What? There's a "Little Tokyo" near Tokyo?! Well, actually, there's a "Little Edo" in Kawagoe, which is a suburb of Tokyo. Edo was the original name before the city became Tokyo, so technically, it is "Little Tokyo" near Tokyo.
Kawagoe is a little town full of traditional Edo Period (1603-1867) architecture in the Kurazukuri Zone. Most of the Japanese clay-walled warehouse buildings are now stores catering to every tourist's dream of traditional Japanese souvenirs, foods, and crafts. Besides its throwback era charm, this town's claim to fame is the Kitain Temple, the old bell tower that still chimes 3 times a day, and for some reason, a variety of treats made from sweet potatoes. Hmmmm.
It is quite the tourist trap, and recently, Seibu Shinjuku train line added a reserved seat Limited Express train line from Shinjuku or Takadanonaba to Honkawagoe Station. For an extra ¥410/pp, this cuts the transit time from 70 minutes on a local train down to 20 minutes. Totally worth it in our opinion.
If you find yourself needing to kill about half a day in Tokyo, head to the outskirts of Tokyo and wander around the "Little Edo" streets of Kawagoe! It's quite charming.
