Sightseeing Spots

This is a private museum on the theme of ’Shishimai' (traditional lion dance), featuring authentic lion masks, costumes, documentation, performance videos from all over the country, and even local toys related to the lion.

Around 200 flowers bloom here during the peak season. Based on analytic results, this flower is an ancient form of the lotus flower. However, its age cannot be specified but is assumed to be a lotus from about 1,200 years ago. The best time to see them is around early July to late July, with the flowers blooming from around 5 in the morning. Since these flowers bloom in the middle of a residential area, please keep quiet when viewing them.

A shell mound from the first half of the Jyōmon period (about 7,000 years ago). At this time in history, the climate was warmer and the ocean was more inland compared to now. The mound mainly consists of the Japanese basket clams that inhabit the brackish waters of the region, but there are also seashells of Japanese littleneck, common orient clam, and blood clam. The mound is located behind the Kannon statue in the 5th temple of the Adachi Bandō pilgrim route.

Saitama prefecture's largest rose garden blooms twice a year, once in spring and once in autumn. The best time to visit is in early May to early June or early October to mid-November. With over 400 species and more than 5000 individual roses, the beauty is simply overwhelming. There is also a garden of hydrangeas that blooms in June. Walking through the park's relaxing atmosphere, you will find various sport and recreation facilities, waterside areas, playground equipment, large sandpits, and much more, all coming together into a stimulating environment that provides something for people of every age!

Ina town has a rich history, still visible in the seemingly ordinary townscape of today, telling the tales of many hundred years ago. For example, you can find the ruins of the encampment used by the prominent leader Tadatsugu Ina, who served under the Tokugawa shogunate during the Edo period. Tadatsugu improved irrigation channels and developed rice fields, laying the foundation for the legendary Tokugawa rule that lasted 260 years. To this day, earthworks, moats, and streets remind us of the past through their names that relate to ruins of old gates, encampments, storehouses, and other historical structures. Excavations are still under process, and new finds, such as unique earth constructions made to hinder enemy troops, are being discovered, further revealing the exciting history of Ina town.

Here you can learn about Ina town's rich natural and cultural properties. There is a comprehensive exhibition of local treasures displaying nature, geography, history, and folklore. The location moved to Ina Municipal Minami Junior High School in April 2016. Feel free to stop by and deepen your love and understanding of the wonderful Ina town.

Forest of Musen yama ・KDDI, is designated as number 13 in the greenery trust conservation. The area is located on the eastern edge of Ōmiya Plateau and offers a fauna centering around the Konara (pin) oak and other deciduous broad-leaved trees. Furthermore, on the west side, there is a row of Yoshino cherry blossom trees attracting many people in the spring. There used to be a station for wireless transmission belonging to a company called 'KDDI Corporation' located here. As a result, the mountain area is nicknamed "Musen yama (the wireless mountain)", by locals.

This single-floor wooden house, built using the architectural style called 'Sukiya,' has been praised and written about by the Japanese literature researcher Donald Keene. The facility now serves as a place to introduce the Sōka area's culture of tea ceremony, flower arrangement, and classical instruments such as koto and shamisen. Furthermore, the facility is also open as a resting area where visitors, at a small sum, can enjoy a cup of tea.

An old resting house for travelers, built from local cedar and cypress trees, was remodeled and opened on May 16th in 2018 as a public rest area. Local products, such as the Sōka Senbei (rice cracker), are sold, and you can find plenty of useful information, making it a great starting place for any traveler in the area.

The Musashi-Kyuryo National Government Park was built to commemorate the 100 years of the Meiji era. Musashi-Kyuryo is Japan's first national park and is located in a hilly area of 304 hectares stretching between Hiki district, Namegawa town, and Yagii in Kumagaya of Saitama Prefecture. The park has plenty of forested areas, but the environment is diverse with ponds, swamps, marshes, and grasslands, making it a place where precious flora and fauna can grow and thrive. Also, it's one of the few places within the metropolitan area where you truly can feel in contact with nature.

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.

This fishing pond is very accessible, located approximately 9 kilometers (about 15 minutes) from the Higashi Matsuyama Interchange of the Kan-Etsu Expressway and roughly 5 kilometers (about 10 minutes) from the Ranzan-Ogawa Interchange. The pond is encircled by beautiful nature and has a surface area of roughly 11,600 square meters. On Saturday and Sunday, you can enjoy handmade udon made with local flour and buy locally grown vegetables at the farmer’s restaurant.

Here you can find local vegetables and fruits harvested in Namegawa. We recommend the freshly polished white rice, cucumber, eggplant, and radish (vegetables vary based on the season). The farmers' market is a popular location where you can find seasonal fresh vegetables. Also, there are a variety of events such as the corn festival, rice harvest festival, agricultural festival along with the sales of seasonal delicacies such as the chestnut and dried persimmon of Bushū.

The observatory at Mt. Ninomiya is the highest point in town, with an altitude of 131.8 meters. And needless to say, it offers a spectacular view! From this observatory, you can enjoy the far-off Mt. Asama, Mt. Tanigawa, Nikko Mountain range, Mt. Tsukuba, and the Chichibu mountains. If you go up to the top floor, you can overlook the skyscrapers of Shinjuku by using the free telescope. If you're lucky, you can even see the Tokyo Skytree! Besides, there are flowers such as the azalea planted, making it a lovely route for a stroll.

Become one with the peaceful scenery of a mountain village as you enjoy nature and farm life. Pay an annual fee and get unlimited access to farmland where you can grow crops and areas where you can pick and enjoy fruits such as strawberries. In addition, multiple events featuring rice cultivation, digging of bamboo shoots, noodle-making, potato cultivation, and countryside hiking are held throughout the year.

The date of its foundation is unknown, but it is said to have been built in the Meiō era between 1492 and 1501, as well as in 1684. It is said that when a Buddhist priest named Genkai visited Fushimi Inari, he built a sutra mound with 10,000 Lotus Sutras buried inside. In the precincts, you can also find a shrine dedicated to Shingoro Takahashi and his wife Ise who developed the warabi (bracken) textile industry of the area. Furthermore, there is a heart-shaped stone that is known to grant visitors success in their pursuit of love.

With Susanoo, the god of storm, inshrined here, the shrine is known to protect against evil and plague. Inside is a lion mask, popular among locals and often called the "Hirakata lion". Every year in July, there is a mysterious festival called "Doroinkyo". This festival is designated as an intangible folk cultural asset by Saitama prefecture. The giant zelkova and enoki mushrooms in the precincts are designated as natural monuments by Ageo City.

In 1805 a traveling merchant from the former Oomi province, the current Shiga prefecture, arrived in Gyoda city searching for good water. In the area closest to Tone river and Arakawa river, the groundwater was plentiful, so he chose this place to build a Sake brewery. Nowadays, this place is famous for its clean water, and they are still producing exquisite sake here. The southern style of brewing sake, fermenting the rice at a low temperature, is a masterful technique that lets you feel the soul of the brewer. This sake is truly a masterpiece.

Seiryu brewery is famous for being the biggest producer in the Kanto region and offering both superb taste and production quality. Their concept of connecting face to face with customers in order to inspire trust led to the first establishment in the business where you can buy their products directly at the brewery.

This sake brewery is a guardian of traditional techniques that have been around since 1863. "Tradition is innovation" is their motto that gave birth to their sparkling sake, a product that has gathered attention and been praised, both domestically and abroad. Visit the brewery, interact with the brewers, and come into contact with the history and tradition of Japanese sake!

The suspension bridge over Arakawa valley is a great place to enjoy activities utilizing gravity! Strap up with a harness and walk over the suspension bridge, connect to a cable and cross over the Arakawa valley, or swing over the valley on a trapeze! Many adrenaline-pumping activities in the beautiful nature of Arakawa valley!

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

The plums of Ogose are said to originate from the Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine in Fukuoka before they were moved and replanted at their current location in the Umezono shrine. Ogose Bairin is known as one of Kanto's three great plum groves. The park covers an area of about 2 hectares and is home to about 1,000 plum trees such as Shirakaga, Ko-ume, and Koseno-ume. Furthermore, the unusually old plum tree called Kaiyuki, estimated to be 650 years old, can be seen here. Including the surrounding area, about 20,000 plum trees are in full bloom during peak season.

Hanataen is a circular water garden of about 2 hectares that is centered around a beautiful pond and displays Japanese culture and tradition. It has a characteristic wooden bridge centered on a beautiful pond, a tea room built in Sukiya style, an artificial hill overlooking the garden, and atmospheric stone lanterns. Also, various trees such as cherry blossoms and plums are planted, and you can enjoy both the autumn leaves and the flowers of each season. Furthermore, the garden is adjacent to Saitama Prefecture's only outdoor Noh (a traditional type of theater) stage, Koshigaya Noh Theater. A great place to both enjoy the beauty of Japan's culture and natural beauty.