound, making them a delight to behold.
May 2024
Experience Japanese tea through special activities
Miyanoen in Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture, offers a variety of experiences from the basics of Japanese tea culture, such as how to brew Sayama tea, matcha art, tea picking experience, tea blending experience and 8-hour hand-rolled tea making class for those who want to learn in depth.They also offer a variety of attractive tea sweets using Sayama tea, such as Sayama tea Belgian waffles and Sayama tea pound cake.
Enjoy the experience of driving a train!
Located in a residential area of Shinjuku, Tokyo, 'Yakimen-Tsurugi' offers a new sensation ramen. The delightful Yakimen-Tsurugi has a fun texture, with noodles boiled and then steamed and grilled on a hot plate, resulting in a crispy exterior and a chewy interior that's addictive! The original veggie potato soup adds a rich and creamy texture that complements the noodles perfectly!
Seasonal Flowers! Let's go check out the blooming iris fields!
Kitayama Park Iris Garden in Higashimurayama City, Tokyo, is famous for its 100,000 irises, with approximately 600 varieties! Some rare varieties, cannot be found anywhere else, bloom here. The iris festival is held every year during the blooming season, and there are many stalls and events such as illuminating the irises.
New sensation! Ready to taste the original noodles loved by many fans?
Located in a residential area of Shinjuku, Tokyo, 'Yakimen-Tsurugi' offers a new sensation ramen. The delightful Yakimen-Tsurugi has a fun texture, with noodles boiled and then steamed and grilled on a hot plate, resulting in a crispy exterior and a chewy interior that's addictive! The original veggie potato soup adds a rich and creamy texture that complements the noodles perfectly!
April 2024
A carpet of flowers that colors Chichibu in spring: Shibazakura no Oka (Moss Phlox Hill)
Hitsujiyama Park is a nature-surrounded park located in Chichibu City, Saitama Prefecture. In spring, the park boasts one of the largest planted areas in the Kanto region, with more than 400,000 moss phlox of 10 varieties and 9 species. The sight of colorful moss phlox blooming all over the area is like a carpet of flowers, attracting many tourists every year.
Ogano Spring Festival：Announcing the arrival of spring
In the Chichibu area, the representative festival in spring is the "Ogano Spring Festival," held every year since the Edo period on the third Saturday in April and the preceding day. The day before the festival kicks off with a lively yatai kabuki show, Shinto music and dance called kagura, and a thrilling sword dance. Then, on the big day, you can see two yatai floats and two Kasaboko floats being carried through Ogano's city center by officials, including the "Kanabo-tsuki", who lead the procession by striking the ground with an iron bat, etc. And don't forget to stick around for the amazing fireworks at sunset.
Poppies in the sky：Brightly coloring Chichibu Highland Farm
At Chichibu Highland Farm, poppies are in full bloom from late May to early June each year, and an event called Poppies in the Sky is held. The poppies spreading all over the vast area of the ranch, which is located at an altitude of 500 meters, look like a bright red carpet. The contrast between the clear blue sky and the poppies on a sunny day is especially beautiful.
Colorful carp streamers swim in the sky：Come visit us at Koedo, Kawagoe
Kawagoe City in Saitama Prefecture, renowned as one of Tokyo's suburban hotspots, earns the nickname "Koedo" or "Little Edo" and attracts over seven million tourists every year. Speaking of events held during late March to mid-May, we have Koinobori. At the "Oyoge Koinobokun" event held along "Taisho Roman Yume Street," which evokes the good old days of the Taisho Period in Kawagoe, colorful carp streamers painted by local children and tourists fill the street, fluttering in the wind as if carp were swimming under a blue sky!