Kawagoe, a Town Reminiscent of Old Edo

Yesterday I took a half-hour train ride to Kawagoe, which is a small town that retains much of the architecture and aura of the 17th century Edo period. The buildings are very interesting - nearly all are built out of a dark, almost burned-looking, wood and have sloping roofs. The main street is lined with dozens of shops selling mostly food and dessert-items, like taiyaki and mochi. 

The main street in Kawagoe.

Taiyaki is a delicious dessert item that I hadn't known about before coming to Japan. It's a pasty baked into the shape of a fish with different kinds of filling. Some have chocolate filling, others have the Japan-favorite red bean filling, and another popular taiyaki is the cheese-filled one. I've had the chocolate taiyaki and the cheese taiyaki, and both are very good. 

Cheese taiyaki - warm and delicious!

A narrow street in Kawagoe is called Candy Alley. It's a small alley lined with about a dozen candy and sweets shops. It was fun walking around and seeing the different kinds of Japanese candy. There was a field trip there, and a bunch of kids were waiting for their "candy craft" at a small stand. The candy crafts were sort of like hardened gummy candy that the purveyor would mold into a unicorn, Pikachu, or other character shape and then cool it down and paint it. I assume it was sweet and edible! It was interesting to watch him make them. 

Kids waiting for their candy craft.

I really liked walking around Kawagoe and seeing what Edo-period Japan may have looked like. The only thing that I found frustrating was that cars were allowed on the main street, so it was hard to take good photos. But overall it was a very interesting little piece of Japan.

The old bell tower.

The main street in Kawagoe.