Hachimanyama Tomb

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.

From mid-June to early August, 12,000 stocks of 42 different types of lotus flowers bloom on the surface of the lotus pond. The Gyōda lotus (ancient lotus) takes a primitive form with the number of petals being few; it is said to be a lotus from about 1,400 to 3,000 years ago. Lotus flowers are best-viewed midmorning. There are botanical gardens for aquatic plants, lakes for aquatic birds, peony gardens, ume gardens, and a hanami place with sakura trees, making it a place where one can feel the beauty of nature all year round. In addition, from mid-July to mid-October, rice paddy art is at its prime and can be viewed from the Ancient Lotus Hall’s Observation Room. The rice paddy art of Gyōda City started in 2008, with rice transplanting taking place yearly due to several volunteers and participants; not only are the designs original, but some have been collaborations with movies, TV shows, games. In 2015 it has been recorded in the Guinness World Records due to the area of the art being “the world’s largest (rice paddy art)”.

At the building of Haniwa located inside the Saitama Kofun Group, anyone can experience making their own Haniwa with the help of an instructor. In order to create a Haniwa, there are 3 steps: 90 minutes of molding, drying for about a month, heating in the kiln located inside the building at a heat of 800℃ for approximately 7 hours. Once the Haniwa is complete, it can either be retrieved in person or can be delivered and paid on arrival.

From the “Sakitama Kofun (Tumulus)” built between the late 5th century to the early 7th century to the national treasure “Musashi Sakitama Inariyama Kofun Artifact”, much of these valuable cultural properties are stored here. Also, this is a facility that allows you to climb both the Inariyama Kofun and Maruhakayama Kofun. (For more information regarding the facility, please refer to the URL below.)

Sakitama Kofun Park is home to 9 large "kofuns", megalithic tombs where, among other things, the national treasure "Inariyama burial-mound sword" was excavated. You can also see the largest kofun in Japan, "Maruhaka yama kofun" here, which also serves as a great cherry blossom spot. Gyoda City, where the park is located, is also known as the origin of Saitama prefecture's name, and you can see the stone monument celebrating this in the park.