Saitama · ChichibuNo.006★Open in map →
Banba-dori
— Chichibu's stone-paved shrine approach
A short, stone-paved street in Chichibu, Saitama, that forms the approach to Chichibu Shrine and is lined with early-20th-century shopfronts.
Banba-dori is a stone-paved street running up to Chichibu Shrine, and most of its early-1900s streetscape is still intact. The buildings mostly date from the late Taisho into the early Showa period (the 1920s and 1930s), giving the lane a retro, pre-war character. More than ten buildings along and around the street are registered as national tangible cultural properties, and several are still in daily use as shops. That combination of protected architecture and working businesses is what the local tourism board points to as the street's particular appeal.
Why it stays quiet
Most guidebooks cover only the December night festival, and the shops on the street have little English information, so few foreign visitors walk it on an ordinary day.
Background & history
The street took its present shape in the 1920s and 1930s, when local merchants rebuilt their shops in brick and timber faced with mortar — a prosperous time built on Chichibu's silk trade and meisen woven textiles. The street sits on the approach to Chichibu Shrine, whose yearly festival, the Chichibu Night Festival on December 2–3, is one of Japan's three great float festivals and was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2016. On ordinary days the shrine approach is calm, and the old shopfronts stand out far more clearly than they do in the festival crowds.
What to look for — in walking order
- Stone-paved approach
- the main stretch of Banba-dori, lined with 1920s–30s shopfronts toward Chichibu Shrine
- Yasudaya butcher
- a butcher still in business whose building is a registered cultural property
- Chichibu Furusato-kan
- a Taisho-era silk merchant's storehouse, open to visitors with small shops inside
- Hot Spot Chichibu-kan
- a Meiji-era merchant's inn preserved as a landmark building on the street
How to enjoy it
Walk the short stretch on foot from Ohanabatake Station or Chichibu Station toward Chichibu Shrine, reading the cultural-property plaques on the buildings as you go. A weekday morning is the calmest time to take in the streetscape. The Koike tobacco shop and Yasudaya butcher are among the most photographed buildings; the December night festival brings the largest crowds.
How to actually get there
- Ikebukuro Station → Seibu-Chichibu Station (Seibu Ikebukuro Line, Laview limited express, ~80 min, direct).
- Seibu-Chichibu Station → Chichibu Shrine (on foot, under 10 min).
- Walk the shrine approach — Banba-dori runs along it.
- Laview limited express (direct)
- Ikebukuro Station →(Seibu Ikebukuro Line, Laview limited express, ~80 min)→ Seibu-Chichibu Station. This is a direct train with no transfer. Total ~80 min. Seats are all reserved, so book the seat ticket (about 700 yen on top of the base fare) in advance, especially on weekends.
- Return the same way from Seibu-Chichibu
- Take the Laview limited express back to Ikebukuro from Seibu-Chichibu Station. Limited express service ends in the evening; if you plan to stay late, check the day's last departure at the station when you arrive. Slower local trains run later but take about 100 minutes with a transfer at Hanno Station.
Before you go
- Cash
- Small shops in a rural town are often cash-only, so carry some coins and small bills.
- Closing days
- Shops keep their own hours and some close midweek (for example, Chichibu Furusato-kan is generally closed on Wednesdays). Check the hours of any specific shop before you go.
- Another way
- If the Laview is full, take a local train and transfer at Hanno Station; it is cheaper but takes about 100 minutes.
- After you get off
- From Seibu-Chichibu Station, walk toward Chichibu Shrine; the street is on the shrine approach, a walk of under 10 minutes.