Therese

The title sums it up: I'm thinking about doing a day trip to Kawagoe from Tokyo, sometime in early December.

I've already read japan_guide and visited the tourist web site for Kawagoe, so what I'm most looking for is first hand experience, restaurant recommendations, etc. I'll likely visit http://www.kawagoe-onsen.com/ but will also see the sights and eat. Eel's apparently a big deal locally, and that's one of my favorites.

Therese

Oooh, and I've just realized that I can visit the Railway Museum in Omiya on the same day.

http://www.railway-museum.jp/en/index.html

Mara

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/09/06.../06dayout.html

The NY Times had an article about it last fall - it sounds interesting and the Railway Museum really great! I haven't been yet but I'll put it on my to-do list....

KMLoke

I took a day trip to Kawagoe back in 2005 and enjoyed it. I rank Nikko and Kamakura over it though.

Therese

As it happens I have the luxury of visiting Nikko and Kamakura as well Kawagoe on this trip, KMLoke, so good to hear that you enjoyed it. Do you recall dining in the area? The Kawagoe tourist web site http://www.koedo.or.jp/foreign/english/ lists quite a few. I may be doing this visit with an ex-pat friend who lives in Yokohama and we're both big fans of food of all sorts.

Therese

If any of you are interested in the railway museum, here's a report of a family's visit. Nice detail, including the information that I was specifically looking for, that you can enter all of the train carriages:

http://japanblog.jctravel.co.uk/with...-museum-omiya/