Chichibu National Park is the closest national park from Tokyo. It is also very conveniently located in Saitama-ken, about one hour by car from Kawagoe, making it therefore a very attractive daytrip for people willing to take some fresh air away from the capital. That time, those people were Fabrice, Matthias and myself!

A first stop was made at Nagatoro, a place famous for its Rock Tatami Cliff (Nagatoro no Iwadatami, 長瀞の岩畳), namely crystalline schist creating successive layers of rock overlapping each others. It seems such scenary was formed at the bottom of the ocean. Now, it is a really beautiful sight which is located next to a river.

Further in the montains is located the famous Mitsumine-jinja, which unfortunately was under reparation during our visit. In fact, to what we could see, the oldest shrine was completely destroyed, as only the roof was still there!

We therefore decided to rather invest some time to explore the nearby river... and to cross it through a rather long "bridge"! Wonder if you would have crossed it, Cedric!

Back in Chichibu with Seiko - considering the short distance from Kawagoe, it makes a perfect day trip from Sai-no-kuni. But this time, the main goal of the trip was to visit one of the konyoku (mixed bath) from Saitama-ken. Located in this ryokan, it feature a medium-sized rotemburo with modern design. The view, on the river, is rather appealing...

But of course, we also stopped in Nagatoro, one of the most famous spot of the area. And unlike during summer, it was really not crowded.