Kawagoe Town

About 30 minutes from Tokyo by train, Kawagoe Town, in Saitama Prefecture, is worth a day trip just for the peaceful stroll into another era; peaceful, unless you experience a sugar rush from all the sweet potato–based treats available along "Candy Street." Known as "Little Edo," after the old name for Tokyo, Kawagoe preserves an 19th-century (or earlier) feeling along its main street of traditional warehouse storefronts, not far from the famous Time Bell Tower. One shop is practically a museum of handcrafted swords and knives of all shapes, sizes, and functions.