Kawagoe

13-Apr-2025 • Kawagoe Japan

Per the advice of a good friend and Tokyo resident, we went and visited the city of Kawagoe, 30 minutes by train from the city. It was a good choice. We were enthralled by the city's old architecture, old clay warehouses, and merchant homes.

We were truly thankful to have visited this city. Since we didn't plan on anything on this trip except hang out in Tokyo, we considered this trip a real blessing. We saw someplace beautiful and new. I have heard of over tourism in Europe but I never realized until this trip that Japan experienced it too. There certainly were thousands of tourists everywhere. Tokyo was packed and even the tiny towns like Kawagoe was too. Perhaps, it was also due to the fact that it was almost the New Year and even the Japanese were off from work.

We passed by many stores selling traditional Japanese sweets and souvenirs. Each store looked very colorful and inviting. There were a number of restaurants too which had lines of people waiting to get in and be served. We visited a number of temples as well and they too were quite busy with worshipers. There were lines of people waiting to pray in front of the main altar. Though there were crowds, it was quiet and orderly. Typically Japanese.

Prior to exploring the old town, we decided to visit the mall adjacent to the train station we came out of. I ended up shopping at the Uniqlo buying more slacks and jackets. Compared to Tokyo's Uniqlo stores, it was a lot quieter and calmer in Kawagoe. There were mostly locals shopping. From there we walked the straight path to the city's main tourist sights.

I remember visiting a couple of temples here and praying with the locals. Given that it was nearly the new year, many Japanese had come to worship.

An altar in one of the temple grounds we visited

Here's a temple scene with long lines of worshipers. While there may have been long lines of people waiting their turn to pray in front of the main temple altar, the wait was short.