Sawara

Kanto, Japan · Town / small city

Known as Kanto's 'Little Edo' (a nickname it shares with Kawagoe, though the setting is very different): the region's first preservation district for traditional buildings, with Edo- and Meiji-era merchant houses and warehouses lining the Ono River canal, explorable by traditional boat, the Toyo Bridge (releases water with a distinctive sound every 30 minutes), and a soba restaurant in the same spot since 1782.

The essentials

Getting there

Train — JR Narita Line from Tokyo (via Narita), no real line transfer, ~2h15, ¥1,960. Much shorter if based in Choshi (same line, further east): ~49min, ¥720, no transfer. The historic area is a 15-minute walk from the station.

Frequently asked questions about Sawara

What to do in Sawara: 26 activities

• Boat ride on the Ono River canal 1 h must-see

  A traditional boat ride (sappa-bune) along the canal running through the historic district, past Edo- and Meiji-era merchant houses and warehouses.

• Historic canal-side district 1.5 h

  Kanto's first preservation district for groups of traditional buildings, with well-preserved wooden houses and warehouses lining both sides of the canal.

• Katori Jingu Shrine 1 h

  One of only three shrines in Japan to hold the historic rank of 'Jingu' before the Meiji era (along with Ise and Kashima), with a founding legend dating to 643 BC and a main hall of black-painted wood.

• Grilled Eel of Sawara 1 h

  The river tradition of the Tone left Sawara with a constellation of grilled eel houses, each with its own sauce recipe and its own midday queue.

• Sawara Grand Festival 3 h only around 10 July and the second weekend of October

  One of the three great float festivals of Japan, with elaborate carvings and giant figures, inscribed as UNESCO Intangible Heritage; the summer edition runs from 10 July and the autumn one on the second Saturday of October.

• Suigo Sawara Aquatic Iris Park 2 h

  Eight-hectare water garden where 1.5 million irises of some 400 varieties bloom in June, explored by flat-bottomed boat along the canals; in July and August a collection of more than 300 lotus varieties takes over.

• The 'Museum Spread across the Town' (Machigurumi Hakubutsukan) 2 h

  Around forty shops open their houses as small free museums, showing trade tools, dolls, storehouses and gardens, explained by the owners themselves, an initiative run by the women shopkeepers' association since 2005.

• Toyo Bridge 0.5 h

  A bridge over the canal that releases a small waterfall with a distinctive sound every 30 minutes, one of Sawara's most photographed symbols.

• Birthplace of Ino Tadataka 0.5 h

  National Historic Site beside the canal: the house and the sake and soy sauce business Ino Tadataka ran until he was fifty, before he began measuring Japan on foot; it stands directly opposite his museum.

• Birthplace of the Katori Shinto-ryu Martial School 1 h

  Beside Katori Shrine, around 1447, the oldest surviving martial arts school in Japan was founded by Iizasa Ienao after a retreat at the shrine, and it is still transmitted by his family.

• Craft Workshops in the Historic Quarter 1.5 h booking

  Hands-on 90-minute classes at the exchange hall in the preservation district: traditional Sawara papier-mache (hariko), paper cutting or raffia basketry; booking required.

• Cycling the Tone River Levee 2.5 h

  Completely flat routes along the Tone River levee between rice paddies and wetlands; you can get here from Tokyo on the B.B.BASE cycling train, which takes assembled bicycles.

• Farm Resort with Onsen and Sauna (THE FARM) 3 h booking

  About 25 minutes by car, in the same municipality of Katori: thermal water drawn from 1,500 m down, sauna, glamping and a vegetable garden where children harvest produce.

• Festival Float Museum 1 h

  Two genuine floats from the grand festival are on display year round with their colossal figures and the sawara-bayashi music, for anyone not travelling on the festival dates.

• Former Mitsubishi Bank of Sawara 0.5 h

  Brick bank from 1914 with an atrium and dome, a Chiba cultural property and a Western counterpoint to the wooden merchant quarter; reopened in 2022 after a full restoration.

• Ino Tadataka Museum 1 h

  Devoted to the surveyor who completed the first accurate map of all Japan on foot in the early 19th century; his former residence, next to the museum, is free to visit.

• Kanpuku-ji Temple 1 h

  One of the three great Daishi temples of the Kanto region for warding off misfortune, along with Kawasaki and Nishiarai; the surveyor Ino Tadataka is also buried here.

• Koboriya Honten soba 1 h

  A soba restaurant in the same spot since 1782, famous for 'kurokiri soba,' noodles made with seaweed worked into the dough.

• Mizu-no-Sato River and Roadside Station 1.5 h

  Rare case of a roadside and river station in one, on the banks of the Tone: farmers' market, cheap bicycle rental and a pier for river cruises.

• Sawara Cherry Blossom Festival 2 h only blossom from late March to April

  In April, 700 cherry trees of some fifteen species form a tunnel at Katori Shrine, and 600 paper lanterns light up Sawara Park at night.

• Sleeping in a Restored Merchant House 12 h booking

  Hotel spread across several restored Edo and Meiji period merchant houses inside the preservation district itself: you sleep literally within the historic quarter.

• Suigo Omigawa Fireworks 2.5 h only early August

  One of the oldest fireworks festivals in Japan, held in August over the Tone River in the same municipality.

• Tokun Sake Brewery 1 h

  Family brewery in operation since 1825, with guided tours and a free tasting; repeatedly awarded at national sake competitions.

• Twelve Bridges Boat Ride (Katosu Junikyo) 1 h

  Local boatwomen pole a flat-bottomed craft under twelve small bridges between rice paddies and irrigation canals, the classic image of the old 'water country'; different from the canal ride through the historic quarter.

• Canoeing and Paddleboarding in the Wetland 2 h booking

  Municipal canoe and paddleboard sessions on the calm waters of the wetland, at Tachibana Fureai Park.

• River Fish Preserves from the Shojo House 0.5 h

  Shop opened in 1800 inside the preservation district, still making Edo-style river fish preserves (ikadayaki, suzume-yaki).

What only happens on specific dates

• Sawara Cherry Blossom Festival blossom from late March to April
• Sawara Grand Festival around 10 July and the second weekend of October
• Suigo Omigawa Fireworks early August

Chains well with

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