Chichibu makes a nice side trip from Tokyo. You can get there from Ikebukuro Station on the “Red Arrow” train in 1.5 hours. The Red Arrow is a limited express with reserved seats so it’s a comfortable ride. In warmer months you can tour parks and ride wooden boats down the Arakawa (river) from Nagatoro where there are beautiful cliffs and rocks. Chichibu is also home to a number sake breweries and the Ichiro whisky distillery. Ichiro has gained notoriety in World whisky circles and was completely sold out in Chichibu. We were able to get a tour and tasting at the Bukou sake brewery. They usually require advance reservations for tour groups of 10 or more but made an exception for us. The house is about 260 years old and has a spring underneath which supplies water for the sake. You can see the well inside the building and then drink the water from a spout outside. Inside the shop, you can see holes in the timbers where farmers would place their cutting tools while they drank sake. Around the town there are shrines and many old buildings.
The city is popular with lovers of anime as the city was used as the backdrop of a Japanese anime TV series called “Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day” that has also been translated for distribution in the U.S. There’s one bridge in the anime that’s fairly unique in Japan so fans will make the long trek from the station. You can rent bikes right next to the station to make the trip. Finally there is an onsen (hot spring) connected to the station (look for Seibuchichibu Ekimae Onsen) so you can bathe, relax and eat before returning to Tokyo.
Overall Chichibu is an easy trip to see a small countryside city in Japan.
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