If you love art and architectural design, you definitely shouldn’t miss the Kadokawa Culture Museum (Rock Museum). There’s plenty of information on the official website, so it’s worth doing some research. I did a lot of prep for this solo trip, including the route, train tickets, online admission tickets, and working up the courage to go by myself.
You may want to check whether your departure station has JR ticket service. I chose Ikebukuro Station because it’s closer to where I live. If you’re leaving the same day, you can just buy your ticket on-site. Since I booked early, I was able to purchase both the outbound and return tickets at once. After that, I bought the admission ticket online. Be sure to double-check that your train ticket is for the same day, because the admission ticket is nonrefundable!
Train ticket: One ticket involves two segments with a transfer. The first part is from your departure station to Musashi-Urawa Station, then you transfer to Higashi-Tokorozawa Station. I recommend downloading Japan Transit Planner. On the day of travel, you can check the platform number there. When choosing the time, make sure it matches the fare of the ticket you bought. That’s the correct way to do it! Don’t accidentally buy a cheaper ticket and take a more expensive train. If nobody checks, you may get away with it, but if you do get inspected by chance, the penalty can be several times the fare. The ticket is valid only for that day, but you can use it at any time that day.
Admission ticket: There are two types. One is just for the 1F light manga and light novel area. The other includes 1F and 2F, including the Rock Museum Shop & Cafe, which is also the entrance hall, as well as the 4F Bookshelf Theater and book street, and the 5F Musashino Gallery and corridor. The 3F is a free restaurant area. If you want to see the exhibition floors, you need to buy an additional ticket.
There are actually three sides of Kadokawa’s signature Rock that you can photograph. When I visited, it happened to be a Japanese holiday, so there were lots of food trucks and lots of people outside. Unfortunately, it was rainy, wet, and cold. If it had been sunny, I could have taken even more beautiful photos. The lighting in the Bookshelf Theater changes often, so everyone’s photos will look a little different. Photography is prohibited on-site, so please keep that in mind. Visiting Kadokawa also fulfilled one of my dreams!
Rebecca Ĺïn's page
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Finally made it up to Zao to see the snow monsters. Honestly, this was a totally spontaneous trip—didn’t overthink it at all. Just picked a date and went.
There wasn’t a single moment where I doubted the plan. Every day we took it at a steady pace and trekked deep into the snow. I’ve traveled to Japan well over 100 times, but this time I was freezing from day one all the way to the last day. Soaking in an onsen every night though… what more could you ask for?
The weather up on Zao was unbelievably good, and I was beyond excited the whole way—like a country bumpkin seeing everything for the first time. Gotta say, I dressed smart and stayed perfectly comfortable. Would I go up again? Yes! -
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Ouchi-juku may not be as famous as Ginzan, but I really love how quietly it’s just there. It’s beautiful.
I was even happier to catch the lantern-lighting ceremony. I waited even though I was freezing to death—still waited, and I was happy the whole time!
I also visited in summer. Without the snow, I could go into Bunke Tamaya and sit down for afternoon tea and a little sip, which was its own kind of happiness. -
