Festivals in Japan: Tokorozawa Matsuri

People are anticipating for the passing of the portable shrine

Tokorozawa Matsuri is an annual festival held in the city of Tokorozawa in Saitama, 40 minutes away from Tokyo by an express train. This festival is held in the last week of October. It is a pretty big event in the area. Streets are lined with different food carts that sell yakitori, red bean, mochi, and other local delicacies. There are hotdogs and squids too.

Drums are being played as it passes

There are also local performances like samba and jazz, as well as cheerdances and popular contemporary songs. The most awaited event though is the passing of these portable shrines in its route.

Where to Eat in Tokyo: Magokoro Soontofu

authentic korean spciy soup

Magokoro Soontofu is a chain of restaurants that you can find in several places in Tokyo, there are two in Takadanobaba, a block away from each other. One seat meal costs around Y800. If you find Korean food too spicy for your taste, you can adjust the spicyness of the food. The restaurant will ask you the level of spicyness that you can take.


The interior of the restaurant is pretty small. It just has one round counter inside, not ideal for a group of friends who want to chat and talk to each other for a long time. There are also hangers on the wall where you can put your coat.

Astroboy in Takadanobaba

A lovely mural otuside the station

If you go out of Takadanobaba Station and take the Waseda Exit, here's what will greet you a large mural especially dedicated to the anime genius, more popularly known as the "God of Anime," Osamu Tezuka. But for a fan like me, he's lovingly regarded as "the father of Astro."

Take a stroll along Takadanobaba and you'll find a long stretch of restaurants, cafes, pachinko shops and convenient stores one after the other. If you go straight ahead Waseda Dori, you'll eventually end up at Waseda University, one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan. If you say you're studying in Japan, people will raise an eyebrow and say, "wow." Try to wow people too by visiting the campus, it has several museums and libraries that you can explore. You can even go to the cafeteria and just people-watch.