|
Practicalities
|
|
|
Of the choice of three
train lines
to Kawagoe, the fastest service is the express on the Tobu line from Ikebukuro (32min; ?450); you can either get off at Kawagoe Station, also on the slower JR Saikyo line, or Tobu Kawagoe-shi, which is marginally closer to Chou-dori. Seibu Shinjuku line trains runs from Shinjuku to Hon-Kawagoe Station (43min; ?470), which is the most convenient of the lot for the
kurazukuri
. Also, immediately east of the main square in front of the Seibu terminus is a
bicycle rental
shop (?700 for the day), handy if you plan to see all of Kawagoe's somewhat scattered sights.
The staff at the
tourist information office
(daily 9am-4pm; tel 0492/46-2027) at Kawagoe Station don't speak English but they can provide you with a map of the town and an English pamphlet on the sights. They can also recommend local accommodation, but the town is so close to Tokyo that there's no need to stay the night. It is, however, worth lingering in Kawagoe for is its fine range of dining options. The local speciality is
unagi
(eel); a couple of good rustic places to try this rich dish are
Ogato
and
Ogagiku
, both a short walk southeast of the
kurazukuri. Kotobukian
beside Kita-in is renowned for its
soba
(buckwheat noodles), as is
Kinbue
on Chuo-dori. Also don't leave town without sampling its sweet potato beer,
Setsumaimo Lager
, an original brew using this plentiful local ingredient, and available at several restaurants and shops as well as
Oni
, an atmospheric
izakaya
five minutes' walk north of Tobu Kawagoe-shi Station. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
|
Japan,
|