Kanto · Day Tour
A street of Edo-period merchant warehouses, thirty minutes from Ikebukuro.
From
¥30,000 per person
approx. US$190
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Instant confirmation
A private Kawagoe tour with a local guide. The clay-walled merchant houses of Kurazukuri Street, the Bell Tower, Kita-in temple and the sweet potato shops are the usual candidates. Kawagoe kept the architecture Tokyo lost, and it is close enough to see properly in half a day.
Kawagoe was a merchant town supplying Edo, and after a fire in 1893 it rebuilt in kurazukuri — thick clay-walled warehouses designed not to burn. Tokyo lost almost all of its equivalent buildings to earthquake and war. Kawagoe's are still standing and still in use as shops, which is why the town is called Little Edo.
Toki no Kane has stood in some form for four centuries and still rings four times a day. It is the town's symbol and it is also a working timepiece, which your guide will explain was the practical reason a merchant town needed one.
When Kita-in burned down in 1638, the shogun had buildings moved here from Edo Castle to replace it. Those rooms are the only part of Edo Castle that still exists anywhere. Behind the temple are more than five hundred stone rakan statues, no two of them the same.
Kawagoe has been known for sweet potato since the Edo period and the whole main street sells it — ice cream, beer, chips, cakes. Your guide will steer you to the shops worth stopping at, including the alley of old-fashioned confectioners behind the main street.
Meet your guide at the station.
The clay-walled merchant houses.
The bell tower.
The rakan statues and the Edo Castle rooms.
Old-fashioned confectioners, and sweet potato.
Kawagoe Station, Saitama. Your guide will contact you on WhatsApp beforehand to agree the plan.
The price covers your private English-speaking guide. Transport, entry fees and meals are paid as you go, and by convention you also cover your guide's. Bring cash.
Around thirty to forty minutes by train from Ikebukuro or Shinjuku.
For the main street, the bell tower and Kita-in, yes. A full day lets you add the shrine, the castle site and a proper lunch.
They are different things. Kawagoe is a merchant town and the closest to Tokyo of the three, which makes it the easiest to fit into a short trip.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start time. Bookings are confirmed instantly.
Kanto · Day Tour
5 hours · From ¥30,000
