Sightseeing Spots

The nature and the culture of Namegawa town is structured to resemble a museum, with the Eco-Museum Center acting as a hub that provides a wide range of information about Namegawa town. The Tokyo bitterling, a freshwater fish native to Japan, is designated as a national treasure. Research related to its artificial breeding and ecology has been taking place in order to re-introduce the Tokyo bitterling to the wildlife.

※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 museum is jointly established by Honjo City and Waseda University. The museum traces the history of Honjo City from the Paleolithic period through archaeological materials. In addition to the nationally rare laughing human haniwa (terra-cotta tomb figurine) holding a shield and their complete cast of a small glass ball, visitors can see a variety of valuable materials owned by Waseda University.

The Old Yamazaki Family Villa was built as a retreat for Kashichi Yamazaki, the 5th generation of Kameya, a long-established confectionery store of Kawagoe. The building and other components have been recognized as having national cultural significance; the main house, tearoom, and the benches of the waiting room were designated as tangible cultural properties of the city in 2000, a portion of the building was donated to the city in 2006, the garden was registered as the national monument (place of scenic beauty) in 2011, and the main building was designated as a National Important Cultural Property in 2019. The garden of the former Yamazaki family's villa is also recognized as a valuable example of a Japanese-style garden, including a tea ceremony room designed by Katsuya Hoka along with Japanese and Western-style buildings, and is highly regarded as “a contribution to the development of landscape gardening culture."

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). 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.

Built on the site of Japan's first airfield, Tokorozawa Airfield, this large park has an area of about 50 hectares. Overflowing with nature, the park is never without visitors. There are real airplanes, as well as sports facilities, an athletic field with artificial grass, a tennis court, and a baseball field. There is also an outdoor stage, tearoom, and a Japanese garden, making the park a center for exchange between sports and culture in the western part of the prefecture. (For more information regarding the facility, please refer to the URL below.)

In hopes of having the role of the “Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel”, a regional flood control facility, understood at a deeper level, we have made our study tours more appealing and have started a new study tour. In addition to the popular tour of the surge tank, known as  "underground shrine" , secret passages, pump rooms, and sections for the gas turbine will be opened to the public through 4 different courses. Please experience the grandeur of the “Metropolitan Outer Area Underground Discharge Channel”. Please check the URL below for details regarding tours and facilities.

The Iwadonokyūryō around the experience center mainly comes from the Toki River layer group, a stratum accumulated from 15 million to 10 million years ago, containing a wide range of fossils. The experience center is one of the only facilities within the prefecture in which the digging of fossils, such as 15 million-year-old shark teeth, can be experienced. Challenge yourself to dig up fossils using a sieve, hammer, and graver with a lecturer! Fossils you find, with some expectations, can be brought home. Since the digging of fossils takes place inside, this is a facility in which activities can be enjoyed even on rainy days.

This is one of the largest flower markets in eastern Japan. There is a guided course through the market facility, allowing anyone to easily observe the auction (Monday/Wednesday/Friday). There is also a restaurant inside the facility.

In 1187, the Yoshikawa clan reestablished the indigenous deity of Suwa shrine as the guardian deity of the Yoshikawa Shrine. The precincts of the shrine also include a Yasaka Shrine, Furumine Shrine, Inari Shrine, Matsuo Shrine, Yoshikawa Tenmangu Shrine, Suijingu Eight Great Dragons, and Shikatou Daimyojin. The old Shimotsuma Highway runs behind the shrine, and the large bay and camphor trees in the front and back parts of the precincts tell us that this is a shrine with a long history. Every year in July, the Yasaka Festival, which has a history of about 400 years, is held. The highlight is the "mikoshi," portable shrines that are carried and thrown high above the heads of the bearers.

Maruki Gallery for the Hiroshima Panels was built by the collaborative husband and wife artists Iri and Toshi Maruki. Their goal was to create a place where anyone, at any time, could see their collaborative work "The Hiroshima Panels," 15 panels depicting the effects of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In 1966, they moved to Shimo Karako, Higashi Matsuyama City, and the following year, they opened the Maruki Gallery for the Hiroshima Panels, where they spent more than 30 years completing all 15 panels. The museum also holds special exhibitions, lectures, concerts, and other events on the theme of war and life.

The Saitama Prefectural Forest Park "Kenmin no Mori" is a recreation area that spreads northwards of Mt. Maruyama (altitude 960m). You can enjoy the forest and wild grass of each season, see flowers and trees that you’ve only seen in photos, and meet animals in their natural state. Enjoy a heart-warming and refreshing experience!

Tsurugashimashi Sports Park is known for its plentiful greenery and consideration of the natural ecosystem. It has a wooded area that utilizes the area's natural forest, a waterfront area centered on the Ootagaya marsh, and a variety of exercise facilities centered on the main ground. This sports park can be easily used by people of all ages, from children to the elderly. The park also serves as a tourist center for the city, being the venue for the Tsurugashima Cherry Blossom Festival in the spring and the Tsurugashima Industrial Festival in the fall.

This is a museum for the classics of the Rolls Royce and the Bentley, in which the Bentley was beloved by Jirō Shirasu and the Rolls Royce by the former prime minister, Shigeru Yoshida. See the door open and close, hear the sound of the engine, and come into contact with the running figure of the car; the power of these once active famous cars can be felt to this day.

Our building is located in a place that has undergone a transition from the Kamakura period’s samurai’s palace, “Sugaya-yakata”, to the Sengoku period’s castle, “Sugaya-jō”. Opened as the Saitama Prefectural Historical Data Museum in April of 1976, and later in April 1st of 2006, based on the plan for reorganization and maintenance of the prefectural museum facility, documents related to the Sugaya-yakata along with the collection, storage, and research investigation of archaeological materials related to medieval historic sites such as the medieval castles were completed. Plotting its application, the museum was rebuilt with the purpose of contributing to the development of education, learning, and culture. At this time, the name of the building was changed from Saitama Prefectural Historical Data Museum to its current name. (For more information regarding the facility, please refer to the URL below)

The Saitama Forest Science Museum is a place where visitors can learn about both forests and forestry and deepen their understanding of the roles of forests and forestry. The Museum was built by Saitama Prefecture to encourage and support the local forestry industry.

“Kiyasse Hanyū” is the nickname for Hanyū City Mitakaya agricultural and forest park. At the park, with an area of roughly 3.6 hectares, there is a “Shiki no Oka” with lots of flowers, a production building that boasts local vegetables taken in the morning, a beer factory that manufactures Hanyū’s local beer “Kobushi Hana Beer”, and a restaurant where you can enjoy handmade udon. Inside the park, there are playground equipment for kids to play with and events allowing you to experience harvest all year round.

We offer tourism information and brochures for sightseeing on the first floor of Pepe Honkawagoe Station of Seibu Shinjuku Line. This is the closest visitor information center to Koedo Kawagoe and the Kurazukuri townscape. In addition, we offer wheelchair rental and baggage storage services (payment required).

This is the village shrine of Ōsawa. It is said to be the Katori Shrine from Saishiro which was transferred here. The establishment is mentioned as Ōei era (1394 to 1428) in the “Meisaichō”. Given that the vicinity belonged to Shimo-usa-no-kuni in medieval times, the Shimo-usa-no-kuni Ichi-no-miya Katori Jingū was made into the village’s shrine in hopes of the Buddha honoring his presence in the village. Despite the shrine being built in Sagishiro, with the maintenance of the Ōushū Kaidō, it was built on the current ground around the Kan’ei era (1624 to 1644). According to the date of construction, the current main shrine was rebuilt in 1866. Around one side of the main shrine, a sign of the dyer’s operation is engraved. It is the work of Takejiro Hasegawa who resides in Mount Asama San’ya-machi and is the city’s designated cultural property.

This is a facility where one can experience farming that cannot be experienced in the city, such as rice growing and harvesting of vegetables. Start your own rice planting and rice reaping by becoming an owner of a rice field, you can also experience harvesting greenhouse strawberries. Further, inside the site attached to the Kitagawa local museum, there are agricultural tools on display, elaborately devised through the predecessors’ wisdom.

The railway museum opened on October 14th, 2007 in Ōmiya, Saitama as part of Japan Railways (JR) Group’s 20th-anniversary commemorative project. The South Building was newly opened in July of 2018, with the permanent exhibition of the main building renewed extensively. Through this renewal, the inside of the building has been divided into stations of 5 categories: rolling stock, history, job, science, and future, updating the museum to tell the rich story of the relationship between humans and railways from a unique and diverse perspective.

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.

Although the historical Kisai Castle was a one-story building enclosed by earthworks and walls, it was restored as a castle with an impressive keep. Many of the unearthed artifacts and historical collections found through the excavations of the Kisai region are displayed in the exhibition room for local collections.

AMIGO! In Spanish, it means “friend” or “fellow”. The Iruma City Cultural Creation Atelier is commonly known as “AMIGO!” The name is a result of our facilities efforts to meet people's desire to participate in enjoyable activities. The exclamation point emphasizes the sharing of information and forming of new friendships. It reflects our passion in striving towards our goals, never forgetting a hard-working attitude. We lead activities related to dyeing and textiles.