Sightseeing Spots

The largest Taiwanese Shinto shrine in Japan. The gorgeous structure is worth seeing. The spiral ceiling assembled without any nails, the Kowloon stone pillar of 5 meters, a door of 4 meters with wood carvings of the god of military arts, and a coffered ceiling with dragons. Taiwan’s authentic worship and fortune slip can be experienced here.

Sakuranoyama Park has about 300 Someiyoshino cherry trees that display their full beauty as they bloom in early April. At the top of the "mountain park," there is an observation deck where you can look out over the Saitama-Shintoshin area. On the second Saturday of May every year, a big fireworks display is held.

Yamabuki no Sato is associated with Ota Doshan, a famous Japanese poet. In spring, about 2500 golden Kerria japonica, commonly known as Japanese rose, swaying in the spring breeze match the water mill hut, creating a tasteful atmosphere.

This dairy farm lets their visitors experience farm life as well as try out freshly made gelato ice cream and yogurt. In addition to dairy cows, the farm is home to a variety of animals, including chickens, Japanese bantam, mini pigs, rabbits, guinea pigs, and more. Kids can also play with toy cars and tricycles donated to the farm by locals. Enjoy the view of the Arakawa River and its surrounding nature while tasting some of the best fresh gelato ice cream you've ever had. Enoboku, a miniature version of Hokkaido, hidden in the beautiful Ageo!

Doukan Omotenashi (hospitality) Plaza provides information on tourist attractions, historical sites, hiking trails, flowering information, and special products in Ogose Town. Make sure to stop by when you visit Ogose Town!

This facility, located right next to the west exit of Ogose Station, is used by many people for resting, as a rendezvous point for hiking, buying souvenirs, and snacks (rice balls, pizza, coffee, juice, etc.). You can also catch a free shuttle bus to O Park Ogose from in front of this facility.

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!

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

The hot spring contains no sodium, classifying it as a "simple" alkalinity hot spring, making it rare in the Kanto region. The color of the water is dark brown but becomes sparkling gold when hit by sunlight. Soaking in the hot spring will make your skin smooth, and you are guaranteed to have a relaxing time.

This park built on the ruins of Iwatsuki Castle is a lush natural space with trails to explore and open areas to relax. Mingled in with the green, you can find a tennis court, baseball field, playground equipment, a picnic area with a fountain, and a pond with a vermillion-lacquered zigzag bridge. There is even an aged train, oozing with retro atmosphere, on display! In other words, this is a place for people of all ages! Not to mention, in spring, 600 cherry blossom trees bloom here, making it a "sakura"-hotspot during the vernal season.

At our building, attached to the Iwatsuki Doll Museum, we want people to learn the history and culture of Iwatsuki. Here you can participate in various fun events, try cafe menus, local specialties, eat locally harvested delicious vegetables, gain new knowledge, and meet new people. This is a place for happiness where people and information come together.

“Saitama City Iwatsuki Ningyo Museum” is a museum that opened in Saitama’s Iwatsuki Ward in 2020 that probes the history between people and dolls and serves the role of bringing the culture of dolls into the future. Through the collection and storage of documents related to dolls and research related to the culture of dolls, we are working on a project to make dolls more familiar to people through exhibitions and activities. (For more information, please see the URL below)

Purchases can be made from 1 piece of sembei (Japanese rice crackers). We have more than 30 flavors available. Other than this, we also offer sembei wrapped individually to make it easier to eat, along with gifts and seasonal Japanese sweets. There is an “Inauguration Festival” in mid-April, a “Thanksgiving Festival” in mid-October, and a “Thank You Fair” at the end of June and November.

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.

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.

Izumo Iwai Shrine is the oldest shrine in the prefecture and the stage for a powerful display of horseback archery. It is designated as a national important cultural property along with the two attached building signs. According to folklore, Minamoto no Yoshiie visited the area to express his gratitude for winning an important battle in the year 1063. He also built the Hachiman shrine and prayed by performing horseback archery, which led to the present tradition. To this day, every spring and autumn, young people perform beautiful displays of archery from the back of running horses at Izumo Iwai Shrine.

Kuroyamataki is a general term for the three waterfalls: greater waterfall, smaller waterfall, and tengu (an imaginary red-faced human figure with a protruding long nose, who flies through the air with two angel-like wings) waterfall. It is a scenic spot that was selected as one of Japan’s 100 best sightseeing destinations. Here you can enjoy fresh green leaves in the spring, cool temperature in the summer, and the changing color of the leaves in spring is remarkable.

What used to be a forested mountain has been reborn through 10 years of hard work as a flower garden dedicated to Mitsuba tsutsuji, or Rhododendron dilatatum. At the beginning of April, about 2500 flowers bloom creating a stunning world of floral beauty!

On May 23 of the fourth year of the Keio Era, Heikuro Shibusawa, a member of the old shogunate's army who had been defeated in battle against the new government forces in Hanno, fled towards Kuroyama Village over the Kaoburi pass alone. He encountered a scouting party and fought alone, but he was badly wounded and committed suicide, harakiri, sitting on a rock on the river bank. Heikuro was a cousin, brother-in-law, and adopted son of Shibusawa Eiichi.

As a core facility for promoting the culture of bonsai, it is the world’s first public museum specializing in bonsai. In order to spread the culture of bonsai which is designated as Saitama’s traditional industry, not only bonsai, but bonki (vase), suiseki (rocks), paintings of bonsai can be enjoyed, making it a diverse exhibit. (For more information regarding the facility, please refer to the URL below.)

The "Little Edo Kawagoe Spring Sailing" is a Japanese cherry blossom viewing event held at the end of April, where visitors sail down the Shigashi River behind Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine to view 500 meters of cherry blossoms in full bloom. Sail along in a small Japanese-style boat enjoying the fully blooming sakura overhead with a flowing river of pink petals beneath you. It's a must-see for fans of the Japanese cherry blossom!

The history of Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine goes back a long way and is said to have started with the separation of worship practices by the Ōmiya Hikawa Shrine, a part of Musashi Ichinomiya, under the reign of Emperor Kinmei in the 6th century, when the cultural practice of building burial mounds was passed on to them. Thereafter, whenever Ōta Dōkan built a castle, it was revered as a Sōja, a shrine enshrining several gods, of this location, and is familiarly called “Ohikawa-sama.”

The shrine is believed to have a history of 2,000 years, stretching all the way back to the era of Emperor Keikō. The faith of Mt. Mitsune spread during the Kamakura period, and the place was revered by Hatakeyama Shigetada and Nitta Yoshioki. Especially the Kishū family's gift to the shogun, during the Tokugawa period, is kept as a valuable shrine treasure to this day. Further, the “15 Nights・Moon Reading Festival” takes place during the autumn, announcing the arrival of autumn to the Chichibu’s mountains.

The entrance of the Kawagoe Kashiya Yokochō candy store is marked with a large purple noren (shop curtain with emblem and name). A wide variety of sweets are produced and sold here, including kura manjū (Japanese-style bun stuffed with sweetened bean paste), sweet potato yōkan (sweetened bean jelly), potato sweets, and rice crackers. We can assist you in basic English.