Sightseeing Spots

Atarashii Mura, or The New Village, is an agriculture-themed tourist facility. There is a market in the facility called "Mori no Ichiba Yui" that sells fresh vegetables produced by the local farmers of Atarashii Mura. There is also a cafe called "Mori no Cafe," where visitors can enjoy a drink or light meal. Lastly, at the facility, "Noh no Ie," they host hands-on experiences and lectures on agriculture and food, offer facility rentals, and have an herb garden of more than 100 different species where hands-on harvesting experiences for lavender and mint are available. They also grown their own rice, a popular product.

The Saitama Museum of Rivers is an experience-oriented comprehensive museum centering around the Arakawa river with the theme of water and the livelihood of people.

Matsuyama Castle Ruins, built at the top of the Hiki Hills, is one of the most prominent flat mountain castles in the Kitamusashi region and was designated a prefectural historic site in 1925. In 2008, it was added to the Hiki Castle Site Group, alongside the already designated Sugaya Yakata ruins (Ranzan Town), Sugiyama Castle ruins (Ranzan Town) and Ogura Castle ruins (Tokigawa Town, Ranzan Town, and Ogawa Town). The castle is surrounded by a low marshy area formed by the Ichino River, creating a natural fort.

12 million cosmos flowers bloom on the 8.8 hectare fields along the Arakawa riverbank. Surrounded by a sea of cosmos flowers, you can enjoy an impressive view of the Chichibu mountain range and Mt. Fuji. The best time to see the cosmos flower is in mid-October, but poppies can also be enjoyed in May. At the Cosmos Festival in mid-October, the area is lively with stage events, refreshment stalls, and cosmos picking events.

The Ogose plum grove dates back to the separation of Umezono Shrine from Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine. Named after Heian period scholar, poet, and politician, Sugawara no Michizane, this grove of trees is recognized as one of the three major plum groves in Kanto. The park covers an area of around 2 hectares and is home to about 1,000 plum trees such as Shirakaga, Kobai, Koseno-ume, and most notably an ancient plum tree called Kaisetsu, estimated to be 650 years old. The Mini SL steam locomotive train running through the park is also rare within Japan. Around 20,000 plum trees, including the surrounding area, are in full bloom during peak season.

During wisteria season, you can enjoy vines of purple wisteria flowers descending from the trees in the precincts of Gokado Temple on Mt. Ogawa. Magohachi Honma, who built the temple, spent a night discussing the art of waka poetry with a traveling monk to finally master its secrets, and thus named the temple "Gokado" (words and songs temple). According to legend, the monk was said to have been the incarnation of Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy. The stone Buddha in the Koshinto pagoda on the right side of the hall is one of few existing in Chichibu. Collectible goshuin seals are available at Chokoji Temple, about 250 meters away.

The Edohigan Sakura tree located in Hachigata Castle Park is a natural town monument. This cherry blossom tree is estimated to be over 150 years old, and flowers bloom beautifully on its umbrella-shaped canopy of branches every year around the end of March. You can also enjoy the evening illuminated cherry blossoms during peak season!

The Nanbata Castle Park Museum is located in the middle of a long and narrow park, straddled by divisions of east and west sides, with a replica of the Nanbata Castle in the "Shiroato Zone" on the east side, and relocated kominka (old residences) in the "Kominka Zone" on the west side. In the "Shiroato Zone" are the restored enclosure, water moat and earthwork mounds of the Nanbata Castle from the Sengoku Period. Visitors can enjoy the changing seasonal scenery of the water lilies and other wetland plants growing in the water moat. In the “Kominka Zone” are two relocated and restored early Meiji period private residences and the gate of a townhouse that are designated city cultural properties. Annexes such as a granary (kokugura), library (bunkogura) and barn (naya) were newly built to replicate Fujimi City's nostalgic farmhouse scenery. In the granary, visitors can watch videos about local performing arts and the restoration of the old farmhouses. The regional exchange facility, "Chokkura," is also connected to the building, where visitors can purchase local produce and souvenirs.

This small, charming hill of approximately 4 hectares has been maintained by local residents and volunteers as a gathering place to watch flowers bloom. Visitors can enjoy a carpet of greenery and mainly white flowers like out of a fairytale; over 6,000 flowers and trees that change from season to season. The town also collaborated with Musashino Art University for a joint project between government and academia to create three integrated artworks, adding even more charm to the park.

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.

“Saitama City Iwatsuki Ningyo Museum” was opened in Saitama’s Iwatsuki Ward in 2020 and explores the history of dolls and their role in people's lives, promoting the culture of dolls for the future. We are working on a project to make dolls more familiar to people through exhibitions and activities, as well as collecting and storing documents related to dolls and researching about the culture of dolls. (For more information, please see the URL below)

This residence, built during the end of Edo period to the first half of the Meiji period, centers around the main building and guest hall, which includes a barn and two storehouses. Featuring stone and white walls built facing the road, it is a beautiful representation of Komago scenery. The residence was designated as a national tangible cultural property in 2014.

In the midst of the peaceful Satoyama, get in touch with nature and experience farming hands-on. There is a "Fureai Farm," which visitors can use freely for an annual fee, and the popular "Strawberry Farm," for picking strawberries and other fruits. There are also rice cultivation, digging of bamboo shoots, udon (wheat noodle) making, potato cultivation, Satoyama walk and hiking experiences, and various other events held throughout the year.

Mizuko Kaizuka Park covers roughly 40,000 square meters and was built to protect and utilize a historically designated site of midden (ancient waste collection spots) significant to the first half of the Jomon period (approximately 5500 to 6500 years ago). The size of the site represents the original ancient village, a path spanning 582 meters encircles the park, and 5 pit-houses (shelter houses built into the ground) and the Jomon era forest which surrounded the village have been restored. At the exhibition hall, excavated dwelling sites have been replicated, demonstrating how the ancient people lived at that time utilizing the midden. There is also an adjoining archive museum displaying artifacts unearthed from the city's ruins, with stone tools from the Paleolithic era roughly 30,000 years ago, designated cultural property Jomon pottery (nicknamed “flying squirrel-shaped pottery” ) unearthed from the ruins of Hazawa, an iron sword and a glass bead from the beginning of the Kofun period, and numerous other artifacts representing the primitive and ancient times of Fujimi City.

The Hachimanyama Kofun (Mount Hachiman megalith tomb) in Gyoda City is the main tomb of the group of Wakakodama tombs found in this area. Restored in 1981, it is estimated to have been built in the 7th century and has a diameter of 80 meters. The “Urushi Nuri Mokkan" (lacquered wooden casket) was excavated from the stone hut in almost perfect condition, with those buried inside assumed to have been people of power. It is called “Kanto-no-Ishibutai" (the stone stage of Kanto) because it is similar to the Ishibutai Kofun (stone stage tomb) at Asukamura of Nara Prefecture.

Enshrining Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the god of the sea and storms, this shrine is known to protect against evil and plague. Inside the shrine is a lion mask called the "Hirakata Lion" which is popular with locals. Every year in July, a mysterious festival is held called "Doroinkyo." This festival is designated as an intangible folk cultural asset by Saitama Prefecture. The giant zelkova tree and enoki mushrooms within the precincts are designated as natural monuments by Ageo City.

The Hanawa Hokiichi Memorial Museum commemorates Hanawa Hokiichi, a blind scholar of Japanese studies (kokugaku) in the mid-Edo period. Apart from the famous collective title Gunsho Ruijyū and its raw lumber, there are approximately 200 archives on display inside the building. You can see a hand-stitched purse from his mother, a treasured possession he held dear throughout his life, and many other personal articles. The exhibition room also has a section for videos and audio tours.

Tokigawa Town, prosperous in local lumber production, is one of the largest producer of wood fixtures in the Kanto region. While our shop focuses on wood fixtures, we also sell furniture, handicrafts and agricultural products made with warmth and care by our master craftspeople. We also accept consultations for made to order wood fixtures and furniture. How about owning your own one-of-a-kind item?

Ina town has a rich history still visible in the seemingly ordinary townscape of today, telling the tales of many hundred years ago. This is the site 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.

Built on the ruins of Iwatsuki Castle, this park has lush natural trails and wide, open spaces, and is a popular place of relaxation for the local people. There is also a tennis court, baseball field, playground equipment, a picnic area with a fountain, a pond covered by a vermillion-lacquered zigzag bridge, and a vintage Tobu Railway Romancecar "Kinu No.1" on display, making this park enjoyable for all ages! In the spring, the park is known for its 600 cherry blossom trees and the lively events it sponsors.

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

A temple for safe childbirth and child-rearing, and protection from evil. The main deity of the temple, Nyoirin Kannon, or Cintamanicakra, is said to be the God of Mercy and Wisdom, who holds a wish-fulfilling jewel that removes evil and purifies the clouded mind, relieves suffering, and bestows prosperity by giving gold and silver treasures. In the precincts of the temple are three Muromachi period (1336-1573) blue stone pagodas of the three Amitabha images and a mound of letters from the first year of the Hoei era, in which women wrote down their wishes and deposited them.

Selected as one the top 100 locations in Saitama, the Mt. Hakuun (Hakuun-san) Torii Kannon temple covers an area of around 30 hectares (the size of 6.5 Tokyo Domes) in Okumusashi/Naguri, where founder Yataro Hiranuma spent over 30 years erecting buildings in various places on the mountain. In addition to the symbolic Kusei Kannon (Goddess of Salvation) on the mountain summit, there is also the main hall, Gyokkamon Gate, Niomon Gate, Great Bell Tower, Heiwa Kannon (Goddess of Mercy), and notably the Genjo Sanzo Tower, famous for enshrining the remains of Genjo Sanzo, a Buddhist priest who appears in the famous Chinese novel "Journey to the West."

Ageo Maruyama Park was opened in 1978 with the theme "a harmony of greenery and water." It has a small animal corner, a children's amusement park, a barbecue area, a nature learning center, and a large pond, making it a popular place to visit.