Kawagoe

Kawagoe supplied Edo with goods along the river and grew rich enough to be nicknamed Little Edo, and the buildings that define it now are kurazukuri - merchant houses with thick clay-plastered walls, heavy tiled roofs and iron shutters, built to survive fire. They exist because of one: a fire in 1893 destroyed a third of the town, and the buildings that came through it were the clay-walled ones, so the rebuilding copied them. About thirty remain along Ichibangai. The Toki no Kane bell tower, sixteen metres of wood, has stood in some form since the seventeenth century and has been rebuilt after each fire, most recently in 1894; it still sounds four times a day. Kashiya Yokocho, the candy alley, is a short lane of about twenty confectioners. The October float festival, UNESCO-registered, brings twenty-nine tall floats through the same streets.

What you actually see

• Kurazukuri warehouses - about thirty clay-walled fireproof merchant houses on one street.
• The bell tower - sixteen metres of timber, rebuilt after each fire, still rung four times daily.
• Kashiya Yokocho - a short alley of around twenty sweet makers.
• The October festival - twenty-nine floats through the old streets, UNESCO-registered.

When to go

The third weekend of October for the festival; all year otherwise. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The preserved street is short and the traffic on it is heavy - it is a working road, not pedestrianised. Weekends are very crowded. Festival days are packed beyond comfort. Much of the retail is aimed squarely at day trippers.

Nearby

Kita-in temple with its 540 stone rakan is south; Tokyo is south-east.