Kumagaya

Kumagaya (熊谷) is a city in northern Saitama.

Understand
Kumagaya was one of the post-towns on Nakasendo route connecting Kyoto and Tokyo, and is still an important traffic hub.

Climate
Kumagaya has a humid subtropical climat) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. Kumagaya is known for being one of the hottest areas in summer in Japan. This is caused by very hot winds from Tokyo and the Chichibu basin in the west of the prefecture. In central Tokyo, the summer monsoon enhanced by sea breeze is heated by the urban heat island. Also, from the Chichibu Mountains, the Föhn blows. The two winds converge above the city at about 14:00.

Tourist information site
The local tourist association has a Japanese-only guide site with some English information (click on the boxes at the middle).

Buy

 * Gokabo (五家宝) — Finger-sized traditional sweets. Good companion to green tea.

Stay Safe
Kumagaya is the record holder for the highest temperature in Japan - 41.1°C on 23 July 2018. Avoid mid-summer if you can.