Y2 : 365 - Day 104.

After the All-Star game, Dan and I went to Kawagoe. 
Kawagoe is a small town in the Saitama Prefecture, the streets are preserved and the town still looks like it did in the Edo period ( 17century to 19 century.) 

View from the train station.

Lucky Cat, its known to bring good fortune, happiness, and prosperity.

Kurazazukuri Zone in Kawagoe.

In the Edo Period, Japanese cities consisted almost exclusively of wooden buildings. As a result, they were very vulnerable to fires, which occurred frequently and could destroy whole city districts. To store and protect their most valuable goods like rice, people constructed these warehouses with massive, fireproof walls, consisting of several layers. However, this construction style, called kura-zukuri (warehouse style), was very expensive, and only the wealthy people could afford it. (Wikipedia)

A lot of these buildings look charred from fires, some are painted black but others still show some white features.

Bell Tower.

The current tower is the fourth version, the latest has been rebuilt after the Great Fire of Kawagoe of 1893.

Old school post office.

Kashiya Yokocho (Penny Candy Lane), this area consists of traditional sweet shops. Too bad most of them were closed when we came to visit.

Volkswagen Cafe.

Little stores and restaurants along Penny Lane.

Ekk ! I'm not sure what type of God this is but its scary for sure!

Kita-in Temple, founded in the year 830.

Purification station in front of the temple.

Daruma vendor near the temple. Daruma are a depiction of the Indian priest Bodhidharma, who introduced Zen Buddhism to China from India. It is said that he lost the use of his arms and legs after spending nine years meditating in a cave. The daruma dolls are heavy on the bottom and bounce back when tipped over, so it has become a symbol of optimism, good fortune and strong determination. Usually daruma dolls are sold without the eyeballs painted in. People paint in one eye when they set out to do something and paint in the other one when they have achieved the goal. (Wikipedia)

The Gohyaku Rakan (500 Disciples of Buddha) with a collection of 538 stone Buddha statues.