Timeless Travel in Kawagoe物語が宿る街 川越

Kawagoe is about an hour by train from Tokyo. The city in Saitama Prefecture is famous for its magnificent old storehouses, which can be found on a 400-meter street in the historic downtown area. Each one is different, so seen all together they make an impressive sight.

Kawagoe’s history is a history of devastation by fire. A fire in 1893 burned down over a third of the city, but merchant houses like the Osawa-ke House built in the latter Edo period (1603-1868) in the hardy storehouse style escaped major damage. This led subsequently to the construction of buildings in this fire-resistant style and ultimately to the city’s rebirth.

One of the striking features of Kawagoe’s storehouses is their “Edo black” walls. Kawagoe was built to resemble Edo (present day Tokyo) out of admiration specifically for its Nihombashi district, where the plasterers painted and polished their walls black by hand. Storehouses are typically buildings for storage, but the ones in Kawagoe are also actually stores with storefronts. They are distinctive for their box-like ridges, plastered roof ornaments, which support the ridge beams, and heavy fireproof swing doors, which improve airtightness.

This old storehouse style had been in danger of disappearing as Japan pursued high economic growth from the mid-1950s to early 1990s, but local citizens fought hard to preserve the buildings. Now 23 of them, led by the Osawa-ke House, have been designated as official national or municipal cultural heritage. The storehouse stands as the face of Kawagoe and a repository for its history and tradition.

Building Exploration

Kawagoe in the Edo period was strongly influenced by the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu and was controlled by major feudal lords like Sakai Shigetada. It prospered as a collection center for goods of every kind, earning the name Little Edo. Towns at the time were divided into districts for merchants, craftspeople, temples, samurai and other classes arranged around the castle, and this design is evident today.

Honmaru Goten is one of the city’s splendid sights. It served as the daimyo lord’s residence in Kawagoe Castle, one of the few surviving buildings of its kind in Japan and the only one in eastern Japan. The entryway, banquet hall and chief retainer’s office all remain, showing the impressive power of the samurai.

Kawagoe’s streetscape has buildings from a number of eras, from the Edo (1603-1868) down to the Showa (1926-1989). The No. 85 National Bank building built in 1918 is a Renaissance-style building with a blue-green roof and decorative striped pillars. The bank, the first in Saitama Prefecture, was founded by government purveyors and is a national Registered Tangible Cultural Property.

The Grecian-style Kawagoe Chamber of Commerce and Industry was built in the early Showa period and previously housed Bushu Bank. It is the oldest chamber of commerce in the prefecture, supporting the region’s development. Taisho Roman Street next to the storehouse district is a popular retail district. Many of its merchants have been in business for three generations or more going back to the Edo period. A draper’s shop built in 1933 is now Shimano Coffee Taishokan, a place of comfort.

The Bell of Time is a famous landmark of Kawagoe. It was built by Sakai Tadakatsu, a daimyo lord of the Kawagoe domain who was resident in the castle from 1627 to 1634. It burned down in a major fire in 1893, but was subsequently rebuilt in the following year. It chimes at 6 a.m., noon, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., filling the storehouse district with its beautiful bell-notes.

Kawagoe is at its most lively every year for Kawagoe Festival on the third weekend in October. The highlight is the float event, registered as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. There are many temples and shrines as well, including Kita-in and Senba Toshogu, associated deeply with Tokugawa family. A tour of these major sights takes about two hours. The loop-line buses are a nice, efficient way to get around.

Local Sake, the Pride of the City

Saitama Prefecture is the nation’s top producer of sake. Though not necessarily well known, the prefecture boasts 34 sake breweries, including Kawagoe’s sole brewery, Koedo Kagamiyama Shuzo. The brewery was founded in 1875 in Kawagoe’s central district and ceased operations in 2000, but brewery employees at Igarashi Shuzo from nearby Hanno City and the family’s second son Akihiro Igarashi worked to bring it back. They leased part of a local soy sauce brewer and revived Kagamiyama’s much loved sake. Today, the brewery collaborates with local rice farmers to cultivate an optimal breed for sake brewing. At the National Institute of Brewing’s Annual Japan Sake Awards 2019, Kagamiyama’s premium-quality daiginjo sake was awarded a Gold Prize, the first for a Saitama sake brewed with Saitama rice and water. The brewery’s workforce is young and up-and-coming and will in time assume the mantle of Japanese sake brewing. “Kawagoe is the top tourism city in Saitama Prefecture with 7.34 million visitors each year,” Igarashi explains. “People come to Kawagoe for the storehouse district, the temples and shrines, Japanese food and traditional snacks—they come for things Japanese. Sake is a major part of Japan’s culinary heritage, and the local sake here is the pride of the city. I inherited the brewery to make this from scratch. I believe sake is an irreplaceable tool when welcoming others.” The brewery uses time-tested techniques and no machines. It is “Japan’s most compact brewer” with an area approximately equal to a single tennis court and produces a full-bodied taste that accentuates good food.

The former Kagamiyama Shuzo brewery was renovated and opened in 2010 as Koedo Kurari, a tourism center for Kawagoe industry. Kikizakedokoro Showagura, a national Registered Tangible Cultural Property, offers bottles from Saitama’s 34 sake breweries and sake tastings as well. There are also limited-edition brews available only at the store. The brews are well-organized by sake type, making it easy to find what one wants. Tradition is upheld, while people and cultures, old and new mix. This spirit is another distinct trait of Kawagoe.

The Joys of Gourmet-Hopping

Gourmet-hopping is one of the true joys of Kawagoe. Wander about and wonderful aromas come wafting from here, there, everywhere. From acclaimed eel to everyday gourmet, walk around and enjoy the best of the city. Sweet potatoes were grown in great volume during the Edo period; they are one of Kawagoe’s specialties. The people of Edo loved them roasted, and Tsuboyaki Hiramotoya, founded in 1949, sells them in the traditional pot-roasted style. When the potatoes are roasted in a plaster pot at 240°C, they are soft, crumbly and incredibly sweet. Full of vitamins and dietary fiber, as well as the calcium-packed skin, they are a natural treat.

Kawagoe is home to a dozen or more toasted dumpling shops and each one offers a different taste. Toasted rice dumplings were originally created to feed laborers engaged in hauling grain. Toasted dumpling shops played the role coffee shops do today. Matsuyama Shoten at Renkei-ji temple, which was built in the Muromachi period (1336-1573), has been in business for over 100 years. It toasts each skewer by hand, and the aroma of roasted soy sauce is irresistible.

Kashiya Yokocho, or Candy Alley, is a must-see and -taste for tourists. Home to the city’s confectioners, in the early Showa period, it was packed with over 70 candy sellers. Today there are about 20 or so, one of which is Edoya, which sells its sweets by the gram. Children clutching their coins would eagerly look forward to buying candies in the alley. The same is true today with many adults, who rediscover their inner child choosing what to buy and munch.

Between its history and traditions, Kawagoe provides a glimpse into the everyday lives of the common folk. It makes a wonderful, and for some nostalgic, one-day excursion.