Day One Japan

Saitama (埼玉県)

Walk the old streets of central Chichibu (秩父), see the shrine carvings and festival floats, then finish next to the train station.

Open the full walk in Google Maps
The main worship hall of Chichibu Shrine
Chichibu Shrine · Suikotei · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized and framed for this page

Getting to Chichibu Shrine

From Ikebukuro Station (池袋駅)

Take Seibu’s reserved-seat Laview limited express (特急ラビュー) to Seibu-Chichibu Station (西武秩父駅). From the station, walk through the old streets near Banba-dori (番場通り) to Chichibu Shrine.

Seibu-Chichibu Station (西武秩父駅)

The Seibu-Chichibu Station entrance building
Mister0124 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized
Public transport in Google Maps Seibu Railway’s limited express guide

Three stops in order

  1. 1. Chichibu Shrine (秩父神社)

    Look for the bright animal carvings on the shrine buildings. The streets on the approach have shops in older buildings.

    Walk in Google Maps Map of the stop Chichibu Shrine (Japanese)

  2. 2. Chichibu Festival Museum (秩父まつり会館)

    Visit the museum next to the shrine for full-scale festival floats and an introduction to the Chichibu Night Festival.

    Walk in Google Maps Map of the stop Chichibu Festival Museum exhibits (Japanese)

  3. 3. Matsuri no Yu (祭の湯)

    Walk back along Banba-dori for coffee or shopping, then stop at the station-side hot spring, food hall or souvenir shops before your train.

    Walk in Google Maps Map of the stop Matsuri no Yu visitor guide

The city also has a separate Chichibu Railway station called Chichibu (秩父駅). Check that your return ticket says Seibu-Chichibu if you booked Laview.

Transport and visitor information checked .