In Tokyo, the tall buildings, hustle and bustle of city life may take a toll on you. Once concrete jungle fatigue kicks in, head over to Kawagoe, affectionately known as little Edo to get a glimpse of old Japan. We figured that this is close to getting to Kyoto without heading there!
We reached Kawagoe in less than 45 minutes on Japan Rail (JR). By foot, we can walk from the JR station to Kurazukuri street in 20-30minutes. but if you are not in the mood to walk from JR Kawagoe station to Kurazukuri street, you can catch the CO-EDO loop bus for 200 Yen (600 Yen for unlimited rides, for one day). Board the bus at the west bus stops No 2 right outside exit B. The lively bus driver introduced and even sang when he reach arrived at various designated stops (it's a shame that he couldn't converse in English even though it's a tourist bus). A map of Kawagoe is provided with touristy interests sites are indicated and if you are in a hurry to see the attractions at a glance, the CO-EDO loop bus is a good option.
Our bus made several stops around icon places of interest and eventually reached the streets of Kawagoe after 30 minute journey. At a glance this place looks like something from a japanese cultural manga.
For Japanese sweet potato lover, it is pure heaven, you can select sweet potato everything - from sweet potatoes cakes to sweet potato ice-cream, and it was delish! Many souvenir shops were spotted along the stretch so get ready to do some serious tourist shopping here. Matcha tea, red beans, dango lovers are also in for a treat, some shops even roast their own tea leaves, follow your noses and be awed by the aromatic delicious treats and roasted tea leaves.
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| Dango - a Japanese dumpling mochi, this one is drizzled with soy sauce, hence savoury instead of the usual sweet taste we are used to! |
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| Don’t be fooled by the name rice crackers - Soy flavoured Nure Okaki, the mouthfeel was chewy, a little odd if you are expecting rice crackers to be crunchy |
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| Buy Japanese style nuts at Amekichi |
Here you can sample some delicious Japanese nuts. We were spoilt for choice, end up purchasing some yuzu and hojicha bean nuts flavoured. The shop owner is super friendly and generous with samples, and you can literally go nuts with a plethora of flavours! We love the idea that you can get to sample any flavour your heart desires before purchase or not.
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| Mochi like skin with sweet potato and red bean filling have raved reviews online but the sweet potato filling wasn't to our liking, and the skin was too dry |
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| Freshly made Matcha Warabi Mochi dusted with matcha powder! |
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| Absolute delight -the sweet potato ice cream even contains bits of sweet potato in the ice cream creating welcoming textured bite! |
Tip: To have ample time to shop and fully enjoy the day, head down to Kawagoe early, most shops close around 5pm. At night, this is like a dead town.
Hungry in Kawagoe? Head over to Ogakiku, an eel specialty restaurant. Read our reviews before arrival :)
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