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.
5 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
Sakitama Kofun Park
Nine large burial mounds stand together in a field at Gyoda, including Maruhakayama, one of the largest round mounds in…
Gongendo Embankment
Gongendo is a flood embankment along the old course of the Naka river, about a kilometre of it planted with around a tho…
Hachigata Castle
Hachigata was the Hojo clan's forward castle on the Arakawa, built on a natural terrace with the river cutting a cliff o…
Kinchakuda
Kinchakuda is a loop of flat land inside a hairpin bend of the Koma river, shaped like a drawstring purse, which is what…
Ogose Bairin
Ogose Bairin is counted among the three great plum groves of the Kanto region and holds about a thousand trees, includin…