Chichibu, Saitama: Day Trip from Tokyo, Nagatoro, Autumn Leaves and the Night Festival 2026

Japan · Saitama · Chichibu

By Nobu · a researched guide, not a trip report · checked 26 October 2026 against Seibu Railway, Chichibu Railway, Chichibu City, the Chichibu and Nagatoro tourist associations, Chichibu Shrine, Mitsumine Shrine, Seibu Bus and Saitama Prefecture

Chichibu is a mountain basin in western Saitama, reachable from Ikebukuro in as little as 77 minutes on Seibu’s Laview limited express. This guide covers getting there, Nagatoro’s rocks and river boats, the town’s two big shrines, autumn leaves in 2026, and the Chichibu Night Festival on 2–3 December.

Two things trip people up before they even arrive. The Laview needs an express ticket on top of the fare, and Seibu-Chichibu Station is not the same station as Chichibu Railway’s Ohanabatake, which you need for Nagatoro. This autumn there are also closures at two of the leaf spots, and a bear warning for the mountains of Ōtaki. All of it is below, with the sources at the end.

Jump to: Getting there · Nagatoro · Shrines · Autumn leaves 2026 · Night Festival · Food and baths · Where to stay · FAQ

How to get to Chichibu from Tokyo

Laview express from Ikebukuro. Seibu says the Laview runs from Ikebukuro to Seibu-Chichibu in 77 minutes at the fastest. You need a limited-express ticket as well as the ordinary fare: ¥900 from Ikebukuro to Seibu-Chichibu if you buy it before boarding, and ¥200 more if you board without one.

Changing for Nagatoro. Seibu-Chichibu Station and Chichibu Railway’s Ohanabatake Station are separate stations, about 10 to 15 minutes apart on foot, according to Chichibu Railway. From Ohanabatake, Chichibu Railway’s fare table gives ¥550 to Nagatoro or Kami-Nagatoro and ¥200 to Chichibu Station.

Without Seibu. Chichibu City gives two other routes: the JR Takasaki Line from Ueno to Kumagaya in about 60 minutes, then about 70 minutes on Chichibu Railway; or the Tobu Tojo Line from Ikebukuro to Yorii in about 80 minutes, then about 40 minutes on Chichibu Railway.

Chichibu Free Kippu. Seibu’s two-day ticket, on sale all year, costs ¥2,540 for adults and ¥1,190 for children from Ikebukuro. It covers one round trip from your Seibu station to Seibu-Chichibu, plus unlimited rides for two days between Ashigakubo and Seibu-Chichibu and on Chichibu Railway between Nogami and Mitsumineguchi, which takes in Nagatoro, Kami-Nagatoro, Ohanabatake and Chichibu. Express tickets are extra. It suits a trip that combines Nagatoro and central Chichibu.

Nagatoro: the rocks, the river boats and Mt Hodo

Iwadatami. The flat rock shelves along the Arakawa are the centre of the Nagatoro gorge, which was designated a national Place of Scenic Beauty and Natural Monument on 9 December 1924, the Nagatoro Town Tourist Association says. They are about 5 minutes on foot from Nagatoro Station.

Nagatoro Line Kudari (river boats). Chichibu Railway runs the boats from 10 March to 4 December 2026, from 9:00 to about 16:00. Each of the two courses is about 3 km and about 20 minutes. Adults pay ¥2,000 and children ¥1,000, or ¥2,200 and ¥1,100 on busy days; adults means junior-high age and up, children age 3 and up. The boats may stop when the Arakawa is too high or too low.

Hodosan Ropeway. The ropeway up Mt Hodo costs adults ¥700 one way or ¥1,200 return, and children ¥350 or ¥600. The company says it runs on its weekend timetable through the autumn-leaf season.

Chichibu Shrine and Mitsumine Shrine

Chichibu Shrine

Chichibu Shrine, in the centre of town, says its founding is traced to Chichibuhiko-no-Mikoto, the god it calls the ancestor who opened up the Chichibu region, enshrining his own ancestral god. The shrine was burned in war in 1569 and rebuilt in 1592 with the backing of Tokugawa Ieyasu, it says. Two carvings it points visitors to are the “Tethered Dragon” (つなぎの龍) and the tigers on the main hall, which it says are traditionally attributed to the master carver Hidari Jingorō. Applications for prayers are accepted daily from 9:00 to 16:30.

Mitsumine Shrine

Mitsumine Shrine sits high in the mountains of Ōtaki. Seibu Kanko’s express bus leaves from stand 5 at Seibu-Chichibu Station and takes about 80 minutes, and the fare is ¥1,100. On the timetable we checked, buses to the shrine leave Seibu-Chichibu at 8:45, 9:15, 10:15, 12:30, 13:30 and 14:30.

Chichibu autumn leaves in 2026: where, when, and what’s closed

For fuller details on Tsuki-no-Ishi Momiji Park and Torii Kannon, see our Saitama autumn leaves guide.

Nagatoro. The Nagatoro Town Tourist Association says the colour usually starts in late October and is at its best from about mid-November. Its 2026 autumn-leaf festival runs from 1 to 30 November. Tsuki-no-Ishi Momiji Park is lit up from 6 to 29 November, 16:00–21:00; adults (junior-high and up) pay ¥500, and entry may be limited when it is crowded. The park is 5 minutes on foot from Kami-Nagatoro Station.

Nakatsu Gorge (Ōtaki, Chichibu City). About 10 km of gorge along the Nakatsu River, and a prefectural Place of Scenic Beauty. Chichibu City lists no car park. Its autumn-leaf page gives the bus from Mitsumineguchi Station to the Nakafutari stop, 45 minutes, but also says that the prefectural road is down to one alternating lane while a landslide is cleared and the slope is repaired, and that Seibu Kanko’s bus between Kawamata and Nakatsugawa is suspended until further notice. Check the bus before you set out.

Jōmine Park (Kamikawa Town). Known for winter cherry trees that flower in late autumn alongside the maples. The Kamikawa Town Tourist Association says the park is lit up from late October to early December, and reported on 19 October 2026 that the winter cherries were in flower and the leaves were starting to turn. The town has traffic controls around the park on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 25 October to 6 December, 9:00–16:00.

Ranzan Valley (Ranzan Town). Outside Chichibu, nearer Tokyo on the Tobu Tojo Line: the town gives about 30 minutes on foot from the east exit of Musashi-Ranzan Station. Its 2026 “best-colour weeks” run from 14 November to 6 December. The town also says part of the valley path, a town road, has been closed since a landslide around 21 September 2026, with no reopening date.

For colour closer to Tokyo, see our Tokyo autumn leaves guide. For how Japan’s autumn-leaf forecasts work, see our explainer, and for the rest of the month, Japan in November 2026. Two more autumn trips from Tokyo have their own guides: Fukuroda Falls in Ibaraki and Shosenkyo Gorge in Yamanashi.

Chichibu Night Festival 2026 (Chichibu Yomatsuri)

Chichibu City has set the 2026 dates: Wednesday 2 December is the eve (宵宮, yoimiya) and Thursday 3 December the main day (本祭). The festival is the annual grand festival of Chichibu Shrine. Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs says the night procession of the floats on the 3rd is what gives it the name “Chichibu Night Festival”, and that it was inscribed by UNESCO in 2016 as part of Japan’s “Yama, Hoko, Yatai” float festivals.

What isn’t out yet. As of 26 October, the city’s 2026 festival page still says “please wait for updates” for the fireworks, the traffic map, the float route timetable and the temporary car parks. We found no announcement yet of extra trains from Seibu or Chichibu Railway. Don’t plan your last train home around a past year’s timetable.

Paid seats. The Chichibu Tourism Association has announced reserved “B” stand seats for 3 December at ¥4,000 each: 200 will be sold over the counter from 31 October to 3 November 2026, while the 150-seat postcard application closed on 22 October. It says the view of the floats and fireworks differs by seat. We could not find 2026 details for the “A” seats.

Why the festival grew so big

Chichibu City says the festival became as grand as it is alongside the growth of a large silk market, the kinu no takamachi (絹大市), held at Chichibu Shrine from the mid-Edo period. The shrine itself describes the winter festival as its Myōken festival, and explains it as the god being sent back to the mountain each year after the farming and silkworm harvests. In recent years, the city says, a revived silk market has been held on the festival days of 2 and 3 December.

For another float festival near Tokyo, see our Kawagoe Festival guide.

Food, silk, whisky and a hot spring by the station

Waraji katsudon (わらじカツ丼). Chichibu City’s food page describes it as two cutlets in a distinctive sauce, and the Chichibu Tourism Association lists it among the area’s local dishes.

Chichibu Meisenkan. A museum of Chichibu’s meisen silk. Open 9:00–16:00, closed over New Year; adults ¥210, junior-high and primary pupils ¥100. Dyeing and weaving sessions need a booking and cost extra.

Chichibu whisky. A 2026 notice from a culture school that organised a special distillery visit states that the Chichibu Distillery does not offer tours to the general public. We could not find a current visiting policy on Venture Whisky’s own site.

Matsuri no Yu. The hot-spring baths next to Seibu-Chichibu Station are open 10:00–22:00 (last entry 21:30). Adults pay ¥1,100 on weekdays and ¥1,380 at weekends, on holidays and on special days. Morning baths run 6:00–9:00 on weekends and holidays for ¥890.

Where to stay in Chichibu and Nagatoro

If you are going for the Night Festival, staying over avoids depending on a last train that hasn’t been announced yet. Search Chichibu hotels on Booking.com or compare Chichibu stays on Agoda. For the river and the light-up, look at places to stay in Nagatoro.

If you would rather base yourself in a historic town closer to Tokyo, our Kawagoe guide covers Saitama’s “Little Edo”.

Chichibu: FAQ

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