Kawagoe is a small city in Saitama. It is a town of history from Edo time so right when you get to Kawagoe center, you can feel the traditional atmosphere in the air by the look of the old wooden houses, the smell of street food, the sound of people walking gently on the street, the water that is crystal clear flowing in the drain. It can be said that visiting Kawagoe means you get the ticket to the history train. The name of the town itself means "the city that looks like Edo". The architecture structure of houses here is also unique, the wall is made of sand and rock with special beton to stick the rock together. With this unique structure, it could survive a big fire in the Meiji time. This is how the center of the city (Kurazukuri) looks like...
There is one special clock in Kurazukuri that is the symbol of the city. It was built more than 400 years ago by Sakai Tadakatsu - one famous architect of Japan. The clock has diligently rung the same sound everyday, 4 times per day throughout 400 years at 6 am, 12 pm, 3am and 6pm and that makes the city even more unique.
However, we went to Kawagoe not just because of Kurazukuri, there was a big festival in the 3rd weekend of October in Kawagoe that attracts millions of people. This festival, or course, have been there since the Edo time about 350 years ago. In this festival, different big "houses" create float that are decorated very spectacular. These float carrying crafted dolls and people playing instruments along the Kurazukuri area and whenever they meet each other along the way, they will perform hayashi performance with flutes, drums and dancing. It was like singing battle.
The preparation of the float
The street was starting to be crowded
My shark buddy is watching the preparation of the float
Me and Teemu in front of the old clock
It was full moon and the performance was about to start
Teemu was enjoying the traditional sake in the matsuri cup and he apparently did not enjoy me taking his photo :D
