Tokyo Walks 2011 - Kawagoe

On Sept. 10, 2011, I took an afternoon trip to the town of Kawagoe. The town (its more like a suburb of Tokyo now) is about 30 minutes away by train from Ikebukuro station in Tokyo. Its supposed to be famous for its preservation of Edo era (1603 - 1868) buildings.

In my opinion, it wasn't so interesting as all the Edo era buildings were located in a single "preservation zone" that is designed like a tourist trap and everything outside of that zone just looks like your typical Tokyo urban sprawl.

Arrival at Kawagoe station Typical layout of a Tokyo suburban community with the train station and the centre and shopping centres surrounding the station.







As I arrived at 1 pm, I tried to find someplace to eat. Using my iPhone and the Japanese "Tabelog" app, I found this somewhat run-down curry restaurant which had a high rating.



I ordered the "European Style" chicken curry which cost 1100 yen.





Next I went to explore the attractions that made this town "famous".















































The non-descript city hall building.



The remaining building of Kawagoe castle. (Not very impressive)