Historic places - Tourist Information

Buko Brewery: This brewery, famous for its high-quality sake, Buko Masamune, was founded 257 years ago. Visitors are welcome to tour the brewery (Reservations required). In the inner courtyard is a groundwater well that was selected as one of the best waters of the Heisei era. Visitors may drink from the well and bring containers to take the water home. The building itself is a must-see. It is 200 years old and designated a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property. Come to experience the history and tradition preserved in their sake.

A 15-minutes walk from Seibu-Chichibu Station on the Seibu Chichibu Line.

Sakezukuri no Mori (forest of sake breweries): In the 262 years since it was founded in 1749 (Kan' en 2), this sake brewery has practiced the basic principles of Oumi merchants and their business philosophy of "san hou yoshi (an ethic of business practice in which all parties concerned, the seller, the buyer and the people are satisfied)," and as Chichibunishiki "Sakezukuri no Mori (Forest of sake breweries," they create and sell seishu (clear sake) "Chichibunishiki," shochu (distilled spirit) "Danbei," and wine "Chateau Chichibu."Sake Brewery Museum (entrance fee: 200 yen); Sake brewery tours (reservations required, no charge)
Tourist Center (Sells seishu, shouchu, wine, and local specialties of Chichibu. No entrance fee, free sake tasting.)

Get off at Seibu-Chichibu Station on the Seibu Chichibu Line and transfer to the Muse Park circuit bus, Gururin. Get off at the Sakezukuri-no-Mori bus stop. A 1-minute walk from the bus stop.

Saitama Museum of Natural History: This museum introduces the natural formation of Saitama by faithfully reproducing the strata and living organisms from ancient times to the present. The skeletal specimen of a sea creature, Paleoparadoxia, which lived 15,000,000 years ago, is a world-rare exhibit.

Transfer at Seibu-Chichibu Station from the Seibu Chichibu Line to the Chichibu Railway (Ohanabatake Station) and get off at Kami-Nagatoro Station.

Townscape with Kurazukuri houses: Ichibangai Street, a popular spot lined up with quaint houses, reminds us of the old days through the storehouses remaining across the town representing Kawagoe's past prosperity.

A 10-minutes walk from Hon-Kawagoe Station on the Shinjuku Line.

Toki no Kane: This is a time bell, a symbol of Kawagoe, which has been telling the time to people in the castle town since the Edo period. The current bell is said to be the fourth one and still tells the time four times a day. The sound of the bell has been selected as one of the "Best Hundred Soundscapes of Japan."

A 15-minutes walk from Hon-Kawagoe Station on the Shinjuku Line.

Museum of Kurazukuri: This is a Kurazukuri-style house of Bunzo Koyama, a tobacco wholesale merchant, who built it in 1893 right after the Kawagoe Great Fire. In the museum, valuable materials on the firemen in the Edo period and Kurazukuri are displayed.

A 14-minutes walk from Hon-Kawagoe Station on the Shinjuku Line.

Osawa Residence: This is a storehouse of Omiya Hanemon, a great cotton and hemp kimono merchant, who built it in 1792. It is the oldest storehouse in Kawagoe and designated as a national important cultural property since it represents one of the few remaining storehouses that were built in the late Edo period.

A 15-minutes walk from Hon-Kawagoe Station on the Shinjuku Line.

Kashiya Yokocho: In the early Meiji period, one candy maker named Tozaemon Suzuki made candies that suited the taste of people in Edo and opened a candy store here. It became popular, leading to the opening of many other candy stores. In the early Showa, there were more than 70 stores. In the Kashiya Yokocho (alley of candy stores), you can find nostalgic snacks, such as candies and rice crackers.

A 20-minutes walk from Hon-Kawagoe Station on the Shinjuku Line.