■Contact Prefecture Email: [email protected] Tourism Division

We also accept requests for help coordinating visits to Saitama Prefecture ■Photos Will be available at SAITAMA https://en.chocotabi-saitama.jp/gallery JUST NORTH OF Everything You Should Know about Saitama Prefecture -Saitama, Number One- Location and Demographics 1. Always Sunny! Facts and Figures Just to the north of Tokyo, Saitama has a population of 7.35 million The highest number of sunny days of any prefecture in for ten (5th largest in Japan). years in a row, from 2009 to 2018. Tourism 2. Japan’s Longest Riverside Cycling Road In addition to urban attractions, Saitama has plenty of nature and The longest riverside cycling road in Japan (approx. 170 km) is in Saitama. The prefecture is No. 1 in Japan for the ratio of terrain with a traditional culture to experience, as well as being a mecca for gentle slope! With the world’s oldest quadricycle, the rikusensha, th anime, and is popular with foreign tourists as a daytrip from Tokyo. invented there in the early 18 century, Saitama truly is the Land of The total number of tourists which visited tourist attractions in the Bicycles. Le Tour de France SAITAMA Criterium, bearing the name of prefecture was approximately 100 million in 2019, making it one of the world's greatest road cycling race Le Tour de France, is held on the most popular prefectures for tourism. the closed circuit in the center of Saitama City every year, where Land of Rivers, Vegetables, and Flowers international and domestic leading riders compete with each other. Although it is not by the ocean, at 3.9% Saitama has the highest 3. Land of Rivers, Saitama percentage of rivers by area of any prefecture. There is also ample Saitama is blessed with plentiful rivers, with the two major rivers of Arakawa and Tonegawa, and the Arakawa has a width of 2,537 Saitama New Urban Center agriculture using this abundant water. Saitama is No. 1 in Japan for taro production, and No. 2 for spring onion, spinach, komatsuna, meters where it flows between Konosu and Yoshimi, the No. 1 river (Saitama Shintoshin) width in Japan. The Arawaka originates in the mountains of Chicihibu turnip and broccoli. and the neighboring Nagatoro is well-known for its clear water and Cars boat cruises. Honda Motor Company has three plants in Saitama ( 4. Traditional Hina-ningyo Dolls Automobile Plant, Yorii Automobile Plant, and Ogawa Plant). These With the highest shipment value (3.9 million yen in 2017) in Japan, three plants are called the Saitama Factory, which acts as a Saitama is known as a manufacturing center of traditional dolls such leader in automobile production for overseas plants as well. as Hina-ningyo, often used for traditional events for children, Shipment Value of Manufactured Goods Saitama is a manufacturing center, and had the highest shipment Fall leaves in Chichibu Good transportation network Saitama value in Japan for various categories of manufactured goods ● including Ramen, ice cream, and lotions as of 2018. Omiya Tokyo Saitama Output National Harvest ★ ★Narita Airport Agricultural (billion Rank by (ton) Products yen) Harvest Taro 4.7 18,100 1 Spring onion 15.5 55,500 2 Traditional ■ Haneda Airport→Omiya Spinach 9.0 24,200 2 Hina-ningyo 60 min by limousine bus. Komatsuna 4.2 14,700 2 Dolls ■ Narita Airport→Omiya Turnip 1.7 17,30 2 Broccoli 4.1 14,000 2 90 min by limousine bus. 2 Source: Tokei Kara Mita Saitama-ken no Sugata 2021 Varied agriculture Venues for Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics ■ Basketball () One of the largest arenas in Japan, by Saitama-Shintoshin Station, and the main Golf (Olympics) venue for the FIBA World Championship 2006. With an arena mode with a capacity of 22,500 and a stadium mode with a capacity of 37,000, its “moving blocks” allow Kawagoe City changing its layout to match the size and type of the event. Famous musicians from overseas have also performed here. ■ Football () Seating 63,700, it has the largest capacity for a football stadium in Japan and one of the largest in Asia. Used as the venue for one of the semifinals of the 2002 FIFA World Shooting (Olympics Cup. Home ground of the J League Urawa Reds, who have become Asian and Paralympics) champions twice. ■Golf (Kasumigaseki Country Club) The first golf course in Saitama Prefecture, with over 90 years of history. The venue for Football the fifth Canada Cup (later the World Cup) in 1957. Basketball ■Shooting (JGSDF Asaka Shooting Range) (Olympics) (Olympics) Also used as the rifle shooting venue in the 1964 Tokyo Games. Saitama City Saitama City

Feel the Spirit of Saitama's Advanced Technology 1. RDS Co., Ltd. (Yorii) 3. Sunwa Ltd. Sayama Plant (Sayama) RDS’s main strengths consist of design sensibilities polished The Chair Calidan is a staircase evacuation vehicle that can be used while in a and refined through advanced automobile development, a wheelchair. It was developed for situations such as heavy rains or floods high degree of quality cultivated in the racing field, and leaving nursing homes isolated and unable to use elevators for evacuation. It overwhelming speed. In recent years, RDS’s technology has fills a need for emergency evacuation when limited numbers of employees been utilized in such fields as cutting-edge robot have to evacuate many seniors to upper floors. They have also made a model development, medical welfare equipment, sporting goods, which is installed in the of Japan and the Pentagon in the US. and support for Paralympic athletes. RDS is carrying out joint http://www.sunwa-jp.co.jp/ development with Tomoya Ito (wheelchair athlete), who will be competing in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. http://www.rds-design.jp/news/904/ 2. Iwako Co., Ltd. (Yashio) 4. Fukaya, a Center for Agritech (Agricultural Technology) Established in 1968, Iwako makes fun erasers in shapes like In the agricultural city of Fukaya, the Deep Valley project is underway to sushi, vegetables, animals, and everyday objects. These become the Silicon Valley of agriculture by combining agriculture and playful, 50-yen erasers are popular overseas as well, with their cutting-edge technology to overcome various challenges, improve diverse lineup being widely praised. productivity, and enable profitable agriculture. https://www.iwako.com/global https://deep-valley.jp/ 3 https://www.nippon.com/en/views/b08003/ Get the Ultimate Saitama Experience! –Tourist attractions ■The Omiya ■Kawagoe Bonsai Village (Historic City) The Omiya area of Saitama City is renowned as a mecca for bonsai, A popular tourist Japanese miniature attraction known potted plants. During ■Shinrin Park (-Kyuryo as “Little Edo” the first half of the National Park) (Edo:old name for Tokyo) since the 20th century, bonsai growers living in Tokyo ■ Nagatoro The very first Japanese national townscape of the remains to relocated in pursuit of soil suitable for A popular tourist spot surrounded by the park is found in an extensive 304 this day. The main street is lined with growing bonsai after a big earthquake. beauty of nature, which receives two million hectare hilly area. You can enjoy kurazukuri (warehouse-style) buildings, a Currently six nurseries are operating in the area. The Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, the visitors a year. Hodosan Shrine, featured in the seasonal flowers throughout the form of fire-resistant architecture using the year, such as petunias from mid machiya townhouse style of Edo. world's first public Bonsai art museum, also Michelin Green Guide Japon, is accessible by welcomes visitors from around the world. July to September. https://www.koedo.or.jp/foreign/english/ taking a ropeway. https://www.bonsai-art-museum.jp/en/ https://www.nagatoro.gr.jp/en/index.html https://www.shinrinkoen.jp/en/ ■Nature ■ Tradition ■Festivals (Chichibu and Kawagoe)* *UNESCO Intangible The Chichibu Yomatsuri (Night Festival), which started around 300 Cultural Heritage years ago, is now known ■Hosokawa Paper* as one of the three most popular float festivals in Japan, normally held in Northwest Saitama, December. including Ogawa Town, ■World’s Largest Rice Paddy Art in Gyoda ■Chichibu Geo Gravity Park http://www.chichibu-matsuri.jp/en/ Higashichichibu Certified by Guinness World Records in The first complex for aerial activities Featuring huge floats carrying exquisitely Village and their surroundings, is known 2015, the field is about 2.8 hectares. This in Japan opened in 2019. All crafted dolls, the for its more than 1300 year history of year, two prominent images of ukiyoe, activities are designed to use the Kawagoe Festival washi (Japanese paper) production. which was a key genre of Japonism, will natural terrain and the force of dates back over 370 Durability is one of Hosokawa paper’s symbolize the revival of Japonism at a rice gravity. You can try canyon bungee years when it started characteristics. It is said that if you field. The harvest will be made into jumping from June 2021. You’ll as a religious rite. It is still held, normally in throw a Hosokawa paper notebook in noodles later as a part of an edible art bungee jump from a platform October, uniquely in the same way big festivals the well when there is a fire, the records project. suspended only by wires, 50 meters were held in the Edo period. on the notebook will be safe even if the https://www.gyoda- above the . https://www.kawagoematsuri.jp/English/index. house burns down. 4 kankoukyoukai.jp/en/archives/spot/669 https://gravitypark.jp/?lang=en html ■Sayama-cha ■Anime/Manga (green tea) Saitama is known as the It is known as one of the setting for a number of northernmost grown teas popular anime series. in Japan. While teas produced in other areas ■The Metropolitan Outer Area Crayon Shin-chan of Japan are praised for Underground Discharge Channel The birthplace of the author as well as the their color or aroma, ■Igamanju This underground facility was setting of this title which is popular worldwide ■Higashimatsuyama Yakitori Sayama-cha is said to put This rice cake is a specialty of northern Saitama, often constructed to prevent flood is Kasukabe, a city in eastern Saitama. You’ll Higashimatsuyama city’s emphasis on its taste. damage by draining the water find Shin-chan when you arrive at the train Miyano-en prepared for summer festivals from small and medium-sized rivers yakitori (grilled skewered or any kind of traditional station. https://en.chocotabi- chicken and vegetables) is https://miyanoen.com/e directly into the Edogawa River. saitama.jp/magazine/3 n/ celebration. Built 50 meters underground, this known as one of the seven Manju is a rice cake filled with 6.3 kilometer long channel, one of Lucky Star : Kuki City (North of Kasukabe). https://animetourism88.com/en/88AnimeSpot unique yakitori of Japan. Its red bean paste. This special the world’s largest of its kind, is uniqueness is in its meat and manju is covered with red rice, often called an underground /luckystar “Parthenon” because of the huge Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day: sauce. The meat is not chicken, made by boiling rice together pillars. The channel can drain 200 Chichibu City but pork, and the sauce is not with red beans. It is said that tons of water, as much as a 25 https://animetourism88.com/en/88AnimeSpot soy or salt based, but miso. the manju is named after the meter-long pool, every second. /anohana https://higashimatsuyama- iga (chestnut burr) because it resembles it. https://gaikaku.jp/ kanko.com/food/yakitori/ ■ Modern Culture ■ Food & Drink ■Coedo Beer ■Kadokawa Culture The world’s first sweet potato beer Museum (KCM) was produced by this award winning brewery. The beer was originally Inaugurated in 2020, made to make use of locally grown this facility is a fusion ■Ichiro’s Malt (Venture Whisky Ltd.) sweet potatoes which would have of a museum, art gallery and library. The The company started its business by been thrown away due to not building was designed by Mr, Kengo Kuma, utilizing 400 casks of whiskey aged around meeting standards for size or shape. twenty years which were almost disposed https://www.coedobrewery.com/jp/ the architect of the new national stadium ■The built for Tokyo 2020. The Bookshelf Theatre of due to transferring the president’s family history/ At the largest exhibition area, 36 business to another company. The shown above is eight meters tall and stores rolling stocks are displayed, from company produces numerous award 50,000 titles from the publisher Kadokawa the classic Locomotive No. 1 to winning whiskeys such as Ichiro's Malt, and its collection. The publisher is known for the modern . At the which won the World‘s Best Blended manga and young adult literature, and restaurant, you can enjoy meals Limited Release from the World Whiskies 35,000 titles can be enjoyed at the library on as well as observe Shinkansen in Awards four years in a row from 2018 to the ground floor. action. 2021. https://kadcul.com/en https://www.railway-museum.jp/e/ https://www.facebook.com/ChichibuDistill 5 ery/