Travel back in time at Sawara, Chiba’s retro riverside town.

Sawara’s Historical District, found in the northeastern part of Chiba Prefecture, is an impeccably antique town that once served as an important commercial hub for domestic trade. The area has managed to maintain its charming old-world aesthetic: a glassy river lined with willow trees flowing between shop fronts with wooden lattices and iconic tile-roofed buildings.

If you’re still on the hunt for some divine luck, you can check out the thousand-year-old Kanpuku-ji Temple, one of the three great temples dedicated to warding off evil in Japan. Sawara also has a packed festival calendar too, including the Sawara Grand Festival, the town’s largest celebration, which has a history of over 300 years. It is held twice a year; once in July at Yasaka Shrine, and October, at Suwa Shrine, and sees the streets filled with incredible floats. There is also the Suigo Omigawa Fireworks Festival on August 1; the mid-August Bon Festival in Sawara where the town is decorated with lanterns; and the Hina Masturi, a festival for the health and safety of girls, which features a river parade.