Sightseeing Spots

This is a district park known for its stunning lawn of green grass and 18-hole golf course. In addition to the golf course, there is also a children's area, a multipurpose plaza, and a parkway that can be used for jogging and other activities. The park is a space where people from different generations can meet and enjoy spending a relaxing and healthy time together outdoors.

The ruins of Matsuyama Castle, once a superb flatland-mountain castle in the Kitamusashi region, have been designated as a prefectural historical site since 1925. In 2008, the ruins of Sugaya yakata (Ranzan Town), which had already been designated as a national historic site, were joined by the ruins of Sugiyama Castle (Ranzan Town) and Kokura Castle (Tokigawa, Ranzan, and Ogawa Town) to form the Hiki Castle Ruins Group, which now is designated as a national historic site. The castle is surrounded by a swampy area formed by the Ichino River, which creates a natural barrier.

This is a campsite surrounded by trees alongside the ravine of the Tokigawa River. The facility is well-equipped with a building for cooking, showering, restroom, making it a safe environment to have fun at. In the river with shallow water, Japanese salmon and char fish swim, allowing for a great experience in nature.

This is a long-established rice cracker shop known for its large signboard. The cute "namazu sembei (rice cracker)" in the shape of a catfish symbolize Yoshikawa, the home of the catfish, and is a popular souvenir. Another favorite, with many repeat customers, is the Yoshikawa Chips, made with 100% Yoshikawa-grown rice flour and deep-fried in a secret recipe of soy sauce and vegetable oil. Both products have been certified as premium brands by Yoshikawa City.

The park, developed along the Arakawa riverbed's regulating pond "Saiko," retains a rich natural environment that lets you feel the changing seasons despite its location near the city center. You can enjoy BBQ in the spacious plaza where you can choose between free sites where you bring everything yourself or reservations sites where everything is arranged for you. Furthermore there are tennis courts, dog friendly spaces, fishing spots and the lakeside area is a popular spot for cycling and windsurfing. With easy access by car, the park attracts more than one million visitors a year!

Center for Environmental Science in Saitama is a core institution of environmental sciences with the environmental education center and the national institute for environmental studies combined into one. We offer various opportunities for the citizens of the prefecture to study the environment through exhibitions and a range of events. With the renewal construction completed in 2020, a new exhibition hall “Sai Kankan” has been added. Please come and see the changes for yourself! An eye-catching renewal! Sai Kankan Dome. A large video screen, covering your entire field of vision! There are two sections: “A Chapter on the Earth’s Environment”, which takes on the issues of the environment on a global scale, and “A Chapter on the Biological Environment”, which takes on environmental issues that take place close to us through a dragonflies perspective. There are 42 seats available.

It started in 1182 when Hatakeyama Shigetada offered a statue of a devil holding an iron rod to protect people from evil during the construction of the Sugayayakata. A rare shrine that enshrines the “oni (devil)”, with a Setsubun Festival taking place every year on February 3rd, with chants of “Fuku wa uchi, Oni wa uchi, Akuma soto (Out with the bad spirits, in with the good fortune and oni/devil)”. In addition, the shrine is known as the god of victory, with soldiers praying for good fortune during war.

Free rental bicycles are available at the Number 1 Bicycle Parking Lot, only a two-minute walk from the north exit of Yoshikawa Station on the JR Musashino Line. Feel free to use them to explore the city!

From the moment you pass through the Nagaya gate, you will find yourself in an atmospheric space where you can feel the peace and nostalgia of an old traditional house. In the garden, roses are in full bloom, and inside the facility, there is a restaurant where you can eat and a center specializing in local produce, allowing you to buy and bring home fresh vegetables. This is a great place to enjoy an atmospheric and relaxing time.

The inside of the park adjoins the Nanbata Castle Park Museum, located in the center of the premise, and is divided into the east and west sections. On the east side, is the “Shiroato Zone” in which the figure of the Nanbata Castle Park is restored, and on the west side is the “Kominka Zone” in which the relocated Kominka built in the city is restored. The enclosure, water moat, earthwork of the Sengoku Period of the Nanbata Castle have been restored in “Shiroato Zone”. There are hygrophytes such as the water lily planted at the water moat and scenes of each of the four seasons can be enjoyed. In the “Kominka Zone”, there are relocated buildings of two old houses and a gate of a townhouse designated as the city’s cultural property which was built at the beginning of the Meiji period. Annexes such as the granaries, libraries, barns are newly built and Fujimi’s nostalgic scenery of a farm is reproduced. At the granary, one can watch performing arts peculiar to the local area along with a video of restored old houses. Further, “Chokkura” is attached to the regional exchange facility, and local produce and souvenirs can also be purchased.

On both sides of the stone steps of Godaison, where five statues of Myoo, the god of wisdom, stand proudly, old trees that are said to have been planted more than 350 years ago are blooming. The adjacent Azalea park is one of the best Azalea viewing spots in the Kanto region, with about 10000 azaleas in full bloom.

From the top of the park's symbol, the 16-meter high "Yoshikawa Mount Fuji," you can enjoy a panoramic view of the city. On a clear day, you can see the Tokyo Sky Tree and, if you're lucky, even the real Mount Fuji! Most of the park is covered with a green lawn making the park feel spacious and open.

This artificial 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.

The park opened in 1990 as part of spreading “Botan (peony)”, the city’s flower. This is a prominent peony park in the Kanto region with roughly 30,000 square meters of colorful peony blooming from the middle of April to early May, with a “Botan Matsuri (Peony Festival)” taking place at the prime of the peonies blooming. Furthermore, Hydrangea, Japanese maple, Chimonanthus, a large playground complex, an open lawn, and an observatory can be enjoyed throughout the year.

This is a combined facility to experience the Scandinavian culture. Rent a private tent sauna at the Sauna Club, enjoy a Scandinavian-style Kokko BBQ, or shop for regional specialties. In the spring of 2021, a glamping field for up to 10 tents will be added to the facility. Feel free to stay the night or simply enjoy a fulfilling day at this popular location!

From season to season, Saitama Prefecture’s largest terraced paddy field expands a rural scene that can only be seen in Japan. As of now, 4 hectares of the rice field (about 250 pieces) is in use out of the total area of 5.2 hectares. In the summer, en event of about 600 bonfires lighting up takes place, creating a magical atmophere, and is an experience limited to one night that cannot be enjoyed anywhere else. During the autumn, the 2,000,000 bulbs of the red spider lily planted on footpath blooms.

The 12 cities and towns along with the 13 places of scenic beauty related to Matsuo Bashō’s “Oku no Hosomichi” has been recognized for influencing the scenery and lives of future people, as well as preserving the elegance and atmosphere of past times. Collectively, these areas are appointed as one of the best scenic spots in the country.

Fresh vegetables and locally-produced eggs harvested by more than 130 local farmers along with handmade dishes (to be served with rice) can be bought in the bright shop where you can feel the warmth of the wooden interior. Outside, a shop put out by the local butcher sells Yakitori and dumplings made of pure rice. This farmers' market is very popular with the people of the town. Products brought in by farmers in the morning are sold on the day, for the whole day. The best part about it all is the freshness.

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.

A shop with handmade soba that uses 100% local buckwheat flour. It is a store that uses Saitama Prefecture’s specially cultivated crops with the agricultural products harvested with more than a 50% reduction in the number of chemical pesticides and chemical fertilizer customarily used and has been certified by the prefecture. At Izumi-tei they use local, fresh, safe, and healthy ingredients bought directly from the source. In addition, if you make a reservation beforehand, you can experience making your own soba.

The 20-hectare park was established in March 1989 to ensure a comfortable living environment and to create a beautiful urban landscape on the former site of Camp Asaka, which was confiscated by the U.S. military in 1945. The park is well known as a place for sports and recreation, with a multipurpose plaza and jogging course. Furthermore, the vast park is also used as an evacuation site. Nearby are Tokyo Metropolitan Oizumi Central Park, Nerima Ward Oizumi Sakura Athletic Park, Tokyo Yono Green Belt (Nagakubo Ryokuchi), Niiza Ryokudo, and Sakae Ryokudo in Niiza City, each of which functions as a large green belt that straddles municipal and prefectural borders.

This riverside course is blessed with rich nature, with a view of the three mountains of Jōmō, and has a diverse course layout with an OUT course for skill and an IN course for power. There are seasonal events such as a competition named after Kiku Nishizaki, the first female seaplane pilot in Japan and a great figure of Kamisato, and a gift-giving program where you can get your hands on Kamisato's local vegetables and crops. The most famous 17th hole is a 595-yd par 6, a very long course.

With the improvements of the biotop, the marshes are much more approachable. Suitable as a fishing place, many individuals come to fish throughout the year.

As spring approaches, bunches of Asian fawn lily spread in the mountains and forests of the Tsuburata district. There are many hikers visiting during the season in which the flower blooms. Best viewed: Late March to Early April