Kawagoe 川越
Kawagoe (pop. 300,0000) was a castle town during the Edo Era. It's castle was built in 1457. Tokugawa Ieyasu subsequently resided there with 21 lords. Honmaru Goten, the only surving building, was the castle's innermost palace and dates back from 1848.
Kurazukuri architecture
Kawagoe was destroyed by a fire in 1893. Some districts had to be entirely rebuilt at that time. Warehouses ("kura" 倉) storing valuable goods were reconstructed with fire-proof clay-walles, composed of several layers. These are called kurazukuri and many of them surviving to this day have been designated as national treasures.
Most of the 200 kurazukuri of Kawagoe are clustered along Kurazukuri Street, 15min walk north of Hon-Kawagoe Station.
Kita-in Temple 北院
Another attraction of Kawagoe is the Kita-in Temple, once a major headquarters of the Buddhist Tendai sect. The temple was founded in 830. In the 16th and 17th century, its head priest, Tenkai (天海), became a consultant to the three first Tokugawa shogun, and is said to have reached the venerable age of 108 (b.1536, d.1643) .
The good relationship between Tenkai and the shogun transcends from the following event. In 1638, the temple burned and Tokugawa Iemitsu donated some structures from Edo Castle to the Kita-in. A canal was even built on purpose to convey them all the way from Edo to Kawagoe. Some of these structures, including one said to be Iemitsu's birthplace, can still be seen today.
The lively Kawagoe festival is held on 14 and 15 October each year.
How to get there
The fastest and cheapest way from Tokyo is from Ikebukuro Station. The trip with the Tobu Tojo line takes about 30min and cost ￥450.
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