Discover More of Saitama! ② Embark on a Chichibu Pilgrimage via 360° Video!

The Chichibu 34 Kannon Temple Circuit is a pilgrimage route through western Saitama Prefecture, leading travelers through small villages and along forest paths or mountainsides covered in trees, to find 34 different Buddhist temples and images of the goddess Kannon. Pilgrims have been trekking along this countryside route through Saitama since the 13th century, and to this day travelers can pick up some white robes (called hakui, 白衣) and straw hats (sugegasa, 菅笠), start from the easily-accessible Jigenji Temple, and try their own pilgrimage. For travelers who love getting out into the great outdoors and enjoying the natural beauty of Japan, chatting with locals along the road, and exploring beautiful temples, it's a trip we'd recommend!

▶ Find more about the Chichibu 34 Kannon Temple Circuit in our article here!

On our recent trip along this sacred route, all of us on the Japankuru team wanted to try our best to take you with us, even from afar! So this time, we made use of a handy bit of technology in our collection: the Insta360 ONE X2. This 360° camera has some impressive features: great video quality and camera stabilization, a waterproof body, and even the ability to automatically edit out the monopod (or selfie-stick) used when shooting. You may have seen footage taken with it in some of our past articles, like when we went snowshoeing in the Aizu area of Fukushima, or took some fun snapshots at Yomiuriland.

This time, we went all in, making our most immersive video yet, so that we could bring you along as we ventured through Saitama's wooded mountainsides and into the little temples we searched out along the way. We hope the 360° immersion makes it feel like you're right there with us! Look out for more on Saitama, coming soon.