Kawagoe (川越市）is the city I`m currently living in. It`s located in the southeast part of the Saitama prefecture　（埼玉県). The city has a population of about 300,000 people. It is pretty close to Tokyo (東京）and has three major train stations: Kawagoe (JR Saikyo Line, Kawagoe Line, Tobu Tojo Line), Kawagoe-Shi (Tobu Tojo, Yurachi Line), and Hon-Kawagoe (Seibu-Shinjuku). All of these trains run directly to Tokyo (except the Kawagoe Line). I tend to take the Tobu Tojo line because it`s only a 40 minutes ride from Kawagoe to Ikebukuro in Tokyo. Kawagoe is a nice little city with a mix of the traditional and the modern.

Kawagoe was once called "Little Edo" (Edo is the original name of Tokyo). This area, Kurazukuri, is filled with merchant shops in buildings that have been there since the Edo period. There`s also Kashiyayokocho (菓子屋横町) which means "candy lane." It`s a street where you can find traditional Japanese candy. The tower in the picture above is called Toki no Kane (時の鐘) or the Belltower. There`s also a festival museum, and rickshaw rides in this area of Kawagoe as well.

This is the Kita-Inn Temple, one of the many temples in Kawagoe (this is the largest one). During New Year, many people did hastumode which is the first trip to a temple for the year. LOL I actually did my hatsumode at the Meiji Shrine in Harajuku, not in Kawagoe.

Here`s the entrance to a small shrine. I just took pics of it because I thought it was pretty cool.

Every October is Kawagoe Matsuri (川越祭り）. It`s a huge festival that like many Japanese festivals consists of mikoshi and kasahoko (umm...they`re kinda like a parade float but much more elaborate) being carried throughout the city by tons of people. Each one is different and has a "charater" as a main feature. Unfortunately I don`t know enough about Kawagoe`s festival or Japanese culture to give a detail explanation of the characters. Anyway, when they "meet", they have a "battle" which last about 2-3 minutes then they move on. The festival lasts for 2 days and there`s tons of great food, music, games, and people.

This is a pic of one of the kasahoko.

This is a pic of "modern" Kawagoe. Kawagoe has a GAP, Mr Donut, Virgin Records store, Claire`s, tons of manga/internet cafes, and department stores. Like many Japanese cities, Kawagoe has the 5-way cross walk. LOL I seem to get pics of people on bikes a lot.