In the Area

• Accessible and affordable mall

  Kawagoe-shi

  Atre Maruhiro is the affordable version of the better known Maruhiro! It is right by Tobu Tojo Line Kawagoe station at the east exit. There are 8 floors of which 1 is in the basement. It sells clothes, shoes, accessories, cosmetics and some food. The 1st floor is dedicated to coffee shops and fast food eateries. There are also some services on this floor such as a hairdressers and shoe repair shop. There was previously a large information center here, but it has been downsized. The 2nd floor sells mainly cosmetics and accessories such as purses and wallets. This is were you will find the Kawagoe branch of The Body Shop. The 3rd floor to 5th floor sells clothes, the 6th floor has a book shop and relaxation and services, and the 7th floor is home to a number of restaurants. There are toilets on most floors and they put in a small family room when they renovated a couple of years ago.Atre Maruhiro is open 10 am to 9 pm. It used to close on Tuesdays, but started opening 7 days a week a few years ago. 

  

• English books for kids and adults

  Kawagoe-shi

  Books 1st in Lumine Kawagoe was one of the first stores to supply English books in Western Saitama. Nowadays, there are quite a few stores around where you will find English books for kids, but for quite sometime Books 1st was the only place you could get them. And while English books for kids are more commonplace now, it is still quite hard to find English novels and other books for adults.Books 1st bridges that gap, and saves me a trip to Tokyo to stock up on reading material.The store is located on the 4th floor of the Lumine in Kawagoe station, just as you come in the West entrance of the shared Tobu and JR station. It is right opposite the JR station entrance and ticket machines. There are escalators leading up to the bookstore. In the same building there is a Village Vanguard and Loft, but Books 1st is by far the busiest shop in the building. In all my years of using it, about eleven in total, I have never seen the place quiet. There is always a steady flow of customers and it is very hard to find an empty chair to sit down and peruse a book. The aisle with the English books is no exception. The English book aisle is toward the back of the store, aisles sixty-nine and seventy. They have a relatively good selection of the most famous of English language novels. They always have quite a few of the classics, and they change and update the supply of trending books quite frequently. They are just a little behind what is available in the West; you wouldn't for example, find a lot of the current tops books on the New York Times Best Seller's list. They have a lot of the original versions for native readers as well as some that are abridged for students of English. They also have self help books, history books, political books and other topics in the English language. It is also in this the foreign language section that they have "readers". Although a lot of the readers are what us native speakers would identify as children's books, they are in the foreign book section, not the children's books section. They are aimed at students of English and classified by their TOEIC level. TOEIC is one of the most popular English language proficiency tests in Japan. It stands for "Test of English for International Communication".The English children's books are housed in the children's book section, aisles 34 and 35. They have a lot of Eric Carle, Curious George, Little Golden Books, Richard Scarry, Puffin books and classic children's tales. They are a little more expensive than what you would buy online, but at least you can flick through the books before you buy them.It is one of the best English language book suppliers outside of Tokyo that I have found to date. And that is in a train station makes it very convenient. They are open from 10 am to 10 pm, seven days a week. There is parking in the Lumine car park, but it is a bit away from the store. It is on the West side of the station near the Gusto. It is open 24 hours. If you spend over 1000 yen in Lumine you get one hour free parking. 

  

• Conveniently located close to the station

  Kawagoe-shi

  The play centre is located on the 4th floor of a civic centre for citizens, commonly referred to as "Kurasse" which is the buildings name. Below it there is a library and above it there are meeting rooms and citizen services. The staff are very helpful, but to the best of my knowledge none of them speak English. They have some pamphlets and information for living in Kawagoe, but they are all in Japanese only. The centre isn't particularly big, but it has enough to entertain young kids. There is a main hall with some play equipment including climbing boxes and a slide. They hold events here including an English language event three times a month. Beside the office of the children's centre there is a smaller room with quite a few toys including a play kitchen. There are a selection of books in the hall, including some English books. They have clean and well kept toilets divided into ladies and mens, and they also have a wheelchair accessible toilet that has a changing mat. The centre is open from 9.30 am Wednesday to Monday, closing on Tuesdays except when its a public holiday. It is conveniently located within minutes walk of JR and Tobu Tojo line Kawagoe station. There is parking down a narrow alleyway beside the centre, but parking is charged. I previously drove an American car (Chrysler, Voyager) which was too big to turn into the car park! I have an 8 seater now too, but it is a Japanese model and therefore a bit narrower and it can navigate the turn no problem. 

  

• Popular, tasty Italian restaurant... with placenta drinks!

  Kawagoe-shi

  When I walked into this branch of Popolamama in the otherwise boring Unicus Kawagoe shopping mall, I was quite surprised how busy it was at 11.30 in the morning. I was equally surprised to realise that every single solitary patron was female. Always a good sign in Japan. I soon understood why. Popolamama offers very reasonably priced lunches that seem to be quite healthy and most definitely delicious. The lunch set is a pasta dish with a side for 600 yen or for another 150 yen you can have, what they call here, "drink bar". The drink bar has all you can drink soft drinks, coffee and a great selection of tea, but it was the restaurant's specials that caught my eye. They have 2 health drinks on tap, which you rarely see here. One was a mixture of 15 fruit and vegetables and was much better tasting than I had anticipated. The other was absolutely delicious, if you can get past the fact that it has PLACENTA in it. Drinks with placenta in them are said to keep you looking beautiful and have health benefits. No doubt the placenta with muscat drink is one of the contributory factors to the restaurant's popularity among women. Supposedly its pig placenta and I was very reluctant to taste it, but I was very glad I did. Like most restaurants in Japan, they have some utensils and dishes for kids to use so you can share your food. If you prefer, you can order your child a kid's meal, which looked very appetising. They have high chairs and bumper chairs that clip onto the table with an additional support that rests on the chair beneath. They have full allergy information on their website. No English menus or English information online. Popolamama is close to the West exit of Kawagoe station. Parking is shared with Unicus. You need to get a ticket as you come into the car park and get it validated in the restaurant for free parking. 

  

• Popular and friendly dentists with some English

  Kawagoe-shi

  I was torn between a four or a five star review for this dentists. However, the only reason it would lose a star is the wait. Even with an appointment we were waiting just under an hour to be seen. In fairness, that is not bad, actually quite standard in my own country, but I have become accustomed to Japanese efficiency. On balance, with everything else it has to offer it deserves a five star rating. The upsides of Lion are plentiful. It is located within minutes walk of the West exit of Kawagoe station. There are free parking spaces for up to 15 cars. They have a kids play area. Kids also get a toy on leaving the dentists. One of the dental booths can fit a buggy or stroller. The booths are bright and colourful and have flatscreen TVs which plays cartoons for kids, news programmes for adults. If you need any work done, you can get it done then and there, or you can make an appointment for another day. They do implants. They have equipment for taking scans. Every patient can receive fluorine coating for free. They are open until 8.30 pm. I have saved the best for last: the dentists and dental nurses are very skilled, very patient and thorough, and some of them speak English. One has international accreditation. My 3 year old was terrified of going to the dentist and wouldn't open her mouth at first. I was suitably impressed by her dentist's patience and technique. She even said after, she wants to go again. They are open Monday to Friday 9.30 am to 1 pm and again from 3 pm to 8.30 pm. On Saturdays they are open from 9.30 am to 1 pm and from 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm. It is recommended you make an appointment.