Kawagoe Day Trip: A Snapshot into Old Edo

This weekend, the students went on a day trip to Kawagoe, also known as “Little Edo,” originally built as a castle town and historically was used as a transportation hub. Kawagoe is also known for their sweet potatoes which can be found in the local cuisine and gift shops around this area. The students visited the Kawagoe Festival Museum, or the Kawagoe Matsuri Kaikan, where students got to learn about Japanese festivals and the history of the Kawagoe Hikawa festival. 

The Kawagoe Float Festival is one of 33 festivals that are representatives of the Yama, Hoko, and Yatai float festivals in Japan which is part of “the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” chosen by UNESCO. The Kawagoe Hikawa festival is hosted for two days on the third Saturday and Sunday of October, but anyone can visit the museum year-round and view the float display that displays real floats that were used in these festivals. On top of the displays and exhibitions, the students also viewed a short video in Japanese to see a glimpse into how lively the event is as well as work on their listening skills. On top of the museum visit, the students also viewed a traditional musical and theater performance with traditional Japanese instruments like the taiko drum and fue flutes.

Afterwards, the group made the trek over to the Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine to pay respect to O-hikawa sama and explore a traditional Japanese shrine. The students practiced Japanese shrine etiquette like bowing slightly before entering the torii gates and purifying your hands and mouth at the chozuya with water from the basin. They got the chance to explore the shrine, which had a display of furin, or Japanese wind chimes, which thes Hikawa Shrine also holds furin festivals that fill the air with cheerful summer jingling!