Saitama

I'd been interested in this place for a while, so I decided to go. It's a bit of a walk from the station, but you go through a park, so it feels like a nice little stroll. The exterior is breathtaking. It's impressive whether you look at it from afar or up close. Children were playing in the water area. It was a hot day, so I was a little envious. To get a ticket, you just show your voucher to the person at the ticket counter. They give you a sticker, which you can put on your clothes or bag, and you can enter and exit anywhere. Projection mapping is shown every 20 minutes, so you can enjoy that as well as spend the whole day browsing books and reading at your leisure. There are plenty of places to sit, but on weekends, it might get quite crowded. For meals, there's a restaurant inside the building, and several more in the adjacent Sakura Town. I highly recommend this place to anyone who wants to spend time with a book.

With my electronic voucher, I went to the Seibu Railway service counter to complete the process. There were staff members who spoke Chinese, so communication wasn't a problem at all. It was a holiday, and there were almost no seats left on the Chichibu Limited Express before 11:30 AM. The staff member kindly helped me find a seat for the 9:00 AM departure (since I was traveling alone, finding a seat was easier). It was a truly unforgettable trip!

The driver was polite, attentive, the car was clean, and he drove steadily.

The museum is amazing. That is the main reason why I came here. But it is hard to get here. And navigation is lacking and confusing inside the resort. Also, it would be so much better to come here with friends/family and I am travelling solo.

Due to the itinerary, we went straight to Karuizawa on the first day and didn't realize that the Tokyo Wide Pass I bought on KKDay could only be redeemed for physical tickets at Narita, Tokyo, and Shinjuku stations. I am grateful to KKDay customer service for their assistance in canceling the ticket (after deducting a 10% handling fee).