Charming Ogawamachi Town, in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, Announces Festivals for 2025
Washingtoner/10287190

OGAWAMACHI, Japan - Washingtoner -- About 90 minutes northwest of Tokyo's Ikebukuro Station, on the Tobu Tojo Line, Ogawamachi, in Saitama Prefecture, prospered as a bustling town with numerous markets during the Edo period. Often called a "Little Kyoto," it is today designated as "Saitama Prefecture's Historical Model District," where buildings such as Nagaya townhouses and warehouses still remain. Here, visitors can experience laid-back Saitama culture, tour a saké brewery, enjoy hot springs and stay overnight at Ogawa Onsen Kawara no Yu, and try Japanese papermaking, a 1300-year-old local craft. The technique for making Hosokawa-shi – the specific regional Saitama washi, which uses only Japanese kozo – mulberry fiber, was designated one of Japan's Important Intangible Cultural Properties in 1978, and was registered as an Intangible Cultural Property by UNESCO in 2014. Visitors can experience making this traditional paper at Ogawa Washi Learning Center.

More on Washingtoner

• Postmortem Pathology Expands to Phoenix: Bringing Families Answers During Their Most Difficult Moments
• Blasting Off with Space Sector Companies: Artemis II Manned Moon Mission is Set to Launch: Could $ASTI be on the Same Rocket Ride as $ASTS & $LUNR?
• Costa Oil Named Primary Sponsor of Carson Ware for the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway
• HBMHCW Expande Infraestructura de Cumplimiento para Argentina mientras América Latina Supera $1.5 Billones en Volumen Cripto
• Norisia Launches AI Formulated Luxury Multivitamin to Transform Daily Wellness in the UK

This charming town is also famous for its festivals.

In Ogawamachi, seasonal flowers such as cherry blossoms, dogtooth violets and spider lilies bloom in profusion, and there is also a butterfly release event for Oomurasaki, the Japanese "national butterfly," the Great Purple. Other festivals are also held throughout the year. The Tanabata Festival in July is particularly colorful, making abundant use of Ogawa's washi paper, and the Washi Paper Festival itself in November celebrates this town's most famous traditional craft.

Events and Festivals

April

Yotsuyama Shrine Festival at Yotsuyama Shrine - Yotsuyama Peak, Takami Castle (1125 Takami, Ogawamachi or 1008 Takami, Ogawamachi)

June

Purple Emperor Butterfly Festival at the forest of dogtooth violets and purple emperors (25-minute walk from Ogawamachi Station)

July

77th Ogawamachi Tanabata Festival - The main area is around Ogawamachi station and fireworks at the Miharashi no Oka Park.  More info: Ogawamachi Tanabata Festival Executive Committee, Tel: 0493-72-0280 (Japanese only)

November

Ogawa Washi Festival throughout the town

For more information on Ogawamachi its attractions, experiences, and festivals, visit: https://saitama-supportdesk.com/courses/post-29108/. Phone calls can also be made to  Ogawa Town Hall, Lively Creation Division, Tel: 0493-72-1221, but in Japanese only.

More on Washingtoner

• City of Tacoma Invites Community Input on Proposals to Modernize Housing, Zoning, and Land Use Codes for 2026
• Tacoma: Mayor Anders Ibsen to Deliver First State of the City Address on March 4
• Jacob Emrani's Annual "Supper Bowl" Expected To Donate Thousands Of Meals
• NASA / Glenn Research Center Collaboration to Help Meet Rising Demand for Space Energy Beaming Tech / CIGS PV Modules from Ascent Solar: NAS DAQ: ASTI
• When Interpretation Becomes Conversation: Rethinking Engagement in the Museum Age

***Festival Dates and contents are subject to change.

About Tobu Railway Group

TOBU Railway Co., Ltd. is a major Japanese corporation consisting of approximately 80 companies. The Tobu Railway covers the longest operating distance in Metropolitan Tokyo, leading to numerous tourist attractions including: Asakusa and TOKYO SKYTREE TOWN in Tokyo; Nikko and Kinugawa-Onsen, famous for its world heritage sites and hot springs; the Tatebayashi and Ashikaga areas, known for their blooming flower fields; and Kawagoe and Tochigi City, where the atmosphere of the old Edo era lives on. Tobu is also invested in a portfolio of hotels, including the newly opened The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko and FUFU Nikko Onsen Resort. For more information visit: https://www.tobu.co.jp/en/sightseeing/recommend/tourism/