Kawagoe

Kawagoe 川越
—  Core city  —
川越市 · Kawagoe
Traditional alley in Kawagoe
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Location of Kawagoe in Saitama
Kawagoe
Coordinates: 35°56′N 139°29′E / 35.933°N 139.483°E / 35.933; 139.483
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Saitama
Government
- Mayor	Yoshiaki Kawai
Area
- Total	109.16 km2 (42.1 sq mi)
Population (2008)	335,638
- Density	3,049/km2 (7,896.9/sq mi)
City Symbols
- Tree	Oak
- Flower	Kerria
- Bird	Goose
Website	City of Kawagoe
Phone number	049-224-8811

Kawagoe's shops, temples and tower retain a feeling of the Edo period

Kawagoe (川越市, Kawagoe-shi^?) is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, and is about a 30-minute train ride from Ikebukuro in Tokyo.

As of June 1, 2008, the city has an estimated population of 335,638 (135,621 households). The total area is 109.16 km².

Kawagoe was founded as a town Kawagoe-machi (川越町^?) on April 1, 1889, and became the first city in the prefecture on December 1, 1922.

Geography

As a part of the Greater Tokyo Area this is one of the satellite cities of Tokyo but it is also the governmental, commercial and business centre of the southwestern (geographically it is central, but the administration and the public classify it as southwestern) Saitama Prefecture. It is a core city (中核市) and a business core city (ja:業務核都市) designated by Japanese national government.

Kawagoe is famous for its sweet potatoes, and on the local "Candy Street" one can find such treats as sweet potato chips, sweet potato ice cream, sweet potato coffee, and even sweet potato beer, brewed at the local Koedo Brewery.

Some of its streets preserve the old castle town of the Edo period (17c to 19c.) Prominent sites in Kawagoe include the bell tower as seen in the picture to the right. The bell tower serves as the symbol for Koedo and rings three times a day. Other sites include the 500 Rakan statues at Kita-in, a prominent Buddhist temple. It is a popular gathering-spot for New Year celebrations. As midnight approaches on December 31, waits of nearly three hours are commonplace at the temple.

Transportation

Railways

• Main station: Kawagoe Station

• Tōbu Tōjō Line:
  • Kasumigaseki Station, Kawagoeshi Station, Kawagoe Station, Shingashi Station

• JR East Kawagoe Line:
  • Kasahata Station, Matoba Station, Nishi-Kawagoe Station, Kawagoe Station, Minami-Furuya Station

• Seibu Shinjuku Line:
  • Hon-Kawagoe Station, Minami-Otsuka Station

History

The city is known locally as "Little Edo" (小江戸, Koedo^?) after the old name for Tokyo, "Edo". Kawagoe castle was the headquarters of the Kawagoe Domain and occupied by close aides of the Tokugawa shogunate. Most of the buildings were dismantled in the 1870s but some remained or were relocated. ^[1]

Before it was merged with Saitama Prefecture in 1873, it was the capital of Kawagoe Prefecture (1871) then Iruma Prefecture (1871–1873). ^[2]

Sights

The Bell of Time (時の鐘, Toki no kane^?) is a bell tower originally built by the order of Sakai Tadakatsu (酒井 忠勝^?) between 1624 and 1644. The present structure goes back to 1894, a year after the Great Fire of Kawagoe. It is a three-story tower measuring 16 meters in height. The tower has been telling time to the city's residents for 350 years and has been deemed as a symbol of the city. Currently, the bell can be heard four times a day (6 a.m., 12 p.m., 3 p.m., and 6 p.m.).^[3]

The Confectionery Row (菓子屋横丁, Kashiya Yokochō^?) is a small backstreet alley where a dozen stores sell old-fashioned cheap sweets and snacks, most of which are priced at less than 50 yen. The location was known as a neighborhood where scores of confectionery manufactures lined the alley. Many tourists come here to enjoy the nostalgic atmosphere of the early Showa period. ^[4]

The Kurazukuri Street (蔵造りの町並み, Kuradukuri no machinami^?) is a section of a street lined with traditional warehouses constructed in a style called kurazukuri (蔵造り^?) and maintains the old outlook of what the place was like during the Edo period. The city of Kawagoe started seeing kurazukuri-style warehouses in the aftermath of a great fire that consumed one-third of the old Kawagoe in 1893. Within and beyond the Kurazukuri Street, many warehouses from the 18 and 19 centuries can still be seen. The Kawagoe Kurazukuri Museum is located in a traditional warehouse built in 1893 and allows its visitors to walk around inside and experience the life of Edo merchants. ^[5]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kawagoe, Saitama

• Kawagoe official website in Japanese
• Kawagoe City Museum official website in Japanese

Gallery

Statues of Gohyaku Rakan at Kitain Temple

Float of the Kawagoe Festival, held on two days in October.

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