川越－Kawagoe An elegant town called Koedo(September. 2019-No.27）

川越－Kawagoe　An elegant town called Koedo(September. 2019-No.27）

Kawagoe flourished as a castle town during the Edo period and is known as Koedo. There are many castle ruins, shrines, temples, historic sites, and historic buildings, and the number of cultural properties is second only to Kamakura City in Kanagawa Prefecture and Nikko City in Tochigi Prefecture.
Koedo is literally a small Edo town, and Edo is the current Tokyo. Kawagoe seems to have been called because of the old Edo streetscape.

It is said that more than 7 million tourists visit Kawagoe annually. This day was also Saturday, and many tourists visited. Many non-Japanese were also seen. Young women of Japanese and non-Japanese wore yukata and enjoyed walking these street.

時の鐘－Toki no kane（Time Bell Tower）A building where a bell has been rung
to announce the time since the early Edo Period. The current tower is the fourth version after the tower was re-built immediately after the Great Fire of Kawagoe (1893). （Quoted from the tourist information brochure）

蔵のまち一番街　Kura no machi (Old Town) Ichibangai Street. This zone is a culturally signifcant area where the atmosphere of a town 100 years ago can be experienced. It was a little disappointing that there was a lot of car traffic and the sidewalk was not dedicated.

川越氷川神社 Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine. Built in the Edo period, this shrine has been cherished by the people of Kawagoe as their guardian since ancient times. Elaborate carvings called Edo-bori and the 15-meter torii gate make it worth a visit. The shrine
is also popular among people praying for marriage. On this day, children were taken by their parents and were wearing fine clothes.

喜多院－Kita-in Temple. Founded by the monk Ennin during the Heian period, Kita-in Temple has ties to the Tokugawa Shogunate. During the Edo period(794-1185), a drawing room and reception hall were moved from the Edo Castle grounds to the temple. It was impressive that a couple of young Americans and a male elderly spoke  fluently in English.