Part 3
After passing through Taisho Romantic Dream Street, we finally entered Chuo-dori Street, the heart of Koedo.
From the Honkawagoe station, walk straight north along the street immediately in front of you. Then, you will see a sight that may seem strange to people from other areas of Japan.
First of all, all buildings are low at once. There is not a tower apartment building in sight. In a city the size of Kawagoe, it would be natural that there would be many low buildings here and there, but in this area, there are only low buildings as if there is a hole in the ground.
There are no telegraph poles at all in this area. They must have buried everything underground, but compared to the amount of pedestrian traffic, I felt as if I was on an open movie set or in a theme park.
And above all, the greatest feature of this place is,
"Please take a look. Everything as far as the eye can see looks like the Edo period."
It was a group of buildings with tiled roofs standing in a row.
"Amazing... It looks like a movie set"
Nanako couldn't help but admire the spectacular sight.
“Is this all from the Edo period?”
At my question, the old man shook his head and said,
“There was a big fire called the Great Kawagoe Fire in the Meiji Era. Unfortunately, many valuable buildings were destroyed by fire. So, most of the buildings we have now are replicas. But even so, they are all 100 years old since they were rebuilt.”
I see, I was convinced. Still, the fact that they have kept it up so well since then must be due to a great deal of hard work.
“And based on the lessons learned from the Great Kawagoe Fire, we adopted a certain fireproof building, which is called a Kurazukuri.”
The street was lined with these buildings, so it is said to be called a kurazukuri (warehouse) townscape.
"And this bell tower is the symbol of this area, the bell of time."
Among the low buildings, I noticed a tall structure that stood out.
"We rang the bell on time in the past and still do today. It's just off the hour, but it's reputed to make a nice sound."
I look up again at the bell tower, which has been staring at this place since the past.
I heard that this building was rebuilt in the Meiji era, but it is still has the weight of 100 years. Compared to my tiny time travel, it is ten times heavier.
But I am at the mercy of this decade of time, and while I have managed to move forward, I am frequently at the mercy of it. I am often reminded that time is so much less than we would like it to be.
(I bet it will still be standing here in the same way 10 years from now)
If I ever return to the future, I will visit this place once more. I am sure I will be deeply moved.
When we passed by a tofu shop near the bell of time, we were suddenly approached as we were walking along.
“Ah, sensei! Thank you for your hard work, so you're guiding them today."
When I thought about it, it was directed at the old man rather than at us.
"Yes, I have a chance to meet them. Oh yeah, can I have three okara doughnuts, please?"
As one would expect from the chairman of the board of directors, he was a local celebrity, and when people saw him, many of them approached him. Each time, he greeted them politely and responded.
But he is called sensei, not a chancellor? Maybe he used to be a teacher. And it makes sense, too, when you look at the way he is behaving.
"I see they call you 'sensei'?"
The old man didn't change his expression,
"I can't help it, that's what they call me because of my work."
I see, that seemed to confirm it.
"It looks like the donut is ready. Please eat it while it's hot."
The three of us bite into the hot donuts that are handed to us.
Because it was freshly fried, the crunchy outside and fluffy inside and the sweetness of the texture spread in the mouth in perfect balance.
"Really, it's delicious!"
Nanako happily tried a second bite, and the heat made her "Nn~" writhe in agony.
"Miss, here you go. I think it will go well with the donuts."
The tea handed to me by the old man tasted a bit strong and indeed went well with the sweet.
"T-Thank you very much, I'm sorry. For any of this"
The donuts and tea were paid for by the old man as a matter of course, and he wouldn't let us pay for them.
When Nanako and I thanked him for his kind guidance,
"It's okay. This is my job."
The old man, still keeping the same expression on his face, said so and started walking again.
"This is the next one. Please be careful when crossing the road."
After crossing the street, we entered a narrow alley that ran along the central street.
I thought that since it was a back street, there would be fewer people there,
"Eh, aren't there more people on this street?"
The place was so full of people that Nanako couldn't help but mention it.
“The place we are about to visit is the most visited place in Kawagoe. It might be more famous than Koedo.”
The old man explained so, but Nanako still tilted her head.
"Ah... Maybe I remember a little bit."
As I recall, there must have been a scene in a popular Hokkaido local travel show where they visited this place. I remember they were having a quick-eating contest of something sweet.
"Like... Plum jam, or wheat gluten candy"
“Wheat gluten candy?”
"Yeah. Not the regular ones, but the ones they sell that are about as long as a rolled up poster."
The old man responded to my words,
"That's right. This is the famous "Kashiya Yokocho" where sweet shops line the street."
I nodded quietly and looked around at the stores that lined the street.
"Rather than explaining this and that, it would be better to actually look around."
So we decided to follow along as we were told.
Indeed, as the old man said, it was easier to understand what he was talking about if you actually saw it. There were many candy stores with an old-fashioned atmosphere all packed into one place, and all of them were crowded with customers.
There was a line of nostalgic snacks such as 10 yen gum, mini donuts, and cola gummies, and I could have spent some time just looking at them.
"Ah, aren't these sweets the ones Kyouya mentioned?"
I turned around at Nanako's voice,
"Ah, that's right, this one, this one, this is really big."
There were a lot of huge pastries that looked as big as a baseball bat.
"How do you eat this...?"
"I don't know, but I guess I think they normally bite and eat it."
We didn't buy any because we thought they might become a burden, but it seemed that all the middle school students who seemed to be on a school trip were buying pastries. The boys were even more obvious, some of them were playing "chanbara" (sword fight) with the fu pastries they had just bought.
"When you're in middle school, you know you want something like this ~"
Nanako was watching the situation happily.
"Kyouya, didn't you buy any weird souvenirs on the school trip?"
"I bought, I bought, some mysterious keychain that says 'effort' or something like that.”
It's still a mystery as to why it's still there.
"I understand! And then there's that, a wooden sword!"
Nanako cheerfully said so.
"Wood... a sword?"
"Eh? You know, the one next to the happi (Note: Japanese traditional headdress), with the scabbard and everything, and you swing it around..."
Coming here, Nanako seemed to realize that her past was different from mine.
"... No, let's pretend there was no wooden sword."
"O-Okay"
What did Nanako use it for when she bought it back home?
I can only pray that it's not for the sake to do that with a student from another school...
After leaving the confectionery alley, we were next taken to a store that sold ceramics.
In the store on the first floor, I was intrigued by the tableware, knick-knacks and key chains, but for some reason, we were taken to the second floor of the store.
"We offer a hands-on pottery class. I thought it would be a new experience for people who don't usually do this kind of thing in their daily lives."
The old man said so and set it up for us,
"We did it last year..."
"Hadn't we told the old man that we were attending the University of the Arts?"
We were taking a pottery course as an elective class at art college.
"Well, everyone looked sleepy because of the doujinshi game at that time, so I thought it would be good to try it again properly?"
"That's right. I might be able to do it easily and well ~"
So, we decided to turn the potter's wheel.
"A-Areh... Was it this difficult...?"
First, Nanako began making avant-garde vases,
"Nanako, you need to fix your hand a little more... Wait, uwah!"
"Kyouya too, isn't that a little bit of a mess?"
"D-Don't talk about others...?"
We both, not very well, not taking advantage of the benefits of being art students,
“Fumu... It seems to have been a little difficult for the two of you.”
It ended up being finished to the point where it was told to us.
"Somehow, it's plainly frustrating, but..."
"... I understand"
Even though it is not my major, it is sad to see so many poorly done items lined up.
After a proper lecture from the store owner, the two of us managed to complete what looked like a plate.
After that, we can leave the finishing touches to the craftsmen, who will then fire it.
"I will arrange for it to be sent to your home in a month."
It would be kind of fun to have two mysterious plates delivered to the share house just when we forgot about them.
Part 3
After passing through Taisho Romantic Dream Street, we finally entered Chuo-dori Street, the heart of Koedo.
From the Honkawagoe station, walk straight north along the street immediately in front of you. Then, you will see a sight that may seem strange to people from other areas of Japan.
First of all, all buildings are low at once. There is not a tower apartment building in sight. In a city the size of Kawagoe, it would be natural that there would be many low buildings here and there, but in this area, there are only low buildings as if there is a hole in the ground.
There are no telegraph poles at all in this area. They must have buried everything underground, but compared to the amount of pedestrian traffic, I felt as if I was on an open movie set or in a theme park.
And above all, the greatest feature of this place is,
"Please take a look. Everything as far as the eye can see looks like the Edo period."
It was a group of buildings with tiled roofs standing in a row.
"Amazing... It looks like a movie set"
Nanako couldn't help but admire the spectacular sight.
“Is this all from the Edo period?”
At my question, the old man shook his head and said,
“There was a big fire called the Great Kawagoe Fire in the Meiji Era. Unfortunately, many valuable buildings were destroyed by fire. So, most of the buildings we have now are replicas. But even so, they are all 100 years old since they were rebuilt.”
I see, I was convinced. Still, the fact that they have kept it up so well since then must be due to a great deal of hard work.
“And based on the lessons learned from the Great Kawagoe Fire, we adopted a certain fireproof building, which is called a Kurazukuri.”
The street was lined with these buildings, so it is said to be called a kurazukuri (warehouse) townscape.
"And this bell tower is the symbol of this area, the bell of time."
Among the low buildings, I noticed a tall structure that stood out.
"We rang the bell on time in the past and still do today. It's just off the hour, but it's reputed to make a nice sound."
I look up again at the bell tower, which has been staring at this place since the past.
I heard that this building was rebuilt in the Meiji era, but it is still has the weight of 100 years. Compared to my tiny time travel, it is ten times heavier.
But I am at the mercy of this decade of time, and while I have managed to move forward, I am frequently at the mercy of it. I am often reminded that time is so much less than we would like it to be.
(I bet it will still be standing here in the same way 10 years from now)
If I ever return to the future, I will visit this place once more. I am sure I will be deeply moved.
When we passed by a tofu shop near the bell of time, we were suddenly approached as we were walking along.
“Ah, sensei! Thank you for your hard work, so you're guiding them today."
When I thought about it, it was directed at the old man rather than at us.
"Yes, I have a chance to meet them. Oh yeah, can I have three okara doughnuts, please?"
As one would expect from the chairman of the board of directors, he was a local celebrity, and when people saw him, many of them approached him. Each time, he greeted them politely and responded.
But he is called sensei, not a chancellor? Maybe he used to be a teacher. And it makes sense, too, when you look at the way he is behaving.
"I see they call you 'sensei'?"
The old man didn't change his expression,
"I can't help it, that's what they call me because of my work."
I see, that seemed to confirm it.
"It looks like the donut is ready. Please eat it while it's hot."
The three of us bite into the hot donuts that are handed to us.
Because it was freshly fried, the crunchy outside and fluffy inside and the sweetness of the texture spread in the mouth in perfect balance.
"Really, it's delicious!"
Nanako happily tried a second bite, and the heat made her "Nn~" writhe in agony.
"Miss, here you go. I think it will go well with the donuts."
The tea handed to me by the old man tasted a bit strong and indeed went well with the sweet.
"T-Thank you very much, I'm sorry. For any of this"
The donuts and tea were paid for by the old man as a matter of course, and he wouldn't let us pay for them.
When Nanako and I thanked him for his kind guidance,
"It's okay. This is my job."
The old man, still keeping the same expression on his face, said so and started walking again.
"This is the next one. Please be careful when crossing the road."
After crossing the street, we entered a narrow alley that ran along the central street.
I thought that since it was a back street, there would be fewer people there,
"Eh, aren't there more people on this street?"
The place was so full of people that Nanako couldn't help but mention it.
“The place we are about to visit is the most visited place in Kawagoe. It might be more famous than Koedo.”
The old man explained so, but Nanako still tilted her head.
"Ah... Maybe I remember a little bit."
As I recall, there must have been a scene in a popular Hokkaido local travel show where they visited this place. I remember they were having a quick-eating contest of something sweet.
"Like... Plum jam, or wheat gluten candy"
“Wheat gluten candy?”
"Yeah. Not the regular ones, but the ones they sell that are about as long as a rolled up poster."
The old man responded to my words,
"That's right. This is the famous "Kashiya Yokocho" where sweet shops line the street."
I nodded quietly and looked around at the stores that lined the street.
"Rather than explaining this and that, it would be better to actually look around."
So we decided to follow along as we were told.
Indeed, as the old man said, it was easier to understand what he was talking about if you actually saw it. There were many candy stores with an old-fashioned atmosphere all packed into one place, and all of them were crowded with customers.
There was a line of nostalgic snacks such as 10 yen gum, mini donuts, and cola gummies, and I could have spent some time just looking at them.
"Ah, aren't these sweets the ones Kyouya mentioned?"
I turned around at Nanako's voice,
"Ah, that's right, this one, this one, this is really big."
There were a lot of huge pastries that looked as big as a baseball bat.
"How do you eat this...?"
"I don't know, but I guess I think they normally bite and eat it."
We didn't buy any because we thought they might become a burden, but it seemed that all the middle school students who seemed to be on a school trip were buying pastries. The boys were even more obvious, some of them were playing "chanbara" (sword fight) with the fu pastries they had just bought.
"When you're in middle school, you know you want something like this ~"
Nanako was watching the situation happily.
"Kyouya, didn't you buy any weird souvenirs on the school trip?"
"I bought, I bought, some mysterious keychain that says 'effort' or something like that.”
It's still a mystery as to why it's still there.
"I understand! And then there's that, a wooden sword!"
Nanako cheerfully said so.
"Wood... a sword?"
"Eh? You know, the one next to the happi (Note: Japanese traditional headdress), with the scabbard and everything, and you swing it around..."
Coming here, Nanako seemed to realize that her past was different from mine.
"... No, let's pretend there was no wooden sword."
"O-Okay"
What did Nanako use it for when she bought it back home?
I can only pray that it's not for the sake to do that with a student from another school...
After leaving the confectionery alley, we were next taken to a store that sold ceramics.
In the store on the first floor, I was intrigued by the tableware, knick-knacks and key chains, but for some reason, we were taken to the second floor of the store.
"We offer a hands-on pottery class. I thought it would be a new experience for people who don't usually do this kind of thing in their daily lives."
The old man said so and set it up for us,
"We did it last year..."
"Hadn't we told the old man that we were attending the University of the Arts?"
We were taking a pottery course as an elective class at art college.
"Well, everyone looked sleepy because of the doujinshi game at that time, so I thought it would be good to try it again properly?"
"That's right. I might be able to do it easily and well ~"
So, we decided to turn the potter's wheel.
"A-Areh... Was it this difficult...?"
First, Nanako began making avant-garde vases,
"Nanako, you need to fix your hand a little more... Wait, uwah!"
"Kyouya too, isn't that a little bit of a mess?"
"D-Don't talk about others...?"
We both, not very well, not taking advantage of the benefits of being art students,
“Fumu... It seems to have been a little difficult for the two of you.”
It ended up being finished to the point where it was told to us.
"Somehow, it's plainly frustrating, but..."
"... I understand"
Even though it is not my major, it is sad to see so many poorly done items lined up.
After a proper lecture from the store owner, the two of us managed to complete what looked like a plate.
After that, we can leave the finishing touches to the craftsmen, who will then fire it.
"I will arrange for it to be sent to your home in a month."
It would be kind of fun to have two mysterious plates delivered to the share house just when we forgot about them.
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