Road Trip On Chichibu Railway - Part 1
Highlights include a temple with a famous wooden statue which is seen just once a year, a traditional sweet which is a delicacy of Kumagaya and a hotel surrounded by the rich nature of Nagatoro.
Join us on our two-day journey in the northern part of Saitama Prefecture on board the Chichibu Railway. It was established in 1901 and was originally known as Jobu Railway before the name was changed in 1916. In recent years, its limited-edition SL train has been popular among families and railway fans. The 71.7-kilometre line spans 37 stations from Hanyu Station to Mitsumineguchi Station.
We begin our adventure from Hanyu and travel on the 9.35am train to Bushu-Araki Station, which is less than 10 minutes away. An elderly gentleman we talk to tells us about Tenshuji Temple, which has a national treasure - a wooden statue of famous regent Shotoku Taishi as a 16-year-old. The standing statue is usually only shown to the public on Feb 22 during an annual festival and is a designated important cultural property.
The Tenshuji Temple has been around for more than 400 years. We meet its executive director who manages to get permission from the temple president to let us see the statue. It is stored in a vault that can only be opened by a few people. The statue was made during the Kamakura era in 1247. When Shotoku Taishi was 16 years old, his father fell ill. The statue depicts him praying to Buddha for the recovery of his father. But how the statue ended up in this town remains a mystery.
After this, we ride on the 10.55am train to Kumagaya Station. We reach at 11.10am and some locals recommend we try the area’s famous Gokabo traditional confectionery at Hanazutsumi Honpo, which opened 115 years ago. The Kumagaya delicacy made of glutinous rice, starch syrup and soybean flour was created during the Edo period. It is light and airy and is the most popular product at Hanazutsumi Honpo.
We ask the staff at the confectionery store to suggest a place for lunch and she suggests an udon shop called Tenguya. It is known for its meat broth udon, featuring chewy homemade noodles and boneless pork. It is served with a dipping sauce. The restaurant has been around for more than 50 years.
We return to Kumagaya Station and catch the train to Nagatoro. It is around 3.20pm by the time we reach the town so we start looking for a place to spend the night. A local recommends Choseikan and Yokotei. The former is fully booked for the night but we manage to make a reservation at Yokotei. The hotel also agrees to send a shuttle to pick us up. While waiting for the hotel transport to arrive, we explore the city. We find out that the main attraction here is a river cruise. But when we go to the reception to buy tickets, we are told the last cruise of the day left about 10 minutes ago. So we decide to take the cruise the next morning.
As we still have time, we continue asking people for recommendations. One of them mentions Asami Reizo, which is known for its shaved ice of various flavours such as strawberry, melon and mango. It makes its own ice and syrups too. The store was established in 1889 and sells natural ice which is produced in a man-made pond for making ice. They let the ice freeze slowly for about two months and then it is cut into pieces. They keep a year's supply in their ice chamber. This natural ice is used to make its speciality fluffy shaved ice.
The hotel shuttle picks us up from the station at around 5.30pm and takes us to Yokotei. We arrive at the hotel after five minutes. Established in 1922, the hotel was named by industrialist Eiichi Shibusawa. All the rooms face the Arakawa River, surrounded by the rich nature of Nagatoro. After soaking in the hotel’s open-air bath, we have dinner on the terrace. The hotel usually offers Kaiseki cuisine featuring dishes from Chichibu. But on this day, it is a barbeque, which includes seafood such as sweetfish bought from the fishermen's union in Chichibu. The following morning, after a Japanese breakfast at 8.30am, we ride on the hotel shuttle again and are looking forward to taking the river cruise.
Tips:
1) The main attraction of Tenshuji Temple is a statue of famous regent Shotoku Taishi
2) Gokabo, a traditional confectionery, is a must-try delicacy of Kumagaya
