Home > SAITAMA 埼玉県

Most viewed - SAITAMA 埼玉県
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Waseda Univ. cheering section.77 views
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Toki no Kane, Time Bell Tower, symbol of Kawagoe. Part of Kawagoe's National Important Traditional Townscape Preservation District (重要伝統的建造物群保存地区). 時の鐘77 views
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Hikawa Shrine in Omiya is the headquarters of all Hikawa shrines in Tokyo and Saitama.77 views
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PR poster77 views
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Kumagaya is famous for its hot summer temperatures. Luckily, it wasn't that hot this day.77 views
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Main hall76 views
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JR Kawagoe Station plaza76 views
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The bell is rung at 6 am, 12 noon, 3 pm, and 6 pm.76 views
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Kawagoe Festival Museum (Kawagoe Matsuri Kaikan) 川越まつり会館76 views
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Kita-Urawa Awa Odori lanterns and signboard in front of Kita-Urawa Station.76 views
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Konosu City Hall front entrance.76 views
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Elumi Konosu Shopping Mall in front of Konosu Station.76 views
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Elumi Konosu Shopping Mall also holds a hina matsuri doll festival with a smaller pyramid.76 views
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All shinkansen stations had platform chairs having the same color theme of blue and cream.76 views
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Waseda Univ. cheering section.75 views
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Near the train station is Happy Road. This is the entrance and one starting point of the Kita-Urawa Awa Odori folk dance festival.75 views
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Hina doll monument in front of JR Konosu Station.75 views
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TR73 series first-class car targeting foreign tourists.75 views
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Saitama Super Arena is right near JR Saitama-Shintoshin Station, about 40 min. from Tokyo Station on the JR Takasaki Line (30 min. via Ueno-Tokyo Line) and Keihin-Tohoku Line (42 min.).75 viewsVery convenient because this train line runs between Saitama and Yokohama and passes through central Tokyo including major train stations.
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JR Saitama-Shintoshin Station heading out the turnstile.75 views
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Start of 8-man race74 views
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Nakasendo Road continuing after Yagihashi Dept. Store.74 views
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My video of the Kumagaya Uchiwa Festival on July 22, 2013.74 views
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Kyoto Univ. approaching 500-meter line73 views
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Hon-Kawagoe Station 本川越駅73 views
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Hina dolls in bamboo.73 views
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Inside Konosu City Hall is this huge pyramid of hina dolls.73 views
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Entertainment schedule in front of the doll pyramid.73 views
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Railway Museum highlight: The first locomotive used on Japan's first railway between Shimbashi and Yokohama in 1872. Imported from the UK, a Class 150 steam locomotive – No. 173 views
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There is a bell at the top which is rung 4 times a day. The bell or gong looks like a temple bell.72 views
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Hikawa Shrine gate 楼門72 views
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Inside Haiden Hall72 views
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At 5:30 pm, they held a short demonstration of awa odori dancing on Happy Road with the local Kita-Urawa Aho-ren dancing.72 views
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More dolls above the entrance.72 views
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Twelve floats with noisy musicians paraded around central Kumagaya, Saitama, Japan from 5:30 pm and gathered at the main festival plaza for the climax at 8:45 pm.72 views
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Tohoku shinkansen, 200 Series Shinkansen72 views
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Kurazukuri earthen buildings were fire-resistant, so they built these fire-resistant shops after the Great Fire. "Kura" means warehouse.71 views
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Kita-Urawa Aho-ren 北浦和阿呆連71 views
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Hatanaka-kikko-ren71 views
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The top dolls are actually screwed on to the pyramid so they won't fall during an earthquake.71 views
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Antique hina dolls were also displayed. These are from the 1920s.71 views
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This stairway was also filled with dolls.71 views
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Going out the other end of Nakasendo Road in Yagihashi Dept. Store.71 views
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Tohoku shinkansen's snow sweeper.71 views
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Follow the pink banners. The road is also crowded with cars.70 views
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Konosu City Hall. In front are food booths.70 views
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More dolls above the entrance.70 views
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Origami hina dolls70 views
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Numeric data on the hina doll pyramid. The pyramid is 7 meters high, has 31 steps and 1,807 dolls. 70 views
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Local mascot.70 views
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Yukata women/girls were a common sight.70 views
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The floats have mannequins depicting legendary figures like as emperor, samurai, etc.70 views
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The Toda Boat Course was used for the rowing competition at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964.69 views
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Toda Park fence69 views
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Opening ceremony. The festival actually started at 4:20 pm with an opening ceremony and a parade of marching bands from local elementary schools and the fire dept.69 views
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A school marching band starts off the festivities.69 views
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Kita-Urawa Awa Odori banner.69 views
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Kita-Urawa Aho-ren. "Aho" means fool. 69 views
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Another festival site is the Elumi Konosu Shopping Mall in front of Konosu Station. They have a smaller pyramid of dolls and stage entertainment on the 1st floor's Central Court.69 views
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For sale69 views
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At certain spots, multiple floats would gather together and jam together.69 views
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The climax included a ceremony to transfer the Nenban job (festival chairman) to the next group for next year's festival.69 views
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Festival organizers and local politicians sit on a platform.69 views
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Kumagaya Station69 views
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Kyoto Univ. practicing68 views
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The Haiden Hall is on the right. It was undergoing renovations. 氷川神社68 views
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Ema votive tablets68 views
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Happy Road, the main venue of the Kita-Urawa Awa Odori. It is a short route.68 views
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Live musicians play next to the pyramid.68 views
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We could go up to the 2nd floor which was also lined with dolls.68 views
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Front porch again.68 views
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The dolls on the porch are displayed until 3:30 pm. They are now putting away the dolls.68 views
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They put away the dolls in no time.68 views
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A real spectacle, but it doesn't last long as they soon break up and go on their way to the main plaza.68 views
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After 30 min. of useless speeches (not recorded in the video) by local politicians, etc., the 12 floats converged at the plaza at around 8:45 pm. 68 views
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Nakasendo Road exiting Yagihashi Dept. Store68 views
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Nakasendo Road marker68 views
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Another one marches on.67 views
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Happy Road goes straight to this road which leads to Fureai Road, another dance venue and Saty shopping mall (now AEON) at the end of the road. The entire route quite short.67 views
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Map of Hanno.67 views
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Nakasendo road crowded.67 views
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Hula dancers at Kumagaya Uchiwa Matsuri Festival.67 views
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Kyoto Univ. practicing66 views
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Giant trees in Hikawa Shrine66 views
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Kita-Urawa Aho-ren66 views
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They also sold local products like honey.66 views
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Entertainment stage at the main plaza.66 views
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Yagihashi Dept. Store in Kumagaya, Saitama.66 views
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0 Series Tokaido shinkansen's windows have various pictures along the shinkansen. This is Mt. Ibuki. Railway Museum in Saitama.66 views
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Okegawa-juku was the 6th lodging town (shukuba 宿場) on the old Nakasendo Road (中山道) that connected Tokyo (Edo) and Kyoto through an interior route passing through Saitama, Gunma, Nagano, Gifu, and Shiga Prefectures.66 viewsIt was about 526 km long and had 69 lodging towns where travelers could lodge and water their horses. A few buildings from this era still remain. This Okegawa manhole has a safflower (benibana) design. Okegawa was a major producer of safflowers.
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The 32nd Kita-Urawa Awa Odori was held on Sept. 5, 2009 from 6 pm to 9 pm. About 11 awa odori dance troupes participated. Most of them from Saitama.65 views
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Lots of local children in Kita-Urawa Aho-ren. 北浦和阿呆連65 views
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Niiza Kobushi-ren65 views
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Hatanaka-kikko-ren 畑中亀甲連65 views
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Kumagai-shuku was the 8th station on the old Nakasendo Road. Today, it's near JR Kumagaya Station. Hardly nothing is left of the shukuba, but it is interesting to see the old Nakasendo Road going through a department store named Yagihashi.65 viewsKami-Kumagaya Station
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My short video of Rugby World Cup 2019 in Kumagaya, Argentina vs. USA65 views
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Next was Buyu-ren.64 views
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Miyako-ren 美奴連(みやこ連)64 views
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