Name: Chichibu Day Trip From Tokyo
Uploaded: 2026-01-29T18:54:18.000Z
Duration: 5 min 57 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Exploring a place like this seems unthinkable in the crowded streets of Tokyo, but

in fact, it takes just over an hour to reach the stunning sites of Chichibu.

The reason we really recommend it for a day trip is the access, as it's just one comfortable direct train straight from Ikebukuro to Seibu Chichibu Station without any any pesky changes.

Now that we're here, let's see what this mountainous city has to offer.

First, I'm heading to Mitsumine Shrine, the most scenic shrine in the area.

The trip up to the shrine is a little long, taking around an hour and a half by bus.

So although I'm doing it on a day trip, you might want to consider staying overnight to get the most out of the scenery.

This shrine is dedicated to wolves which once roamed Chichibu.

While the physical wolves may now be extinct, their spirit lives on in the form of the shrine guardians, which are believed to protect against misfortune.

It is said that the founder of the shrine was guided by a wolf to this very spot as a messenger of the gods.

Although the average Shinto shrine in Japan is relatively simple, it is less common to see a shrine such as this with colorful, ornate decorations.

This extravagant style became popular with the more flashy shogunate of the Edo period, who were not opposed to showing off their wealth.

Near the shrine, there are a couple of restaurants serving the area's specialties, among other dishes.

And it's a good thing too, because I'm pretty hungry.

This is a Chichibu specialty called Waraji Katsudon, made with fried pork and it smells amazing.

To head back to the town centre, I need to grab the same bus back down that only goes once an hour, so if you want to follow my footsteps, I've put together some more information on the itinerary and its destinations in the link below.

Back in the central area by the station, there are a few smaller shrines, with the most important being Chichibu Shrine.

This one is responsible for the annual Chichibu Night festival that takes place on December 2 and 3.

And the elaborate floats of the festival make a lot of sense.

When you see the colorful carvings and decorations of the shrine, you can see the impressive floats at the nearby museum.

If you're not here in December though, Among the sake barrels at the shrine's main hall, you can also see barrels Bocchichi Bu's famous whiskey Ichiro Malt, which we'll be trying pretty soon.

But first, shrines often have their own special good luck charms and other items.

And here the specialty is their omikuji or your written fortune.

This is a rare type of fortune where you have to dip it in the water to find out your fate.

But they didn't have the normal ones so I had to get a kids wand.

Outside the shrine entrance, you're connected right onto Bamba Shopping street and its retro restaurants and shops.

And of course, when in Chichibu, you can't forget to try the whiskey.

Chichibu is the birthplace of the award winning Ichiro's Malt, a whisky brand whose various types of single and blended whiskies are often completely sold out.

I'm still a beginner when it comes to whisky, so I've ordered a highball which is whiskey and soda.

And the whiskey is this Ichiro's Malt, which is made in a Japanese oak barrel, which gives it a flavor you can't really get anywhere else.

I think that was the perfect way to end my day in Chichibu.

But it certainly wasn't our team's first day trip, so maybe next you can check out Karuzo.