Pinoy travelers know the value of maximizing the traveling experience. This includes exploring as many places as possible while fully immersing in the location's culture. If you're heading to Tokyo for your next trip to Japan, consider including a visit to Chichibu in your itinerary. Just under two hours away from Tokyo, Chichibu is not just a great destination for a quick side trip; it’s also definitely a place to explore for a bit longer.

 

• Revel in the lights and sounds shows at Chichibu Festival Hall
• Visit the illuminated icicles of Misotsuchi
• Indulge in a bowl of Warajikatsu

 

What to see in Chichibu in Saitama Prefecture

Chichibu is a rural city nestled in the western part of the Saitama Prefecture. Known as the largest municipality in the Saitama Prefecture, the city is surrounded by picturesque mountains and lush greenery, and is home to hot springs that tourists love to visit.

 

Chichibu is a nature-filled location that’s worth visiting.

 

Aside from its beautiful nature-filled scenery, Chichibu also has a rich cultural history as a former post town or shukuba. Shukubas were station-like cities located along popular travel routes in Japan and served as rest stops for pilgrims and travelers. Shukubas like Chichibu offered lodging, food, stores to buy necessities from, tea houses, storage houses, couriers, and staging posts for horses. Chichibu also has a lot of shrines that you can visit.

 

What to do in Chichibu in winter

 

Chichibu is a beautiful place to visit throughout the year, but the various seasonal festivals held here can help tourists decide when to fully immerse themselves in the city's culture. We recommend dropping by Chichibu in the winter for the Chichibu Night Festival. Make sure you also do the following: visit both the Chichibu Festival Hall and icicles of Misotsuchi, and try the Chichibu gourmet meal ‘Warajikatsu’.

 

1. Visit the Chichibu Festival Hall

 

The Chichibu Night Festival sets off fireworks and music. ©Chichibu City

 

• A museum explaining and showcasing the importance of the Chichibu Night Festival
• Recreates the revelry of the Chichibu Night Festival through distal technology lights and sounds shows

 

One of the highlights of Chichibu in winter is the Chichibu Night Festival (Chichibu Yomatsuri) that's held on 2 and 3 December every year.

 

As the principal festival at Chichibu Shrine, the main shrine in Saitama's Chichibu region, the Chichibu Night Festival is considered one of the top three float festivals in Japan. The festival has a procession of six yatai (floats), including two kasaboko (flower parasols), that are decorated with gorgeously colored carvings and lit paper lanterns. During the climax of the festival, floats go up the extremely steep Dango Slope with the harmony of Japanese traditional music. There are also fireworks that light up the winter night sky.

 

Left: One of the kasaboko paraded during the Chichibu Night Festival. Right: One of the four yatai (floats) used in the Chichibu Night festivities. Both are sampled and exhibited in the Chichibu Festival Hall. ©Chichibu City

 

For tourists who cannot experience the Chichibu Night Festival during the first week of December, the Chichibu Festival Hall recreates the wonder of the annual festival with a series of sound and light shows. Visitors will also get the chance to have a close look at the festival floats and flower parasols within the museum.

 

Chichibu Festival Hall Address: 2-8 Banba-machi, Chichibu-shi, Saitama Prefecture Website: https://www.chichibu-matsuri.jp/

 

2. Marvel at the icicles of Misotsuchi
 

 

• Walls of natural and artificial icicles that are illuminated in white, blue, and green lights
• Only visible during the coldest time of the year from early January to late February

 

Winter in Chichibu is also the perfect and only time you'll get to see the Misotsuchi icicles. Chichibu is home to a naturally occurring wall of icicles formed from the valley's spring waters coming from the rocks. These measure 10 meters tall and 30 meters wide.
 
There's also a wall of artificial icicles made by flowing water over the cliffs upstream from the natural waterfall site. It's also a marvelous and humbling sight with the icicle wall measuring 25 meters tall and 55 meters wide. Each year from early January to late February, the Misotsuchi icicles are illuminated with blue and white lights that whisk you away to an ethereal experience.
 
If you're planning to witness this marvel, a small fee of JPY200 per person (guests aged 12 and older) and JPY100 per person (elementary school students) will be collected at the entrance. The proceeds will go to the preservation and maintenance of the landmark.

 

Misotsuchi Icicles Address: 4066-2 Otaki, Chichibu-shi, Saitama Prefecture Website: http://icicles.woodroof.jp/en/

 

3. Try the famous local dish ‘Warajikatsu’

 

• Chichibu’s signature dish that resembles waraji footwear
• A hefty serving of two pork cutlets on a bowl of rice

 

You can't visit Chichibu without trying its most famous local dish: the ‘Warajikatsu’! It differs from other katsudon in Japan since the pork cutlet is deeply marinated in a salty-sweet sauce before it gets breaded and deep fried to crispy goodness. The usual serving has two pieces on top of a bowl of rice.
 
Waraji refers to the straw footwear sandals worn during the Edo period (1603 to 1867). The sandals, which were tied with a long piece of string, were considered to be the simplest form of outdoor footwear and were typically worn by anyone traveling on a long journey. They were also donated by pilgrims and travelers to temples as offerings for protection on journeys. It's said that the 'Warajikatsu’ resembles the footwear, both in shape and size, hence its name.