What to Do in Chichibu

Time your visit with a local festival

These days the city is best known for the many festivals (matsuri) which take place throughout the year, the most famous being the Chichibu Yomatsuri, a spectacular night festival which is held every year on December 2nd and 3rd. The main climax of the event is on the second night, when lavishly decorated wooden floats are pulled through the streets and hauled up a steep slope in front of the city hall, where huge crowds are gathered. This is then followed by a long (over 2 hours!) firework display; one of the few chances to see fireworks during the winter season in Japan.

Time your visit with a local festival

If you can’t make it to this festival, then there are plenty of others you can catch at other times of the year. The Kawase Matsuri is Chichibu’s main summer festival, taking place on July 19th and 20th. In similar fashion to the Yomatsuri it is full of lively crowds, lots of delicious street food and large wooden floats pushed down the narrow streets, but here on the second day a 400kg portable wooden shrine is carried into the waters of the Arakawa River, where it is ritually washed. There are a number of other interesting festivals held in the city at other times of the year, so try to time your visit to coincide with one.

Chichibu

Saitama Pref

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Fruit Picking

At Blueberry Garden Tsurumaki just to the north west of the city, visitors can walk through thick groves of blueberry bushes, picking and eating the delicious sweet berries as they go. Some 60 varieties of blueberries grow in the Chichibu from June until the end of summer, and there are also many other fruit picking farms to visit, with strawberries in season from January to June and grapes in the latter half of the year.

Blueberry Garden Tsurumaki

Saitama Chichibu-shi Shimoyoshida 5474

0494771041

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BBQ at Tenku School

For something slightly different, in the hills north of the city you can find Tenku School, an old school building which has been converted into an outdoor BBQ and live music area, with stunning views of the valley.

Tenku no Gakko

3.5

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Saitama Pref. Chichibugunminanomachi Kamihinozawa 652

0494625431

[Weekday]11:00-17:00[Saturda…

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Explore nature

Nearby is another fascinating place to visit, Suisenji Shrine in the Minano-machi district. This attractive wooden shrine sits in a wonderfully peaceful and secluded spot, surrounded by nature, and is a great place to wander and contemplate.

Suisenji Temple

4.5

16 Reviews

Saitama Chichibu-gun Minanomachi Shimo-hinozawa 3522

0494623999

8:00-17:00[Nov.- Feb.]8:00-1…

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Sample the local delicacies

If you want to try some authentic local food, then about 4km west of Chichibu station is Genroku, a rustic restaurant best known for its soba (buckwheat) noodles. But you can also sample other mouth-watering delicacies such as tempura, wild venison salami, and the local specialty, waraji katsudon.

Chichibu is about an hour and a half from Tokyo, with the two main stations, Chichibu and Seibu Chichibu situated on the Seibu Chichibu Line. There are express trains from Ikebukuro in central Tokyo, and the journey takes around 80 minutes. Extra trains are in service on December 3rd for the Chichibu Yomatsuri.

元六 小鹿野店

埼玉県秩父郡小鹿野町下小鹿野824

0494750456

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