Musashi Ichinomiya Hikawa Shrine is one of Saitama's most popular city-shrine. It can be found in Omiya (near Omiya Station), although I started my walk from the beginning of the Hikawa Omestando (laneway), which is near Saitama-Shintoshin Station.
It used to be the head Shinto shrine of the former Musashi Province, which covered present day Greater Tokyo, including large parts of Saitama and Chiba Prefecture. The shrine is set in lush greenery and has many auxiliary buildings and a small lake. Next to the shrine is a lovely park and a children's zoo. Its well worth the visit.
Note : there are many Hikawa shrines in Japan and each enshrines one of the most powerful Shinto God's - Susanoo, the God of the sea and storms (brother to Amaterasu the Goddess of the Sun).
