How Do You Get to Kawagoe from Tokyo by Train and Get Around the Old Town?

Published 2026-10-04 · Sources checked 2026-10-04 · Treasure Hunting Co., Ltd.

This guide is for visitors who want to reach Kawagoe, the old castle town in Saitama Prefecture north-west of Tokyo, and move around its historic centre. It follows the English pages of the Koedo Kawagoe Tourism Association, the festival's official English site and the association's FAQ. We read them on 2026-10-04. Train times and ticket offers change, so confirm them before you travel.

By train from central Tokyo

Kawagoe sits on three railway lines, so the best route depends on where you start. The tourism association's access page lists these approximate times:

• From Ikebukuro: 26 minutes at the earliest on the Tobu Tojo Line "Kawagoe Limited Express", getting off at Kawagoe Station. The festival site gives about 30 minutes for the same line.
• From Shinjuku: about 50 minutes on the JR Saikyo Line rapid train to Kawagoe Station.
• From Shinjuku on the Seibu line: as little as 44 minutes on the Limited Express Red Arrow "Koedo", getting off at Hon-Kawagoe Station.
• From Shibuya: about 45 minutes on the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line, getting off at Kawagoe Station.
• From Omiya: about 20 minutes on the JR Kawagoe Line.
• From Yokohama: about 75 minutes on the JR Shonan Shinjuku Line with a change to the Tobu Tojo Line at Ikebukuro. The festival site gives about 78 minutes by a similar route.

Note that Kawagoe Station and Hon-Kawagoe Station are different stations, on different lines and in different parts of town. Check which one your ticket or pass uses.

By car

The association lists three approaches. From the Tokyo area, take the Kan-etsu Expressway from Nerima IC to Kawagoe IC, or national highway 254 from Ikebukuro. From the Chuo Expressway and Hachioji side, use the Ken-O Expressway or Kan-etsu Expressway from Akiruno IC to Kawagoe IC. From the Niigata and Nagano side, take the Kan-etsu Expressway from Hanazono IC to Kawagoe IC. Its FAQ points out that coin parking is scattered through the city, and its traffic page says that when the public car parks are full you should use a private paid car park instead. For express buses, the association sends visitors to the Kawagoe City website.

Getting around the old town

The association's page on getting around Kawagoe names four options:

• Route buses, which serve the city centre and the main sights. The page links to a city bus map.
• Taxis, including certified sightseeing taxi operators.
• Rental bicycles. The FAQ sends visitors to the city's tourist rental bicycle page.
• Rickshaws.

There are also two sightseeing buses that circle the main sights, the Koedo Famous Place Tour Bus (Tobu Bus) and the Little Edo Tour Bus (Eagle Bus). If you ride a bicycle to the Bell of Time area, the FAQ says to use the bicycle car park at the Kawagoe Festival Hall, and that it stays available even when the hall is closed.

Passes that combine train and bus

The FAQ describes several combined tickets. Tobu sells the Koedo Kawagoe Coupon, a round trip to Kawagoe or Kawagoeshi Station plus a one-day Tobu Bus coupon. Seibu sells the Little Edo Kawagoe Free Coupon, a round trip to Hon-Kawagoe Station plus free rides on the Little Edo bus. Tokyu and Tokyo Metro have a version for riders coming from Shibuya. The FAQ warns that some of these are not sold on festival days or over the New Year holidays, because bus services are partly suspended. The festival site also mentions a Tobu Tojo Line discount ticket from Ikebukuro, 700 yen for adults and 360 yen for children, sold at the Tobu Tojo counter in Ikebukuro Station.

Practical help in town

• Tourist information offices: Kawagoe Station, Hon-Kawagoe Station and the Nakacho centre. The Kawagoe Festival Hall also hands out information.
• Baggage storage is available for a fee at the three information centres. Wheelchairs can be borrowed free at the Nakacho and Kawagoe Station centres, Hon-Kawagoe Station and the Festival Hall.
• Money: the FAQ says no bank in Kawagoe offers foreign currency exchange. Some FamilyMart stores have automatic exchange machines, and some Mizuho and Seven Bank ATMs accept foreign currency deposit transactions.
• Guides: the Kawagoe City Silver Human Resources Center provides tourist guides in foreign languages. Contact them through the page the FAQ links to.
• Free Wi-Fi spots and public toilets are listed on the city's pages.

What we could not verify, and therefore left out

• Current bus timetables, fares and the price of the one-day coupons.
• Rickshaw and sightseeing taxi prices.
• The exact dates when the combined tickets are not sold. The English page of the FAQ gives them in a form we could not read reliably.

Related guides

• What is the Kawagoe Festival? Floats, hayashi music and the Hikkawase
• What is Kawagoe? Little Edo, kurazukuri warehouses, the Bell of Time and sweet potatoes

Sources

All URLs retrieved 2026-10-04.

1. Transportation Access (Koedo Kawagoe Tourism Association) — (trains, cars, buses, taxis, bicycles, rickshaws)
2. Frequently Asked Questions (Koedo Kawagoe Tourism Association) — (passes, parking, baggage, wheelchairs, exchange, guides)
3. Digital maps, traffic information and etiquette (Koedo Kawagoe Tourism Association) — (full car parks)
4. Feature part 2 (Kawagoe Festival official site) — (times from Ikebukuro, Shinjuku and Yokohama, the Ikebukuro discount ticket)