Sightseeing Spots

A park inspired by the world of Scandinavian fairy tales. Unique buildings that tickle your imagination stand on park grounds overflowing with greenery. Play freely in nature among the refreshing breeze and dappled shade in this relaxing space for everyone.

This park features an open lawn space and large wooden play equipment, and the area is crowded with families all year. Seasonal flowers grow throughout the park, and in addition to cherry blossoms in the spring, the moss phlox (April to May) and irises (early June) bloom in a heart-warming sight. There are also kitchen spaces for barbecue, and visitors can fish at the large pond, Koai Tamei (within the designated area).

At YOT-TOKO you will discover the many delicious foods and great places to visit in Tokorozawa! In addition to providing tourist information and selling unique local foods and specialties, there are also displays of traditional noh masks, kumade rakes and hina dolls; a showcase of the many charms of Tokorozawa. Among these are the eye-catching packages of Sayama tea, the pride of local tea producers, and this shop is the only place where all brands are available in one place. The shop is connected to Tokorozawa Sakura Town via the Tokorozawa Sakura Town Bridge.

AEON Lake Town is one of the largest shopping malls in Japan, with over 700 specialty shops and Aeon Style grocery store located in three buildings: kaze, mori and outlet.

Toda Park was built between 1937 and 1940, centered around a rowing course which is the largest artificial still water course in Japan. Established as a city park after the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, it is used as a training area and competition venue for rowing, while also providing a relaxing environment filled with nature for the local citizens. The park is adjacent to the bank of the Arakawa River and also has an elevated plaza, flower beds, and lots of playground equipment, making it popular for not only its rowing course.

It is a core facility for promoting the culture of bonsai and is the world’s first public museum specializing in bonsai. To spread the culture of bonsai, which is designated a traditional industry of Saitama, along with bonsai, bonki (vase), suiseki (rocks) and paintings of bonsai can also be enjoyed in this diverse exhibit. (For more information regarding the facility, please refer to the URL below.)

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.

With low alkaline natural hot springs similar to a "Bijin no Yu" (beauty bath), the unisex large-scale outdoor bath, “Onnetsubō," overlooking Lake Miyazawa and the Chichibu Mountains is particularly popular! At the Four Seasons Buffet, “Kohansaryō," you can enjoy cuisine featuring locally harvest seasonal vegetables while taking in the view. ※ This is a facility for those older than elementary school. Preschoolers and younger are not allowed to enter.

This is the largest poppy flower field in Japan, spanning about 12.5 hectares. At the Poppy Festival in mid-May, you can enjoy refreshments, regional vegetables, and of course, flower picking! The view of Mt. Fuji from under the Onari bridge by the Arakawa river, where the field can be found, is known as one of the best views of Mt. Fuji. A truly spectacular and scenic view of red, pink, and orange poppies blooming all around you.

Eight of the total sixty-one kilometers of the Motoara River run through the Fukiage area. There are seventeen bridges on the river, including the Shinsaga Bridge, a Civil Engineering Heritage Site selected by the Japan Society of Civil Engineers. Many of the bridges are decorated with poems and sculptures, making exploring them a perfect activity for some leisurely sightseeing!

Many small, old-time candy stores line the Kashiya Yokochō (confectionery alley). 70 houses existed in the beginning of the Shōwa era, where they produced a variety of sweets to be sold wholesale. As of now, there are about 20 houses left that still produce and sell cheap sweets, such as mint candy and the Kintaro candy, which are nostalgic for both adults and children alike. Kashiya Yokocho was also selected as one of “The 100 Best Scented Sceneries” by the Ministry of the Environment.

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.

Located on about 13,000 square meters of the Nakagawa Riverbed, the contrast between the 120 pink peach blossoms and fields of yellow rapeseed flowers that bloom from March to April every year is a beautiful sight to see. In autumn, you can enjoy red spider lilies and cosmos. The annual Hanamomo Festival held in late March attracts many tourists.

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.

One of the most prestigious shrines in the prefecture, it has no main shrine due to being dedicated to the scared mountain Mt. Omuro, and is one of few shrines that still practice this more ancient form of Shinto belief, the only other two shrines of which are Suwa Grand Shrine in Nagano and Omiwa Shrine in Nara. The shrine is said to have originated when the god Yamato Takeru no Mikoto hid tools for fire starting in Mt. Omuro. The shrine also enshrines the goddess of the sun, Amaterasu Omikami, and the god of sea and storms, Susanoo no Mikoto.

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.

Menuma Shodenzan Kangiin Temple is known as one of Japan’s three holy temples and is said to bring blessings for matrimony, family health, fortune, and scholarly achievements. In 2012, the main sanctuary, “Kangiin Shotendo,” was designated as a national treasure due to its highly skilled carvings, modern decorative architecture and public funding of its construction. Events take place throughout the year, such as the annual grand festival and Setsubun festivals during the spring and autumn.

This man-made lake is located in the south-central part of Saitama Prefecture, straddling the boundary between Tokorozawa City and Iruma City. Completed in 1934 as a water reserve for Tokyo, the official name is "Yamaguchi Reservoir." The lake is surrounded by Saitama Prefectural Sayama Nature Park, where you can enjoy 20,000 cherry blossom trees in spring and vivid leaves in autumn, the symbolic Mt. Fuji reflected on the lake's surface and bird watching. The stunning seasonal scenery of this area was chosen as one of Saitama's 100 Top Nature Spots and 100 Top Dam Lakes.

Situated at the Nakacho intersection, the entrance to the Kurazukuri district, the Kawagoe City Nakacho Information Center is filled with useful information and housed in a traditional warehouse! You can also connect to their free Wi-Fi and use their baggage storage service (for a fee).

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.

※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.

Centered around a permanent exhibition about Asaka's local heritage under the 4 categories: archaeology, history, folklore and arts and crafts; there are also special and themed exhibitions, and a variety of lectures and workshops which are held in this “space for learning and relaxation.”

The Sennen no Sono Lavender Field spans approximately 6.5 hectares and boasts around 22,000 lavender plants including over 10 different lavender varieties, such as Grosso (French), Hidcote (English), and Avonview (Spanish). In late May, visitors can enjoy the enchanting sight of red, pink, and white poppies blooming alongside early-blooming lavender. By mid-June, a portion of the field transforms into a golden sea of wheat known as "Nourin 61," and towards the end of June, visitors can witness the spectacle of wheat harvesting. The annual Ranzan Lavender Festival takes place from early to late June, offering a wonderful opportunity to experience the beauty of the lavender field. *Please note that access to the fields is restricted after the festival as they undergo harvesting.

Gyōda Hachiman Shrine is called “Fūji no Miya" (Palace of Sealing) for its secret prayer method which is believed to help children sleep, prevents nervousness, cancer, diseases, bad habits and dementia in the elderly. In the precincts, there is a “shrine of the eyes,” the Kasamori Inari Shrine which enshrines the god of eczema and beautiful skin, along with “Okuninushi Shrine” that enshrines Oshi Castle’s 7 lucky gods. Recently, the “nade momo” (patting peach) is said to be a place for spiritual energy, and is famous for the god of warding off suffering from illness and misfortune.