Saitama Hidden Gems
Tokyo's northern neighbour, where an Edo-era merchant town, river valleys and long-standing craft traditions sit half an hour from Ikebukuro.
4 spots
Climate & Best Season
Hot, humid summers (Kumagaya regularly tops Japan's charts) and dry, sunny winters. Spring and autumn are most comfortable.
Famous For (Food)
- Soba
- Unagi
- Sayama tea
- Kusadango
Signature Sights
- Kawagoe 'Little Edo'
- Chichibu valley & Mitsumine Shrine
- Nagatoro river boating
- Hitsujiyama Park shibazakura
Kadokawa Culture Museum
Kuma Kengo clad this building in about 20,000 slabs of granite hung at angles so the whole thing reads as a rock that ha…
Shibusawa Eiichi Memorial Museum
Shibusawa Eiichi was born in a farmhouse here in 1840 and went on to found or help found about five hundred companies, i…
Iwatsuki Doll Museum
Iwatsuki has made dolls since the Edo period, on the back of paulownia timber from the surrounding country and a plaster…
Oshi Castle
Oshi Castle held out in 1590 when Ishida Mitsunari, under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, dammed the surrounding rivers and tried to…