Just a 30-minute train ride from Tokyo, Kawagoe (川越) in Saitama Prefecture (埼玉県) is where you can timeslip into the Japanese township in the Edo and the Meiji/Taishō periods. Getting off at Honkawagoe Station, the first part of Kawagoe that is filled with the retro atmosphere is the 300-meter long, Taishō Roman Yume-dōri Street (大正浪漫夢通り). If you stop by the street before heading into the area filled with houses in the Edo period style, your visit to Kawagoe will be a tour back in time in reverse chronological order!
The street consists of many shops and restaurants operating since the Edo period, albeit most have been renovated since Japan opened up to the world. Therefore many buildings are in the Taishō period style, consisting of concrete buildings instead of traditional wooden structures.
While the Taishō era only lasted for 15 years in the early 20th century, it was the period of time when Japan rapidly modernized with the Western culture deeply rooted in Japan.
How to Get to Taishō Roman Yume-dōri Street
The street is just around a 10-minute walk from Seibu Railway’s Honkawagoe Station or a 20-minute walk from JR or Tobu Railway’s Kawagoe Station. But if you don’t want to walk, you can take the Tobu Koedo Loop Bus (小江戸名所めぐりバス) and get off at Nakamachi (仲町).
Tip: Many shops on Taishō Roman Yume-dōri Street are closed by 7 pm.
For information about how to get to Kawagoe and Taishō Roman Yume-dōri Street, please refer to our article on Kawagoe.
The Recommended Cafes, Restaurants, and Attractions on or Close to Taishō Roman Yume-dōri Street
- Shimano Coffee Taishō-kan (シマノコーヒー大正館)
- Wood Bakers Kawagoe (ウッドベイカーズ 川越店)
- Tsuki Usagi Cafe (月うさぎ)
- Udon Tsumugi (うどん土麦)
- Renkeiji Temple (蓮馨寺)
- Iseya Japanese Confectionary Shop (伊勢屋)
Explore Kawagoe With a Guided Tour
If you prefer a guide to introduce you to the charms of Kawagoe, how about joining one of the below tours? You can also hire a professional photographer to capture your visit!
- History and Anime Private Tour in Kawagoe
- Kawagoe 4hr Private Tour with Licensed Guide
- Uncovering the Hidden Treasures of Kawagoe
- Half-Day Kawagoe Walking Tour
- Kawagoe 10-Hour Chartered One-Day Tour
- Koedo Kawagoe Customized Private One-Day Tour from Tokyo
- Private Historical Day Trip to Kawagoe from Tokyo
- Oishi Park, Oshinohakkai, and Koedo Kawagoe One-Day Tour from Shinjuku
- Karuizawa & Kawagoe One-Day Tour from Tokyo
Tips:
☛ You can reserve an 1-Hour Kawagoe Photography Session if you need a professional photographer to take photos of your visit.
☛ Exploring Kawagoe in the traditional Kimono can be a great way to explore the traditional township. Refer to HERE to book a dress-up session!
☛ Kawagoe Dai-Ichi Hotel is a great place to spend a night in Kawagoe. It is close to Kawagoe Station and the shopping district filled with restaurants and shops, but in a quiet neighborhood.
Shimano Coffee Taishō-kan (シマノコーヒー大正館)
One of the best places on Taisho Roman Yume-dōri Street to get a vibe of the Taishō period is Shimano Coffee Taishō-kan. It is exactly the kind of cafe that existed everywhere in Japan in the early 20th century.
While the cafe’s retro look might not be too inviting, it is one of the most popular cafes on the street. Shortly after it opens, most seats are usually filled by regulars!
While the cafe’s retro look might not be too inviting, it is one of the most popular cafes on the street. Shortly after it opens, most seats are usually filled by regulars!
Again, all are in Japanese, but there are more than 10 types of home-roasted coffee on the menu. And they are all brewed with a siphon! So whether you would like a cup of espresso or cappuccino, pronounce the word slowly, and the owner/staff should be able to make your morning coffee for you (^_-)-☆.
The Taishō vibe isn’t just coming from its decorations. Even the food served at Shimano Coffee Taishō-kan would bring back memories, depending on your age! For example, their pudding is harder and firmer and is served with whipped cream and fruits.
Another highlight of the cafe is its homemade cheesecake. There are a few rare flavors, such as sweet potato or cherry blossom (offered in early spring only).
In addition, if you like their roasted cafe, you can purchase the roasted coffee beans from Shimano Coffee Taishō-kan.
Shimano Coffee Taishō-kan’s Business Hours and Access Information
- Shimano Coffee Taishō-kan is open from 8 am to 7 pm.
- The cafe is a 20-minute walk from Kawagoe Station and a 10-minute walk from Honkawagoe Station.
Wood Bakers Kawagoe (ウッドベイカーズ 川越店)
Italian restaurants can be found everywhere. But how often do you come across one in a Taishō period townhouse over 100 years old? So if you are interested in dining in such a setting, visit Wood Bakers Kawagoe!
The restaurant that nicely combines both Japanese and modern elements has a relaxing atmosphere. This is especially true for their terrace seats. If you have six or more people in your group, you can also book one of the Japanese-style private rooms renovated from the house’s warehouse!
The must-order at Wood Bakers Kawagoe is its stone oven-baked pizza. Baked at a temperature as high as 540 degrees, the crust has a crunchy skin but is chewy on the inside. As always, the pizza menu has a few vegetarian options for you to choose from. Apart from the typical Margherita or a special Margherita with extra cheese (よくばりチーズのマルゲリータ), you can also go for the Colorful Vegetable Pizza (彩り野菜のピッツァ).
If you feel you haven’t been consuming enough vegetables, remember to order a Bagna càuda or cheese fondue. The vegetables will be even more delicious after dipping them into cheese or Bagna càuda sauce.
For more information about the restaurant, refer to the official website HERE.
Tip: There are times when the Wood Bakers Kawagoe’s chef may not do a perfect job cooking the pizza. So if you find the cheese on your pizza cold, talk to the staff.
Wood Bakers Kawagoe’s Business Hours and Access Information
- Wood Bakers Kawagoe is open from 11 am to 9 pm.
- Lunch is served from 11 am to 3 pm.
- The last order is taken 30 minutes before the restaurant closes.
- The restaurant is a 20-minute walk from Kawagoe Station and a 10-minute walk from Honkawagoe Station.
Tsuki Usagi Cafe (月うさぎ)
Tsuki Usagi is a stylish cafe specializing in Warabi Mochi (わらび餅), which is a chilled mochi rice cake that has a jelly structure. The mochi is made from bracken starch and is usually topped with sweet soybean powder and dark molasses/syrup.
Through the cafe’s glass wall, you can spend some quiet moments enjoying the traditional dessert while gazing at Renkeiji Temple’s precinct.
What is special about this cafe is how the Mitarashi Dango is served. Instead of serving the rice cake skewers with the sweetened soy sauce brushed over, Tsuki Usagi Cafe has its own fondue style! Not only can you decide how much Mitarashi sauce to apply to your rice cakes, but you can also use the heated sauce to warm up the rice cake!
Moreover, apart from the traditional way where the Warabi Mochi is topped with sweet soy bean sauce and syrup, you can also try the unique Warabi Mochi Drink at Tsuki Usagi. The idea is similar to bubble tea. But instead of tapioca pearls, it is sliced Warabi Mochi that you will be chewing!
As you walk out the door, the staff will most likely strike the flint to pray for good things to happen to you. It is a simple ritual to pray for prosperity and purification.
Tsuki Usagi Cafe’s Business Hours and Access Information
- Tsuki Usagi is open from 1 pm to 9 pm.
- The restaurant is a 15 to 20-minute walk from Kawagoe Station and a 5 to 10-minute walk from Honkawagoe Station.
Udon Tsumugi (うどん土麦)
If you don’t mind non-vegetarian broth, visit Udon Tsumugi for lunch! It is an udon restaurant in the daytime and an Izakaya at night.
The most popular dish during lunchtime is Cold Lemon Udon (レモンの冷かけうどん). They are not lemon-infused noodles but broth with added lemon juice. In fact, the top of the bowl is covered with lemon slices!
The sour and refreshing taste of lemon with the savory Japanese-style stock is the perfect combination, especially during warmer months. So the supposedly limited-time-only menu to celebrate the restaurant’s opening was made permanent due to the noodle’s popularity.
Important: To avoid the bitterness of the lemon skin sneaking into your soup, take the lemon slices out after gently squeezing the lemon juice with chopsticks and/or a spoon.
Tip: Remember to add some Aonori no Tenkasu (青海苔の天かす) to your noodle soup. The crunchy fried battered pieces from tempura-making have green seaweed added. The oil and seaweed flavor from Aonori no Tenkasu will add another level of taste to your soup!
About the Noodles Served at Udon Tsumugi
Instead of the thicker Musashino Udon (武蔵野うどん) that is found in most restaurants in Saitama Prefecture, the homemade udon at Udon Tsumugi is the slighter thinner Sanuki Udon (讃岐うどん). Not only is the udon in the Kagawa Prefecture style, but the whole wheat flour with wheat germ is from Kagawa too!
While we amateurs wouldn’t know or tell the difference, flours from different parts of Japan and around the world differs. After many trials and errors, the restaurant’s owner, Mr Kobayashi (小林さん), ultimately achieved the perfect flour blend for his udon noodles. The dough is then kneaded overnight before making it into noodles the next day. This is the secret to the noodles being extra chewy!
The restaurant’s name combines Mugi (wheat), the raw ingredient of udon, and Tsu (clay), which is used to make the pottery to hold the noodles. Together, Tsumugi, which can mean spinning, shows how much Mr Kobayashi (小林さん) values each encounter he comes across with the customer.
Just like a lot of care is required to convert fibers into yarn, Mr Kobayashi also puts a lot of thought into his cooking. For example, he would boil the noodle longer, making it easier for the elderly to consume them. You might also notice the noodles served to the older generation aren’t twisted, making it easier for them to eat with chopsticks.
Udon Tsumugi’s Business Hours and Access Information
- Udon Tsumugi is open from 11 am to 3 pm.
- The last order is taken at 2:30 pm.
- Udon Tsumugi is closed on Monday nights and Tuesdays.
- Dinner is served from 5:30 pm to 9 pm on Saturdays.
- The restaurant is a 20-minute walk from Kawagoe Station and a 5 to 10-minute walk from Honkawagoe Station.
Tip: Udon Tsumugi is a popular restaurant. So if you are keen to dine there but don’t want to wait for a long time, arrive early, ideally before lunchtime!
Renkeiji Temple (蓮馨寺)
At the back of Udon Tsumugi, Renkeiji is the temple in Kawagoe closest to Taishō Roman Yume-dōri. The temple has a serene atmosphere and is rich in history. Since its establishment in the mid-16th century, the locals would go there and pray for various things, especially child-related matters, such as safe delivery.
For more information, refer to our Renkeiji article!
Iseya (伊勢屋)
As confusing as it is, there is another traditional confectionary shop specializing in Dango rice cake over the next street, parallel to Taishō Roman Yume-dōri Street. In fact, the two Iseyas are in the same block but on different sides.
The Iseya, with its name written in Chinese characters, established in 1926, has a longer history than its counterpart. In addition to the traditional snacks that have been on the shelf since the early 20th century, the current owner has also added a series of unique Dango rice cake flavors to keep up with the current trades and needs.
Iseya’s Dango rice cakes are a lot more colorful, and the decoration is almost up to the Western cake level! If you are a sweet tooth, we are sure it will take a while to decide on your order. It is just really hard to say no to a rice cake that looks just like Mont Blanc (あんBURANだんご)!
Another one that you might want to try is Yaki Imo Dango (焼きいもだんご). Butter is added to the sweet potato paste, making the paste extra smooth and closer to eating a real sweet potato. Also, you will notice that the paste is slightly burnt. Sugar was sprinkled on the paste before it was slightly grilled to create a grilled sweet potato sort of taste. The added cream and cinnamon powder give another kind of deliciousness (^_-)-☆.
Iseya’s Business Hours and Access Information
- Iseya is open daily from 10:30 am to 5 pm except for Mondays and Wednesdays.
- The restaurant is a 20-minute walk from Kawagoe Station and an 8-minute walk from Honkawagoe Station.
The Must-Visit Spots on Kura no Machi Ichibangai Street
After arriving at Kawagoe’s historical township, how about enjoying some delicious desserts on the old township’s main street Kura no Machi Ichibangai?
While sweet potato might sound boring for some, the locals have their way of turning the ordinary ingredient into something extremely yummy!
For more information, refer to our Kura no Machi Ichibangai Street article!
Other Attractions in Kawagoe
Kawagoe’s historical area has many attractions, shops, cafes, and workshops that might interest you. You might also want to visit a couple of interesting shrines and temples and perform simple rituals that might boost your fortune!
So refer to our Guide to the Little Edo, Kawagoe, for more travel ideas!
