Sightseeing Spots

This shrine was said to be founded by Yamato Takeru, the 12th Emperor of Japan, around 2,000 years ago. The current main building of the shrine is Shinto-style architecture, where the main hall and worship hall share one roof and are connected by an intermediate passageway. The main shrine, hall of offerings, and hall of worship were rebuilt during the end of the Edo period to the early Meiji period. The shrine is said to protect from fires, theft, and pain. Not only do many worshipers come from the local area, but also from throughout Kanto region, with more than one million annual visitors.

Chichibu Festival Museum exhibits materials related to the booths and kasaboko (combined umbrella and halberd carried on floats in some festivals) of the Chichibu night festival that takes place every year on the 2nd and 3rd of December. The booths, kasaboko, curtain, sculptures made by Shōwa’s master craftsmen are arranged in a design related to the Myōken belief. At noon, the lanterns are switched on to reproduce the night festival. Within the noise of the palatial Chichibu booth music, the luxurious booth and kasaboko can be seen right before your eyes.

This park is situated in the rich nature of the Nagaonekyuryo mountains that straddle the border between Chichibu City and Ogano Town. This sprawling area of 375 hectares is divided into three themed zones, Forest of Sports, Forest of Music and Forest of Culture, with each area connected by a 3 km long "Sky Road." This park is best known as one of the best spots to view a breathtaking sea of clouds. The Chichibu area has the perfect conditions for a sea of clouds to form, due to the fog produced by radiative cooling in the Chichibu mountain area. If you get lucky, you may even be able to see the symbolic bridge of Chichibu appear to be floating above the clouds. Chichibu Muse Park has a variety of attractions, such as a music hall, an outdoor stage, Muse Fountain, a spacious garden, and sports facilities. Chichibu Muse Park is the perfect place to enjoy your day, surrounded by the beautiful changing seasons.

The Arakawa Line downstream boating in Chichibu Nagatoro allows you to ride upon the beautifully layered stone riverbed, which is designated as a national natural monument. It is a relaxing course with a couple of thrills along the way, but perfectly safe for children and seniors to enjoy as well. While listening to the boatman's entertaining speech, you can enjoy the cherry blossoms in the spring, the cool breeze in the summer, the beautiful colors of autumn, and the warmth of the kotatsu (heated table) boat in the winter. In other words, a perfect outdoor activity regardless of the season!

“Seibu Chichibu Ekimae Onsen Matsuri no Yu,” is a large combination hot spring facility based on Chichibu’s specialty, “Festivals.” The facility contains Matsuri no Yu, with four types of open-air baths, a highly concentrated artificial carbonated hot spring and six indoor baths (five for men) to enjoy. Additionally in this area, which takes pride in its rich variety of hot springs, there is a Japanese style food court and an area selling local products perfect as souvenirs, making this facility packed full of Chichibu’s local charm.

Kita-zakura Street is the tunnel of cherry blossoms, with about 400 cherry blossoms lining a 2.5 kilometer road that runs the length of the Arakawa river from Nagatoro Station to Takasago Bridge. The Sakura Passage is located at the foot of Mt. Hodo in Nagatoro Town. Here you can see about 500 cherry blossoms trees with more than 30 varieties of double cherry blossoms. During the flowering season, they are lit up with beautiful illuminations. The best time to see the flowers is from early April to mid-April on Kita-zakura Street and from mid-April to late April on the Sakura Passage.

Surrounded by lush greenery and famous for its shibazakura (lawn cherry) and cherry blossoms, this park is located on a hill overlooking the city center and has been long-cherished as a place to relax by the local citizens. There is a hill overlooking the city and surrounding mountains, "Miharashi no Oka," an athletic park "Wanpaku Hiroba" for children to play at, and exhibition halls such as the Mt. Bukou Museum and Yamato Art Museum.

The building was built in 1930 and was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in 2001. At the Chichibu-Meisen museum, you can learn about the history of Chichibu-Meisen, view the exhibits, and try your hand at stencil dyeing and weaving. All the equipment displayed in the museum is still in use, and if you are lucky, you can even see it in action.

The history of the temple is said to date back about 2,000 years ago, to the reign of Emperor Keiko. During the Kamakura period (1185-1333), when faith in Mt. Mitumine spread, Hatakeyama Shigetada, Nitta Yoshioki, and others worshipped here. During the Tokugawa period (1603-1867), the Kishu shogunate and the Kishu family were revered, and gifts from the Kishu family in particular are still treasured by this shrine. When autumn arrives, the “Fifteen Nights and Moon Reading Festival” is held to herald the arrival of autumn in the mountains of Chichibu.

The magnificent and beautiful “Ashigakubo Icicles” is one of Chichibu’s three major icicle formations. These icicles, measuring about 30 meters high and 200 meters wide, are artificially created by sprinkling stream water on the slope of the mountain. Every year from early January to late February, you can immerse yourself in a fantasy realm created by nature and the locals.

This ropeway was installed on Mt. Hodōsan at an altitude of 497 meters, connecting the 832 meter distance from Sanroku Station to Sanchō Station in 5 minutes. The two gondolas go back and forth between Sanroku and Sanchō Stations operating under a four-line crossing system. The gondolas’ names, “The Bambi” and “The Monkey I,” both originate from the popular Japanese macaque and deer that inhabit the small zoo on Mt. Hodōsan.

Plum planting began in 1986 at Ume Hyakkaen Garden. You can enjoy about 170 varieties of plum flowers, including rare ones such as the early blooming red plum during the winter solstice and the three famous flowers of the moon, mangetsu, tagoto, and soumei. From mid-February, about 470 plum are in full bloom, and the fragrant plum scent spreads all the way to the summit.

This facility consists of 12 groups of fruit farmers, with the closest station being Ashigakubo Station on Seibu Chichibu Line. You can find this collection of fruit farms, aka Fruits Village, by the southern slope of Hinatayama in the Ashigakubo district. Fruits are harvested all year round, with strawberries from early January to mid-May, plums from early July to mid-August, and grapes from mid-August to mid-October. The sweet taste of fully-ripened fruits and the clean air of the great outdoors is a special experience. We encourage you to stop by! There is also a restaurant, “Ashigakubo Fruits Garden,” a “Farming Village Park” with a 100-meter roller slide nearby, and many great courses for hiking.

Enjoy the refreshing air around this beautiful waterfall originating from a mountain stream that flows from Mt. Ryokami in the Chichibu mountain range. Also, Onouchi Hyakukei Icicle, one of the three major icicles of Chichibu, can be found here from the beginning of January to the end of February every year.

Presenting the theme, "From the past to the future: traveling 300 million years through Saitama's history of people's coexistence with nature," Saitama Museum of Natural History stores various resources related to nature, and displays the fossils of giant shark, “Megalodon," and mysterious sea animal, “Paleoparadoxia," discovered in Saitama Prefecture. The museum is constructed into two halls: the "Geology Exhibition," where visitors can learn about various fossils, rocks and minerals, geological strata and earth formations, and the "Biology Exhibition," featuring large dioramas of the four major forests of Saitama and the animals that live in them. Nagatoro area is a perfect example of the nature in Saitama, and here you can enjoy detailed explanations of its characteristics for a deeper understanding. You can also enjoy simulations and free audio guides. (For more information regarding the facility, please refer to the URL below.)

This garden is located on a vast field of about 10,000 square meters behind the Nagatoro Town Folk Museum. The Japanese name "Hanabishisou" comes from the shape of the California golden poppy, which is said to resemble a rhombus ("hishi" in Japanese, read "bishi" in the name). In early summer, California golden poppies bloom all over the entire hill, and from May to June, the contrast between the deep blue sky and the vivid orange flowers is mesmerizing.

Marking 2100 years, Gochinza, a Sōja of Chichibu, has been revered since ancient times. In a forest of oak, there is an atmosphere with style and solemn beauty. The existing main building of the shrine is a contribution of Ieyasu Tokugawa in 1592 and was designated as Saitama Prefecture’s tangible cultural property due to the fact that it holds much of the Edo period’s early architectural style.

Located in Chichibu Muse park's "Forest of Sports," this is a facility that anyone can enjoy regardless of age! In a mix of planted and native forests, seven zip lines have been installed high above the valley, making it one of the largest parks in Japan. The park is for adults and children aged 10 years and older. The courses are set at high altitudes making this forest adventure particularly popular among adults!

The park is named after the stone tablet on which Kyoshi Takahama wrote the haiku “Kokoniware Kuotomubeki Tsukinoishi,” and is very famous for its autumn leaves. The best time to see the autumn leaves is around November, with the illumination of around 50 acer amoenums Japanese maples. The area is very crowded during this time, especially with photography aficionados. You can enjoy the autumn leaves at the adjacent prefectural nature museum as well.

A simple sulfur hot spring. Chichibu Yumoto is a day trip hot spring with the Bukō Onsen as its source, and is effective for a range of chronic diseases such as nerve pain, sore muscles, joint pain, stiff shoulders, and poor blood circulation. One can fully enjoy nature in the liberating open-air bath with the hinoki (wooden) bath, which gives the gentle feeling of trees, and the rock bath, which provides a simple natural atmosphere. Nearby there are also Bukō Auto Campsite (Phone Number: 0494-23-8229) and lodging facility Bukō Onsen Bekkan (annex) (For reservations: 0494-24-4141).

Enjoy the all-you-can-eat package at the farm, or pick and take the strawberries home instead! It's possible the all-you-can-eat will be finished depending on the season's harvest. All-you-can-eat varieties: Beni-poppe, Tochiotome, Yayoihime, Souvenir varieties: Amarin, Beni-poppe, Tochiotome, Yayoihime

Established 290 years ago, Nagatorogura Sake Brewery and Boutique Store is a sake brewery that carries on the spirit of 11th Hino merchant Sōbē Fujisaki, who devoted his life to bringing Saitama’s Japanese sake to the world. In September 2018, to further pursue Sōbe Fujisaki's sake brewing tradition of “polish with skill and brew from your heart," the sake brewery moved to Nagatoro, a beautiful place of nature. Using naturally flowing water from the Fuppu area and rice grown on Saitama soil, we are producing the Japanese sake "THE SAITAMA ORIGINAL." (For more information about our facility, please visit the URL below.)

Chichibu Shrine has long been an important presence in the town and remains a popular spot for Chichibu residents. Many structures dating from the early 1900s line Banba Street, the cobblestone road that leads to the shrine, providing a nostalgic atmosphere that recalls times gone by. Many shops still operate in buildings designated Registered Tangible Cultural Properties by the national government, allowing visitors to travel back in time to an earlier Japan.

Jigenji is Chichibu’s 13th sacred site on Japan’s 100 Kannon Pilgrimage. It has been famous as a "temple for eyes" for 780 years. Worshippers come from all over Japan with worries and concerns regarding the eye.