Chichibu Area

Index

Highlights of Chichibu Area

Chichibu area in Saitama prefecture consists mainly of two towns. Chichibu and Nagatoro. It is located about 1.5 – 2 hours north-west of Tokyo. It is known for its beverages, including wine, Japanese sake and whisky as well as its rich nature, shrines and anime.

It is convenient to get to either by train or car from Tokyo, with the “Lavie – Red Arrow Limited Express Train” offering breathtaking views and a unique travel experience.

When you arrive in Chichibu, you will find that it is quite a small town with many restaurants and bars located close to the station, but other attractions being spread a little further out such as the breweries, mountains and parks.

Chichibu is also known for being the location for two popular anime “Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day” and “The Anthem of the Heart”and you will see the characters spread around town, with many anime fans making a pilgrimage to see them.

Autumn leaves in Tsuki no Ishi Momiji park

Entrance of Chichibu Distillery who makes Ichiro's Malt Whisky

Shibazakura at Hitsujiyama park in Chichibu

Misotsuchi no tsurara in chichibu (frozen waterfall)

Access

From Tokyo

Airports

Main Stations

Things to Do in Chichibu

Water rafting
(Spring, Summer & Autumn)

Nagatoro Line Kudari is Japanese style boat cruise down the river which can be easily found only 5min walk from Nagatoro sta. Nagatoro in Chichibu is also known for water rafting (click to read about water rafting in Nagatoro).

Shibazakura
(Spring)

15min walk from Seibu-Chichibu station is Hitsujiyama Park (羊山公園）which is a very famous spot for viewing the beautiful Shibazakura flowers.

Autumn leaves (Autumn)

Chichibu area is know for its beautiful autumn foliage. 5min walk from Kami-Nagatoro sta. is Tsuki-no-ishi park (月の石もみじ公園） where you can see colorful maple leafs. Otaki (大滝) is also know for autumn leaves in Chichibu.

Ice Waterfall Lightup
(Winter)

There are three frozen water falls in Chichibu. 'Ashigakubo no Tsurara (あしがくぼの氷柱)', 'Misotsuchi no Tsurara (三十槌の氷柱)', and 'Onouchi Hyakkei Tsurara (尾ノ内百景氷柱)'. The easiest to get to by public transport is 'Ashigakubo no Tsurara (あしがくぼの氷柱)', which is only 10 min walk from Ashigakubo station (芦ヶ久保駅).

Wine, Beer & Sake

Chichibu is a great place to discover local beverages and is proud about its long history (250years) of brewing. These days they are 4 sake breweries, two wineries and one beer brewery as well as distillery located in the area, with some of them offering tours and tastings.

Festivals

The Chichibu residents love to party! There are more than 400 festivals in Chichibu, so you are likely to find something when you visit. Famous festivals are UNESCO registered Chichibu Night Festival (秩父夜祭), Nagatoro Fire Festival (長瀞火祭り), and Nagatoro Funatama Festival (長瀞船玉まつり) which can be found in our Events & festival calendar or below.

Special Chichibu Area Travel Guide

We’ve created a special online guide about Chichibu Area to help overseas visitors explore Chichibu.

Click the image or the button below to discover more!

Top events around Chichibu Area

Come see a monk running through fire at Nagatoro Fire Festival (Nagatoro Himatsuri Festival)

03 | MAR

Nagatoro Fire Festival (Nagatoro Himatsuri) / 長瀞火祭り　- 2h 20min from Tokyo

Samurai warriors rush to war at the Yorii Hojo Festival.

05 | MAY

Yorii Hojo Festival / 寄居北條まつり – 1h 45min from Tokyo

Evening fireworks and traditional floats at the Yorii Tamayodo Suitengu Festival

08 | AUG

Yorii Tamayodo Suitengu Festival / 寄居玉淀水天宮祭 – 1h 55min from Tokyo

River festival floats and fireworks at Nagatoro Funatama Festival in Chichibu, Saitama

08 | AUG

Nagatoro Funatama Festival / 長瀞船玉まつり – 2h 15min from Tokyo

A boy on horse back taking part in the Izumoiwai Yabusame Festival near Tokyo

11 | NOV

Izumoiwai Yabusame Festival / 出雲伊波比の流鏑馬まつり – 1hour 15min from Tokyo

12 | DEC

Chichibu Night Festival (Chichibu Yomatsuri) / 秩父夜祭- 2H from Tokyo

Soba

With over 60 soba restaurants in Chichibu, this is certainly the dish the area is mostly known for. With every restaurant making fresh buckwheat noodles on site , no two soba taste the same as each restaurant also has secret dipping sauce to perfectly balance the noodles as a dish.

Japanese Food

There are a lot of Japanese restaurants in Chichibu serving a variety of Japanese dishes. However, most popular is soba, which is also paired with local wine is one of them. As well as a pork restaurant, serving juicy slices of perfectly marinated pork on top of a bed of rice that locals cannot get enough of.

Western Food

There are a few western style restaurants in Chichibu to choose from with many featuring some of the locally produced wine. Anything from small tapas style dishes to full food and wine pairing menus can be found, a great place for foodies and wine lovers alike.

COENA Cafe

A small European style restaurant with delicious homemade food prepared with local ingredients hand-picked by our chef.

Places to Stay in Chichibu

Onsen Ryokan
(Japanese style Hotels)

Chichibu and Nagatoro in the Chichibu area offer many Japanese style onsen ryokans. From Budget to Upscale to meet most peoples need. (Many of the rooms have western beds as well as Japanese futon)

Western Style Hotels

There are not that many Western style hotels in Chichibu area. Guest can opt in for a western style room in a Onsen Ryokan (Japanese style hotel) or a Holiday rental (airbnb).

Alternatives

Holiday rental (airbnb)

There are a few nice holiday homes and airbnbs available in the area.

Find the full list of airbnb’s available at airbnb here.

Gramping

There is a popular guesthouse in the center of the city. As well as bunkbeds there are some Japanese tatami rooms suitable for a group of 2-3people on a budget.