Sightseeing Spots

Located in the Hanyu Parking Area on the Tohoku Expressway (Tokyo-bound), Onihei Edodokoro is a facility that recreates the world of the historical novel series "Onihei Hankacho." Visitors can experience the streetscapes and culture of the Edo period, as well as savor the authentic flavors of Edo that were beloved by Shotaro Ikenami, the author of "Onihei Hankacho" and a renowned gourmet. The food court features long-established shops and famous restaurants that preserve traditional Edo flavors to this day. Establishments such as "Gotetsu," the game fowl hot pot restaurant that appears in "Onihei Hankacho," have been faithfully recreated, allowing visitors to feel as though they've stepped into the world of the stories. The souvenir shop stocks a wide variety of traditional products from established stores, highway souvenirs, and numerous original Onihei Edodokoro items that can only be found here.

As celebrated in a traditional Sayama tea picking song: "Shizuoka for color, Uji for aroma, and Sayama for flavor." Sayama tea ranks among Japan's top three teas, alongside Shizuoka tea and Uji tea. At Miyanoen, visitors can enjoy hands-on experiences that bring them closer to Sayama tea. Their tea leaf-picking experience includes wearing traditional red aprons (available for rent), tasting the tea you've freshly picked, sampling unique tea leaf tempura, and creating matcha art - all wonderful ways to immerse yourself in both Sayama tea and Japanese tea culture.

A fermentation theme park run by Pickles Corporation, a tsukemono (Japanese pickles) maker. There are select shops for fermented foods, cafes, restaurants, and workshops available. You can eat dishes made with koji (rice with added fermentation culture) and lactic acid bacteria, and buy pickles and fermented foods carefully selected from all over the country.

Oshi Castle is one of seven famous castles in the Kanto region, built during the civilization years of the Muromachi period. It is known as an “Uki-jō (Floating Castle),” as it is said to have endured the flooding of Ishida Mitsunari during Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s suppression of Kanto. The story of this castle was the model for the movie “Nobō-no-Shiro (The Floating Castle).” It is currently listed as one of Japan's Top 100 castles. The “Oshijyō Gosankaiyagura (Oshi Castle Three Story Turret)” was torn down during the Meiji period and rebuilt in 1988, with the inside turned into an exhibition room of the local museum, and a view of the entire city can be seen from the top floor.

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.

Sprawling out over the Hiki Hills, this 46-hectare site is home to popular animals such as giraffes, red pandas, and koalas, as well as an ecological park dedicated to Humboldt penguins, Penguin Hills. Also adjacent to the park are a walking trail and cross-country course. The zoo is the only place in Japan where visitors can see the small rodent, gundi, at the "Eco Houchoo" (Eco-friendly mouse house), the rabbit-like yellow-spotted rock hyrax, the world's smallest deer, pudu, and the quokka, which joined the zoo to commemorate its 40th anniversary. The Capybara Hot Springs, a winter tradition, is also very popular.

Reopening May 30, 2025: Roadside Station Ogawamachi is being renewed as a vibrant hub for cultural exchange and regional revitalization, centered around the theme of “Handmade Washi Paper and Organic Lifestyle.”
[Traditional Craft Area]
Try your hand at traditional papermaking, uchiwa fan crafting, and washi lantern making. Please visit our Traditional Crafts Facility page for more details. There’s also a washi exhibition room and a shop where you can purchase washi products.
[Local Industry Promotion Area]
Features a gift shop with local specialty products, a farmers' market selling fresh local produce, a cafeteria, and places to enjoy fast food and sweets.
[Community Plaza]
Includes a fun playground for children. You can also rent electric bicycles for touring the surrounding countryside.

Surrounded by splendid nature, this is a factory where you can build canoes with the local Nishikawa timber. You can also rent canoes and try them out before building your own. Or just stop by if you're simply looking to have some fun in the river!

Founded in 1940 by Gensaku Asami, Chichibu Wine is the oldest winery in Saitama. Known for its award-winning wines and deep local roots, it gained early recognition when a French priest compared its wine to Bordeaux. Visitors can enjoy tastings and learn about the winemaking process on-site.

At the Haniwa building located inside the Saitama Kofun Group, anyone can experience making their own Haniwa with the help of an instructor. Creating a Haniwa takes 3 steps: molding for 90 to 120 minutes, drying for about a month, and finally heating the Haniwa in the kiln located inside the building for around 7 hours at 800℃. Once the Haniwa is completed, it can either be retrieved in person or be delivered and paid for on arrival.

This roadside station is surrounded by rich green mountains, the clear streams of the Yokose River, clean air, and seasonal flowers and fruit trees. Inside the station, there is a farmers' market, restaurant, information center, resting area, hands-on experience dōjō (udon/soba), ceramics classroom and a gallery. Outside, there is an open space for relaxing and a deck where one can view the river from above. You can also enjoy a walk next to the Yokose river. ※Facilities listed in the Saitama Industrial Tourism Guidebook, "Manufacturing Guidebook."

Established during the late Edo Kaei era (1850), Japanese sake, ume liqueur and sake lees are sold at this old-fashioned sake brewery and Taishō period store. Visitors can enjoy a cozy experience that can only be had at a small brewery. If touring the brewery, you will also get a small sake cup as a present. You can taste and compare various alcohols kept at different temperatures, and sake tasting games are also on the menu. Please consult with us regarding the content experience and pricing. Tours are held regardless of the season, but sake is prepared during the winter. There are times when it is difficult to hold tours during the sake preparation season.

Tabi to Kurashi (Tabi and Life) Museum was originally a factory of tabi socks delivering to tabi stores under the name Bokuya Honten (Main Branch). The factory was reborn as a museum, retaining most of the original factory’s appearance. At the museum, demonstrations by individuals who used to be tabi craftsmen can be seen, and your own original tabi (additional cost) can be made every second Sunday of the month.

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.

Matsumoto Soy Sauce Factory has been making soy sauce in Kawagoe for around 250 years. The brewery, established in 1764, still carries out production with traditional methods using 40 cedar vats that have been in use since the Edo period. At a tour of this soy sauce brewery, designated an important part of Kawagoe's city landscape, you can experience firsthand the tradition of soy sauce production.

※The museum has been undergoing earthquake-proofing renovation since 2017, and is currently closed to the public. The Kawagoe Kurazukuri Museum was built by tobacco wholesaler Koyama Bunzō after the great fire in 1893 and designed referencing the few houses of Kurazukuri which survived the fire and merchant houses of the Tokyo Nihonbashi area. Visitors can tour the inside of the Kurazukuri houses of Kawagoe, where the atmosphere of the Meiji era can be felt to this day in the buildings' structure and design.

This facility, marked by its unique outer appearance, is a comprehensive learning facility with a planetarium, astronomical observation room, large-screen displays, hands-on learning rooms and workshops. There is also an attached restaurant, farmers market and the Ukino Miso processing facility. The planetarium was renovated and reopened on March 22nd, 2015. It features the latest monocular ultra-high resolution 8K-compatible digital projector, that can project realistic and powerful images of the starry skies and outer space, giving hope and excitement to people of all ages.

The Center for Environmental Science in Saitama is a core institution of environmental sciences which combines an environmental education center and the national institute for environmental studies in one facility. We offer various exhibitions and events through which local residents can study about the environment. Renovations were completed in 2020, and a new exhibition hall, “Sai Kankan,” has been added. Please come and see the changes for yourself in this eye-catching renewal! The giant theater in Sai Kankan Dome has an enormous screen that fills your entire field of vision. There are two shows: “A Chapter on the Earth’s Environment,” which takes on global environmental issues, and “A Chapter on the Biological Environment,” which views environmental issues through the lens of a dragonfly. There are 42 seats available.

This barbecue area opened along the river in 2013 is the first in Tokyo to be operated by a private company. Reserve your favorite spot by the Toki River and enjoy barbecuing in the great outdoors!

This campsite is surrounded by trees and located in the ravine alongside the Tokigawa River. The facility is well-equipped with a building for cooking, showers and restrooms, making it a safe place to have fun camping. Japanese salmon and char fish swim in the nearby shallow river, giving visitors an up-close-and-personal experience with the great outdoors.

Please contact the farms listed in the link below for information about grape picking in Yokoze Town! Prices vary depending on the type of grape. You can also purchase grapes at the Ashigakubo Roadside Station (The farms will ship grapes when they are ready to eat. We apologize for any inconvenience if they are sold out). All farms incorporate appropriate hygiene precautions for a safe and comfortable visit.

The two authentic Dashis (festival cars) pulled at the Kawagoe Festival are on display along with materials related to the Kawagoe Festival. At this exhibition hall, the powerful atmosphere of the Kawagoe Festival can be experienced all year round. There is also a regular demonstration of musical accompaniment (about 20 minutes).

The only sake brewery at Kura no Machi, Kawagoe. Though the sake brewery cannot be toured, the adjoining Matsumoto Shōyu, established 200 years ago, can be toured free of charge. Please stop by for a visit! The sake brewery is only 1 minute by foot from the Toki no Kane, the center of Kawagoe’s tourist destination.

The Iwadonokyūryō (rocky hills) around this experience center are comprised mainly of the Toki River layer group, strata accumulated in the sea 10 to 15 million years ago, which contain a wide range of fossils. This experience center is the only facility in the prefecture where visitors can experience digging up fossils, such as shark teeth, from 15 million-year-old conglomerate rock. Together with the lecturer, challenge yourself to dig up fossils using a sieve, hammer and chisel! Most of the fossils you find can be brought home, with some exceptions. Since the fossil digging takes place inside the facility, activities can be enjoyed even on rainy days.