My first trip outside Tokyo was in Chichibu, Saitama prefecture. To be honest, I haven’t heard of Chichibu before that. But located close to Tokyo (approximately 2 hours by train), surrounded by gorgeous mountains, it’s a popular destination among Japanese people. There is something to do in each season in Chichibu, autumn-admiring the fall foliage, winter-Chichibu Yomatsuri Festival, spring-shibazakura flower fields, summer-Kawase shrine festival. We went there during autumn and enjoyed the beautiful landscape at Nagatoro river, visited Chichibu shrine, tried local specialties such as Tonkatsu and Udon noodles, walked around the old center. It was also my first experience in a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn, where we could wear yukata as pajamas and where we got to eat a delicious traditional dinner and breakfast. It was only a 2-day short trip but I was happy to enjoy together with Japanese and foreign friends from Niji no Kai, what Chichibu had to offer during that season.
