Kumagaya Night View

The icicles of chichibu is a great place to enjoy the winter. Last winter I went to ashigakubo to see the this winter wonderland. During the winter there is also illumination arrangement. Overall the view is great and enjoyable.

View of Saitama Shintoshin Station from the bridge The futuristic station building shines at night

It is the "Hojo Festival" in Yorii Town held on October 9 of this month. Divided into the Hojo clan and their enemy camps, they fought a battle at Tamayodo River. Cannons and fireworks were also launched, and we were able to see a powerful demonstration.

Enjoying the beautiful pre-autumn morning in a traditional way. Over 5 million red spider lily were full bloomed at kinchakuda park in Saitama Prefecture. The place was very crowdy and it was difficult to take a satisfactory shot. As a novice photographer it was very challenging to me. Anyway after attempting several times finally I was satisfied. I think the beautiful red carpet with the spider lily and the traditional umbrella creates a good combination.

I went to see Manju Shahua! It was very beautiful with red all over the place!

Over 5 million red spider lily is bloomed here in Kinchakuda park in Hidaka city of Saitama prefecture. The bright colors of this flower attracts the tourist from a long distance apart. Here the one flower bloomed over the top of the red carpet like colors. This flower is very eager to show its beauty to the flower lovers.

A scarlet autumn morning in a traditional way at Kinchakuda park in Saitama prefecture. This is most probably the biggest place to see the red spider lilies in Japan. A very vast area turns like a red carpet. This unique flowers and a traditional touch makes the day perfect.

A scarlet autumn morning in a traditional way at Kinchakuda park in Saitama prefecture. This is most probably the biggest place to see the red spider lilies in Japan. A very vast area turns like a red carpet. This unique flowers and a traditional touch makes the day perfect.

Tonight, I will compare the white label and blue label of Chichibu's Ichiro's malt whisky at TAJIMA GLASS in Edo Glass, which is famous for its Mt. Fuji glass with Mt. Fuji at the bottom of the rock glass. White is easier to drink, but I prefer blue.

Decided to go back to Gyoda again this weekend. We had such a good time last time we went we decided we wanted to check out the cherry blossoms this spring. Managed to visit some really nice places. We originally wanted to use the rental bicycles that they have in front of the station but we got there past noon and all of them were taken unfortunately. Fortunately for us, it ended up getting a bit colder later on so it actually worked out. We got lucky as there was a really convenient sightseeing bus that rolled through the station to all of the major places in the city every 45 minutes or so. We checked out the cherry blossoms at Gyoda Castle and they had the Hanachozu (花手水, pots of flowers floating in water). We were able to see a few of these throughout the city which was nice. They also had traditional umbrellas on display in a few areas around the castle which was really pretty. After Gyoda Castle we visited the Sakitama Burial Mounds which had some really beautiful views of the cherry blossoms. There was also a flock of herons flying around the area but I wasn't able to get a very good photo of any of them. Luckily we got some great photos of the cherry blossoms and the main mound and had a really enjoyable time. We also stopped by Suijo Park and there were some food stalls in the area, but we got there when everything was just about closed so we only got to see a few of the vendors. We managed to get a really tasty lemonade and a latte though. Both tasted really good. Surprisingly there were a lot of cosplayers at the park. We probably saw like 20-30 people cosplaying using the bridges and cherry blossoms in the area. On the way back to the station we managed saw this river during the bus ride and so we backtracked a little bit after getting to the station (about 5 minutes walking) and got to enjoy some really phenomenal views of the cherry blossoms along the river. There were hardly any people there as well, surprisingly. Overall it was a really awesome time!

It's finally starting to feel like spring. Loving the cherry blossoms around Tokyo already, it just needs to get a bit warmer. Temperature feels a lot more up and down this year, but maybe it's just my imagination. Hoping I can get out this weekend and enjoy some more views outside of Tokyo. I'm not sure how much the cherry blossoms have bloomed in Saitama, but I enjoyed seeing all the photos and videos of the Kawazu Cherry Blossom Festival. It's a bit too far/expensive for a day trip (6 hours on a train doesn't sound fun), but it'd be nice to see them one day. From my knowledge, the cherry blossoms tend to stay in bloom longer there so it'd be nice to see them eventually. Either way, I'm just happy spring is finally here!

From my home in Saitama City, I encountered a bright red "angel ladder".

In the Chichibu Basin, fog often occurs at night when the air near the surface cools, and a sea of clouds is formed to cover the urban area. It is attracting attention as "the closest sea of clouds from the city center".

Chichibu Shrine's "Oni Yarai" It is the "Setsubun Tsukina Festival" held at Chichibu Shrine on February 3 every year. A lot of demons appear, and "demon yarai" and "bean sprinkling" are performed by old men and women. When the old man and woman sow the beans while saying, "The demon is outside~", the demon retreats.

This Kasaboko (flower parasol) used in 300 years old Japanese festival in Chichibu which actually looks stunning. This chichibu night festival is also known as 'chichibu yomatsuri'. I was really very excited to see it.

I didn't have enough space to write it the other day, but after visiting Fukuda Inari Shrine the other day in Nishi-Omiya, Saitama we stopped by a café called Mango Tree Cafe, a small Thai restaurant on the way back to the station. We'd already eaten, so we just wanted to sit down and relax from all the walking and to catch a break from the cold. We ordered some frozen drinks and a mango ice cream which all tasted quite good. I think the ice cream was the best but I didn't get a picture of it. I ordered the watermelon frozen juice and it was pretty nice, but they had something called "manaonade" (アンチャンマナオネード) which I guess means "blue tea" or "butterfly pea flower tea-ade" (lol). It's a type of herbal tea I guess but it seemed interesting. I was considering getting it, but I'd never heard of it before so decided to stay on the safe side and just get the watermelon. I'll probably try it next time as I know this place is a chain restaurant with other locations in Tokyo. Plus I never really eat Thai food, so it'd be something nice to try for a change

Wanted to do Hatsumode this year but didn't want to go anywhere crowded, so I decided to go out to Saitama and find a small shrine to visit. Ended up at this tiny shrine in Nishi-Omiya called Fukuda Inari Shrine (福田稲荷神社). It was super small and not a single person was there so it was like we had the whole place to ourselves. There was no real path leading up to the shrine so we had to walk through a plot of land that wasn't being used but it ended up being a really cool place. The approach to the shrine was really mysterious and once you get past the second torii gate you can see a bamboo forest surrounding the whole area. It was really neat as I couldn't see any bamboo from the outside and didn't really know what to expect when I visited. The shrine itself looks almost deserted but somehow still well maintained. I wanted to go inside to look at the pictures better but obviously I can't so I just admired them from afar. The temizuya/chozuya (or at least I think it was that, maybe this would be considered a chozubachi?) didn't have a ladle to wash your hands but maybe it has to do with corona. Anyways, it was a really nice little shrine and is a great place if you're looking for a mini adventure outside of Tokyo. Or if you want to do Hatsumode and avoid the crowds completely lol. Also, happy new year!

It is a park called Tove Jansson Akebono Children's Forest Park. Parking and free parks are free. It is lit up once a year. I don't do it now, but I will be Instagrammable in Moomin's park even in the daytime.

Freezing morning with the first frost

Taken from near my home. The moon seen through the trees where the leaves had fallen was a very fantastic night.

Iwatsuki Castle Ruins Park Reflection after rain. The scenery reflected on the surface of the water created a world that looked like a painting.

Hello My name is Rampage Pampas Grass 🌾 Autumn plants are doing Please take a look.

I'm pretty sure this is the last photo that I have of my trip to Kumagaya. Was a really awesome time and I'd love to revisit sometime in the future. You can really feel the summer atmosphere with the koinobori and the clear skies as well. I wanted to walk along the canal and see how long it is and see if I could find any cool cafes, restaurants, or other shops to check out, but I was unfortunately short on time so I didn't get the chance. It'll have to wait for a return trip. Kumagaya was an interesting town though, so I'm sure I'll be able to find at least a few hidden gems to explore along the canals. I want to explore the rest of the city more too. It had some nice places to eat but I want to see more of the local culture, etc. next time I'm there.

Another photo from Kumagaya. This is a big map outside of Kumagaya Station's North Exit, depicting, from what I understand, Kumagaya and the surrounding area in 1936. It's a bit difficult to see, but if you zoom in you can see Kumagaya on the left side with Tokyo in the upper left behind it, and to the right of Kumagaya you can see Kami-Kumagaya, from there, if you look to the bottom-right you'll see Kumagaya City Hall and furthest to the right is Ishiwara. Underneath Ishiwara you can also see several schools (elementary, middle, high school) and a hospital. It's quite difficult to see in this photo, but the mountain at the far back right is Mt. Asama, and you can see Nagatoro as well. On top of that, there's the Arakawa River running through the background of the entire map and a bridge connecting to Onuma Park as well. There's tons of stuff to see in just this one map, I love looking at old maps and historic things like this. I could stare at it for hours and still find new and interesting things.

I found a few more photos of my trip to Kumagaya. Being as it's the "Rugby Town" of Japan, it's only natural that it has a big statue of a rugby ball! It's kind of a cute statue and it reminds me of something from a movie, although I'm not sure which movie it is I'm thinking of. Apparently there's supposed to be a few of these statues found around other parts of Kumagaya, but I don't remember if I saw them or not. Obviously I saw some of the other statues, like the one over the canal, etc., but I don't remember seeing more than one of this statue. Perhaps at one of the other exits of Kumagaya Station. Also, the statue is apparently called "Rugby Boy" ("ラグビー少年" in Japanese), for anyone curious!

Went canoeing in Hagure, Saitama and I managed to turn red thanks to a nice sunburn. Was super tired the next day after a ton of canoeing but still managed to get a good amount of sightseeing done in Gyoda. Visited Oshi Castle (忍城) and the nearby museum, bought some tabi shoes from a shop that’s been in business for more than 100 years (創作足袋千代の松), stopped by a couple of shrines and enjoyed some of Japan’s scenic beauty. Had a total blast, and one of the locals even gave us some incense as a gift for visiting Gyoda!

I went to Gyoda, where my favorite drama Rikuo was filmed! I found a winning insect pattern at a tabi shop! I was just so excited 🤣.

It is a bread made by the master ▹▸ I'm a baker. With natural yeast at home kneaded �/&�� However, our In a respectable oven Because there is no I was struggling quite a bit (laughs). Slightly sweet It was delicious ( • ̀ᄇ • ́) و✧

Appetite on the Fall Theme Alone with my husband at home Whole cakes I got (*'*'*)ŧ‹"ŧ‹"