Biking on a Rainy day in Kawagoe. 🚴🏽‍♂️ 川越の雨の日. 🚴🏽‍♂️

Biking on a Rainy day in Kawagoe. 🚴🏽‍♂️ 川越の雨の日. 🚴🏽‍♂️

it was forecast to rain the whole day but as the Juds say we are not made of sugar so off I went I headed to the tourist information center at hon cabag goway station there are three stations in cago cago station cago XI station and the Han cago station if you’re coming from Tokyo by train I’d suggest getting off at cago shei station it’s a small station but closer to most tourist attractions at the tourist information center the staff were really helpful and one of them in particular had been learning Korean from here on it’s a straight road to the Bell Tower it wasn’t raining heavy so I wasn’t getting drenched and as long as I stick to the bicycle path I suppose I should be okay well well well what do you know the bike PA abruptly stops right about here I guess someone decided that the separate bike L was too sheltered and decided to make it a little bit more interesting from here on I’ll have to share the road with cars and buses cabag go isn’t a secret anymore so it does get crowded there’s barely enough space for the pedestrians so if you do bike around be careful not to get squeezed between a bus and the photogenic crowds finally at Kura zukuri Street here is where you’ll find buildings like this which were built during the Ido period I really wish this stretch of the road was off limit to motorized vehicles so people could walk around freely without having to worry about getting run over but that would start a whole new debate though who’s the problem here the traffic or the tourists in any case be one this spot of cago gets crowded during lunch hour apart from the historic buildings for the main road you also get to wait hold up how come it’s only the women I’ve seen plenty of women dressed in a kimon know and barely seen a man dressed in the traditional Japanese dress well unsurprisingly it just proves that men don’t enjoy dressing up as much as women do well ladies if you do come here make sure your partner puts on the traditional dress too and have him walk around town in the hopes that he’ll end up on YouTube as well all [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the bell tower was first built sometime between 1624 and 1644 and then rebuilt in 1894 after it was destroyed now I could put you all to sleep reading of Wikipedia about who build the Tower and why yada yada yada but just know that it’s pretty old and it still works but unlike in ancient times when it used to ring every hour it currently rings only at 6:00 a.m. noon 3:00 p.m. and then 6:00 p.m. [Music] next it’s the kago castle now you could take a shorter route or take a longer route and see more of kago it wasn’t really a difficult choice for me I took the longer route personally I wasn’t just interested in seeing how the kings and queens of Japan lived ages ago I was interested in seeing contemporary C go away too and you get to see that biking around everything looks compact in Japan you must be a brave soul to paint your house mint green but I do love bright colors and speaking of bright colors what really stands out in Japan if you come during the month of March or April is cherry blossoms cherry blossoms cherry blossoms cherry blossoms cherry blossoms are a big deal in Japan you tend to get regular news updates on when and where they’re expected to bloom you could literally drive across Japan starting from the south to the north as the cherry blossoms bloom here we are at the cago Castle the castle isn’t really what it used to be so don’t expect a whole lot this is more a stripped down version of the original a poor man’s castle if you will most of the original Castle has been dismantled and this is all that’s left there’s an entrance fee of 100 yen and you get to see parts of the original Castle [Applause] [Music] next it’s the hikawa shrin and as always I took the longer route mostly to enjoy the ride by the river and on this when weather permits you can ride a boat along this River it’s the hikawa shrine this is a very popular place for couples and for those seeking love the temple hous has five deities of which two sets of deities are regarded as married couples so if you are unlucky in love or if you’ve already found love and want your love to be stronger than your credit rating come here and buy a matchmaking Stone there are only 20 stones given out every morning so make sure you come here early the early bird gets the one stone the stone will apparently solidify your relationship I’m not sure if it’s free though but remember nothing worth having is free and if the stone isn’t enough why not go fishing for a fortune slip that will cost you 300 Yen once you pay the 300 Yen they give you a fishing line you fish a red snapper and the fortune slip on the tail of the Snapper that’s your fortune for the year ahead if you didn’t get a fortune slip you were hoping for don’t worry there’s more you can buy a matchmaking charm and if you can’t make it to cabag go you can order your very own matchmaking charm on eBay the starting bid is $54 why not put down 55 who said love should be expensive I know I know if you’re watching and thinking I’ve tried all this but still haven’t found love I know exactly what you need you need a prayer and that’s why we are going to our next destination the kin Temple this Temple was built in 8:30 rebuilt in 1296 and then again in 1638 after a fire damaged most of the temple ironically parts of the IDOC Castle which was in Tokyo was used to rebuild this Temple and then years later the ocasa itself was destroyed during the World War then there are these rocken statues in the temple I hope I’m pronouncing the word correctly rocken a rockan refers to a Buddhist priest who attained Nirvana I bet these priests never bought a matchmaking Stone anyway for those who are not really interested in that nauseating thing called love you can still come here and pray for the remaining suckers who are still looking for love pray pray fervently and if you still can’t find love after all this you just maybe need to accept that the problem is you no Shrine stone or snapper fish can fix that but hey what’s meant to happen will happen eat drink and dance life can still be fun

The weather forecast predicted rain the entire day. Didn’t let that stop me from renting & riding a bike . Visited the Bell Tower (時の鐘) in Kurazukuri Street (蔵造りの町並み) , the Kawagoe Castle (川越城), The Hikawa Shrine (川越氷川神社) and the Kita-in Temple (喜多院). Shot the entire video on my GoPro 360.

Disclaimer: The video contains AI generated images.