Kimono in Saitama: Where to Wear It, Best Photo Spots and How to Plan the Day
Kimono in Saitama: Kawagoe's warehouse street and bell tower, Hikawa Shrine wind chimes, Kitain, Chichibu, the one-hour hop from Asakusa and OlaChill options.
Sep 14, 2026·✍️ olablog·⏱ 6 min read
Kimono in Saitama: Kawagoe's warehouse street and bell tower, Hikawa Shrine wind chimes, Kitain, Chichibu, the one-hour hop from Asakusa and OlaChill options.
Saitama: Little Edo, one hour from Asakusa
Kawagoe calls itself Koedo, Little Edo, and for once the nickname is earned. The main street is lined with kurazukuri, thick-walled clay warehouses with black tile roofs built after an 1893 fire, and a wooden bell tower has rung the hours over them since the 1600s. On any weekend, a good third of the people walking that street are in rented kimono. You will be in company.
For OlaChill guests this is the easiest out-of-Tokyo kimono day there is. Kawagoe is about an hour from Asakusa by train, the streets are flat, and everything worth photographing is within a 20-minute walk. Below are the spots, the seasons and the exact timings.
The spots
Kurazukuri street and Toki no Kane (蔵造りの町並み・時の鐘)
The warehouse street runs about 400 metres along Chuo-dori. Cars still use it, so photograph from the pavements and the side lanes. The bell tower stands in a lane off the main street and rings at 06:00, 12:00, 15:00 and 18:00; the noon bell is the time to be underneath it. Early morning, before the shops open at 10:00, the street is empty and the light is low along the black tiles.
Kashiya Yokocho (菓子屋横丁)
A cobbled lane of sweet shops selling dagashi, candy and sweet-potato everything. The stone paving is uneven; small steps in zori. It is two minutes from the bell tower.
Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine (川越氷川神社)
Ten minutes' walk north. The shrine is known for matchmaking charms and for its summer wind-chime festival from early July to early September, when more than 2,000 glass furin hang in a tunnel over the approach. It is Saitama's most photographed kimono scene. The grounds are flat gravel.
Kitain (喜多院)
South of the main street, this temple holds rooms moved from Edo Castle in the 1600s and a garden of 538 stone Rakan statues, each with a different face. Late November colour is good; the grounds are flat.
Chichibu (秩父)
An hour and a half from Kawagoe into the mountains. Chichibu Shrine is carved and painted like a small Toshogu, and the Chichibu Night Festival on 2 and 3 December parades lantern floats up a hill under winter fireworks. It is one of Japan's three great float festivals and a proper occasion for a kimono under a heavy haori.
| Spot | Best time | Access | Crowd level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kurazukuri street | Before 10:00, or noon for the bell | 15 min walk from Kawagoe or Hon-Kawagoe Station | High from 11:00 |
| Kashiya Yokocho | Mid-morning | 2 min from bell tower | High |
| Hikawa Shrine | July to early Sept (wind chimes), late Nov | 10 min walk from bell tower | High in summer |
| Kitain | Late November | 15 min walk from Hon-Kawagoe | Low |
| Chichibu Shrine | 2 and 3 December | Seibu line from Ikebukuro 80 min | Extreme on festival nights |
Seasons and what to wear
Kawagoe is inland Kanto: hot and humid in summer, dry and cold in winter. A yukata is right from July to early September and fits the wind-chime festival. Spring and autumn are lined-kimono weather. The Kawagoe Festival on the third weekend of October fills the warehouse street with floats and is the town's biggest kimono day, so book everything early. In late November the Kitain maples turn.
Where OlaChill fits in: the one-hour hop
OlaChill has no shop in Saitama. Our shops are Tokyo Asakusa and Kyoto Kiyomizu, open 09:00 to 18:00. But Kawagoe is close enough to make a dressed day trip comfortable:
- 09:00 dressing at Asakusa (30 to 45 minutes; hair styling ¥1,500 adds about 20).
- 10:00 Asakusa to Kawagoe: Tobu Skytree Line to Ikebukuro via the Fukutoshin line, then Tobu Tojo express to Kawagoe, about an hour door to door; or Ginza line to Ikebukuro and Tojo line from there.
- 11:15 to 15:00 warehouse street, bell at noon, Kashiya Yokocho, Hikawa Shrine, late lunch of unagi on the main street.
- 15:15 train back, arriving Asakusa about 16:30.
- 17:00 at the shop, an hour to spare.
For the October festival, the wind-chime evenings, or Chichibu's night festival, add next-day return (¥1,100) and bring the kimono back before 10:00 the next morning. A chauffeured car from Asakusa to Kawagoe and back is the no-train option, quoted per trip.
Our Kawagoe day trip guide covers food and shops in more detail.
Plan your kimono day
- Book the 09:00 slot and a Komongi (¥5,500, ¥4,950 online), a Kimono Ren (¥7,000) for a modern pattern, or a yukata in summer.
- Ride to Kawagoe Station, walk north. Twenty minutes of flat pavement to the warehouse street.
- Bell tower at 12:00, then the sweet lane.
- Hikawa Shrine for the charms and, in summer, the wind chimes.
- Unagi lunch on the main street; the old eel houses have tatami rooms that suit a kimono.
- Train back by 15:15, or stay for dusk with next-day return.
A few local courtesies
Kawagoe's warehouse street is a working road with buses; cross at the lights and photograph from the pavements, not the centre line. The bell tower is a shrine as well as a landmark, so a small bow is customary. In Kashiya Yokocho, shopkeepers welcome photos of their displays but ask you not to touch the candy trays. On festival weekends, the floats turn in the intersections; stand where the marshals point, since the float wheels swing wide and a trailing hem is at risk.
FAQ
Can I take the train from Asakusa to Kawagoe in a kimono? Yes. About an hour with one change; travel after 09:30 to miss the commuter crush.
Is Kashiya Yokocho walkable in zori? Yes, but the cobbles are uneven; take small steps and mind the shop steps.
Does OlaChill have a shop in Kawagoe? No. We dress and receive returns only at Tokyo Asakusa and Kyoto Kiyomizu; Kawagoe works as a round trip from Asakusa.
When are the wind chimes at Hikawa Shrine? Early July to early September, with the tunnel best photographed in late afternoon when the light comes through the glass.
Is Chichibu Night Festival possible in kimono? Yes, with a heavy haori and thermals; it is early December in the mountains. Use next-day return, as the fireworks end late.
Book the slot, catch the 10:00 train
Kawagoe is the classic Saitama kimono day and the easiest one from our Asakusa shop. Reserve dressing at OlaChill Kimono Rental, add next-day return for festival nights, and book online for 10% off.
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