Saitama in Half a Day: Kawagoe Hikawa & Kawagoe Matsuri — Guide Danda

What's a Private Walking Tour of Kawagoe Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests came from Oceania and were very sturdy on their feet. Even though we walked all day, they showed no signs of fatigue, and by the end they were even climbing the stairs instead of using the escalator, which was a great help. Beforehand there had been only minimal contact through the agency, but we met successfully at Kawagoe Station. On the bus we confirmed the day's destinations and whether they wanted lunch (they did not) before starting. At Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine, they were delighted to see many families visiting for baby blessings and children celebrating Shichi-Go-San. This shrine is also nice because, unlike those in central Tokyo, it offers many kinds of experiences. They enjoyed the paper figure ritual, walking the figure-eight around the sacred tree, the ema tunnel, and the fortune-slip fishing. Since this shrine is at the center of the Kawagoe Festival held that weekend, it was a good lead-in to the video shown afterward at the festival museum. At Honmaru Goten, they were able to walk through a traditional Japanese house, and they were very fond of the unique atmosphere of the Kurazukuri warehouse district. I was glad to get a laugh with stories about "udatsu" and "kagemori" and how they relate to money. At the festival museum, it was a shame that the staff's explanations were nonstop, so we couldn't look around calmly (this was not the case before). On the other hand, I was surprised that one guest was admitted free per licensed guide (this too was not the case before). It's a bit of a walk from the Kurazukuri district to Kitain Temple, but they enjoyed the traditional buildings here and there and the quiet atmosphere of the ordinary residential area. At the same time, since there were nothing but famous eel restaurants, it was amusing how they gradually grew interested while laughing, "Eel again." At Kitain, rather than the Japanese building itself, the garden viewed from it was wonderful, and they took photos. Today I arranged the tour so that we walked downhill from Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine to Kawagoe Station, so we were almost always on foot, but during that time we were able to talk about many things, making it a very enjoyable day. Because of that, there were places I had intended to show that we ended up passing by, but since there was no need to force it, I decided that was fine as it was. I ended the guiding once at Dorobobashi and checked what they would like to do, and since they wanted to go to Kawagoe Station, I accompanied them. This also takes about 30 minutes on foot, but as we looked at the shopping mall and I asked about their plans for the coming days, we arrived at Kawagoe Station surprisingly quickly. Having heard a funny story that, just after arriving in Japan, they had boarded a Yamanote Line train in the wrong direction and gone all the way around, taking 40 minutes to reach their destination, I said in front of the Tobu Line ticket gate, "Please take the express on Platform 1; if you take Platform 2 you'll end up in the countryside and never come back," which made the guests laugh out loud.

Click here for more details: Kawagoe Customized Half-Day Tour with Licensed Local Guide

Tour Report by Danda

Nice to meet you. I am delighted to introduce myself. My nickname is Danda. I live in Saitama prefecture next to Tokyo, but I was brought up in Kanazawa, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Japan. My favorite things are bonsai and hiking. Also, I have been a big fun of history and sumo since my childhood. As for the guide, I have enjoyed making communication with foreign visitors since 2019. I have taken more than 30 private groups to not only major scenic spots but also their favorite places such as tea ceremony, maid cafe, sumo tournament, bonsai village, fire ritual and so on. I can arrange the original tour based on your requests and curiosity. It will be only for you. I look forward to meeting you soon. Thank you.