Day 6 Day trip to Kawagoe

This morning we boarded the train from Yoyogi station as it's a bit smaller than Shinjuku and we thought that we'd have a better chance of getting on the right train!.

At Ikebukuro Station we wanted to change onto the express train to Kawagoe. This proved pretty tricky so we ended up asking and got directions to the Tobu line, for which we had to buy tickets from the information desk. The lady was extremely helpful (as are all the Japanese people that we've spoken to.)

Armed with tickets and a detailed map of the town we managed to catch the correct train, again we were offered advice from a local man to confirm that we were on the correct platform.

We found out that bird song is played at every station to assist those with visual impairments.

The houses alongside the track were very close together with few having gardens, this seems the norm for Tokyo.

On arrival at Kawagoe there was a bit of faffing about to find the correct bus but we managed it!

The bus dropped us off at Renkeiji Temple. it was pretty deserted compared to yesterday!

The red bibs are to ward off evil

Then we walked past a street with carp streamers flown to celebrate Children's Day. There were lots of tourists here.

 We've noticed that all the cars and lorries are spotless

Some interesting street lights, but the aesthetics were spoiled by the over head cables. 

The roads were so quiet outside the tourist areas

Stopped for a drink and then walked on to Naritassn Kawagoe Betsuin Temple

Then Kitain Temple, all amazingly quiet.

Washing is always hung out with precision

We walked along the main street

sweet potato latte, anyone?

Knife shops are quite common. Apparently Japanese kitchen knives are of very good quality

There were plenty of girls in traditional kimonos

Many of the old buildings were built of clay so that they didn't burn down and the merchants didn't lose their stock if there was a fire, an expensive method of construction, but Kawagoe was a very affluent area in the past.

Lots of food options

 as usual, the girls are straight into the capsule toy shop after school!

We had some lunch, again presented on beautiful wooden trays and always accompanied by a towel to wipe your hands with.

Found two cherry trees in full blossom by the river on our way to visit the last stop of the day

The river would have been spectacular if all the trees had been in bloom.

Hikawa Shrine, dedicated to romance

Fishing for love, a bit like our magnetic fishing

The girls checking  if they'll be lucky in love

 and another wedding

We had dinner in the shopping centre near to our hotel, like the one at Shibuya Crossing it had two floors of restaurants to chose from. We settles for steak, chips and a bottle of wine.

Then we went to the Metropolitan building to watch the evening light show which was fab, lots of people led out on the artificial turf watching the show, like myself! 

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A lovely finale to our stay in Tokyo. We head off on the bullet train to Hiroshima tomorrow, a journey of around five hours, hopefully our suitcases will be there waiting for us.