Areas Not to Be Missed in Kawagoe

When you’re in the mood to slip back in time — perhaps 100 years or 400 years back, but you can’t quite make a decision — don’t worry, Kawagoe‘s got you covered. Now better acquainted as a tourist spot, Kawagoe was once a flourishing commercial town that sent goods over to Tokyo (or Edo, back in the day), and the town has been called Koedo or Little Edo ever since. Boasting sceneries from the Edo period (1603 – 1867) all the way to the Taishō era (1912-1926), this area is only a 45-minute train ride from Shinjuku (which isn’t a far stretch when compared with a 2 hour plus train ride to Kyoto, also loved for its nostalgic landscapes).

Once you reach either Kawagoe (JR Tobu Tojo Line) or Honkawagoe Station (Seibu Line), take the Koedo Loop Bus to Kashiya Yokocho or Penny Candy Lane, and start your stroll from there by making use of our mini Kawagoe guide.

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1. Penny Candy Lane

Map／地図

While the Japanese may not be familiar with Fruit Rollups or Rice Krispies, they definitely had their own share. To get a glimpse of the snacks that bring back Japanese childhood memories, browse through the 22 stores dotted along Penny Candy Lane.

Note that this snack district is also secretly a zoo inhabited by styrofoam animals — hunt down 8 large animals and 5 small animals that Kawagoe artist Mikio Yajima planted in the area. Though some are out in the open, others are harder to find, which makes for a charming quest to add to your snack-filled stroll.

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This chameleon is one of the more noticeable one — look harder to find the others. |

Read our feature on Edoya, one of the shops on Penny Candy Lane.

http://district81.jp/spot/edoya-penny-candy-lane.html

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2. Warehouse Zone

Map／地図

Unlike Tokyo known as Edo back in the day, Kawagoe has maintained its Edo/Meiji landscapes, and is also known as Koedo or Little Edo for this very reason. If you’re in pursuit of Edo architecture, this is your place to be. Get yourself Kawagoe’s famously-loved sweet potato sweets, or let a rikshaw do work for you while you take in landscapes from a far away time.

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