Promenade of Kura style - Kawagoe City

Visit the kura (traditional storehouse) district of Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture, and hear the magical bell that rings out from the Bell Tower, just as it did 400 years ago

During the Edo Period, the Kawagow area protected the Northern Part of Japan for the national government). Just forty kilometers from Edo, the town grew as a commercial center engaged in significant commodity trade as well as cultural exchange with the capital, by both land and by river.

Dubbed “Little Edo”, the area is dotted with numerous castle ruins, temples and shrines, and historic sites including various other types of buildings. It is recognized by the national government as a historic city of the Kanto region, after Kamakura and Nikko. In 1638, and again 1893, it was devastated by fire—-disasters that led to the building of traditional structures incorporating special fire-proofing methods. These techniques became the foundations for the kura-style storehouse area that remains in existence in Kawagoe today. Having escaped damage from earthquakes and the ravages of war, the area has been named an important preservation district of historic buildings for the fact that it retains the look of old Edo. In addition, the symbol of Kawagoe, its Bell Tower— built following a major fire of the Meiji period— is the fourth in a line of towers that have not changed in design for the past 400 years. To this day, the bell rings four times a day in Little Edo.

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