Coordinates: 35°51′41″N 139°38′44″E Saitama, Saitama Saitama (さいたま市 Saitama-shi, Japanese: [saitama]) is the capital and the most Saitama populous city of Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Its area incorporates the former cities of さいたま市 Urawa, Ōmiya, Y ono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance. Being in the Greater Tokyo Area and lying 15 to 30 kilometres north of central Tokyo, Designated city many of its residents commute into Tokyo. As of 1 February 2016, the city had an Saitama City estimated population of 1,226,656, and a population density of 5830 persons per km². Its total area is 217 .43 square kilometres (83.95 sq mi). Contents History Name Geography Surrounding municipalities Climate Wards Economy Transportation Railway stations Highways Politics and government Elections Culture Education From top left: Saitama Stadium 2002, Urawa Universities Parco, Gyokuzouin, Hikawa Shrine, Saitama Junior Colleges New City Center, Saitama Super Arena, Professional Graduate School Musashi urawa Sports Mass media Sister cities Visitor attractions References Flag External links History The city was founded on May 1, 2001, and was designated on April 1, 2003 as a government ordinance. For the histories of Urawa, Ōmiya and Y ono before the merger, see: Urawa-ku, Saitama Location of Saitama in Saitama Prefecture Ōmiya-ku, Saitama and Yono, Saitama, respectively. On April 1, 2005, Saitama absorbed the city of Iwatsuki to its east, which became a new ward, Iwatsuki-ku. Name The name "Saitama" originally comes from the Sakitama ( 埼玉郡) district of what is Saitama now the city of Gyōda in the northern part of what is now known as Saitama Prefecture. "Sakitama" has an ancient history and is mentioned in the famous 8th century poetry anthology Man'yōshū. The pronunciation has changed from Sakitama to Saitama over the years. Location of Saitama in Saitama Prefecture Coordinates: 35°51′41″N 139°38′44″E Country Japan With the merger of Urawa, Ōmiya, and Y ono it was decided that a new name, one Region Kantō fitting for this newly created prefectural capital, was needed. The prefectural name Prefecture Saitama Prefecture "Saitama" (埼玉県) was changed from kanji into hiragana, thus Saitama City (さいたま市) Area was born. It is the only prefectural capital in Japan whose name is always written in • Total 217.43 km2 (83.95 sq mi) hiragana, and belongs to the list of hiragana cities. Population (February 2016) • Total 1,266,656 However, Saitama written in hiragana (さいたま市) actually finished in second place in • Density 5,830/km2 (15,100/sq mi) public polling to Saitama written in kanji (埼玉市). Despite this, government officials Time zone Japan Standard Time decided to name the new city Saitama in hiragana, not kanji. In third place in the poll (UTC+9) was Ōmiya (大宮市). In fourth was Saitama (彩玉市), written with an alternative kanji - Tree Zelkova serrata for "sai" (彩) which means "colorful". The "sai" (埼) used in the prefectural name is a rare - Flower Primula sieboldii form of a common character (崎) that means cape or promontory. Phone number 048-829-1111 Address 6-4-4 Tokiwa, Urawa-ku, Geography Saitama-shi, Saitama-ken 330-9588 The city is located 20 to 30 km north of central Tokyo, roughly at the center of the Website http://www.city.saitama.jp/ Kantō Plain. Situated in approximately the center of Saitama Prefecture, the city is (http://www.city.saitama.j topographically comprised by lowlands and plateaus, at mostly less than 20 m above p/) sea level, with no mountain ranges or hills within the city boundaries. The western portion of the city lies on the lowland created by the Arakawa River along with those created by small rivers such as the Moto-Arakawa River, Shiba River, and Ayase River. The rest of the area mostly resides on the Ōmiya Plateau lying in the north-south direction. Dispersed in this region, major rivers flow southward, almost paralleling to one another. Surrounding municipalities Saitama Prefecture Ageo (to the northwest) Saitama City Hall Hasuda (to the north) Shiraoka (to the north) Asaka (to the south) Kawaguchi (to the south) Toda (to the south) Warabi (to the south) Koshigaya (to the east) Kasukabe (to the northeast) Kawagoe (to the west) Shiki (to the west) Fujimi (to the west) Climate Climate data for Saitama City (1981 - 2010) Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high 18.7 25.5 25.4 31.2 33.3 35.9 38.7 37.9 37.4 32.1 25.6 25.1 38.7 °C (°F) (65.7) (77.9) (77.7) (88.2) (91.9) (96.6) (101.7) (100.2) (99.3) (89.8) (78.1) (77.2) (101.7) Average high 9.2 9.9 13.1 19.0 23.2 26.0 29.8 31.5 27.1 21.6 16.2 11.7 19.9 °C (°F) (48.6) (49.8) (55.6) (66.2) (73.8) (78.8) (85.6) (88.7) (80.8) (70.9) (61.2) (53.1) (67.8) Daily mean 3.6 4.4 7.8 13.4 18.0 21.5 25.1 26.6 22.7 16.9 11.0 5.9 14.8 °C (°F) (38.5) (39.9) (46) (56.1) (64.4) (70.7) (77.2) (79.9) (72.9) (62.4) (51.8) (42.6) (58.6) Average low −1.5 −0.6 2.8 8.1 13.4 17.7 21.5 22.9 19.2 12.8 6.2 0.8 10.3 °C (°F) (29.3) (30.9) (37) (46.6) (56.1) (63.9) (70.7) (73.2) (66.6) (55) (43.2) (33.4) (50.5) Record low −7.8 −8.7 −5 −2 4.8 11.5 14.7 17.1 9.5 3.6 −2.4 −6.7 −8.7 °C (°F) (18) (16.3) (23) (28) (40.6) (52.7) (58.5) (62.8) (49.1) (38.5) (27.7) (19.9) (16.3) Average 37.4 43.1 90.9 102.3 117.3 142.4 148.1 176.3 201.8 164.9 75.7 41.1 1,346 precipitation (1.472) (1.697) (3.579) (4.028) (4.618) (5.606) (5.831) (6.941) (7.945) (6.492) (2.98) (1.618) (52.992) mm (inches) Average precipitation 3.9 5.2 9.5 9.8 10.3 11.6 12.1 8.7 11.5 9.6 6.7 3.9 102.8 days (≥ 1.0 mm) Mean monthly 193.3 179.9 177.8 185.7 174.7 128.2 145.5 173.0 128.1 137.0 154.5 182.9 1,960.9 sunshine hours Source #1: (http://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/nml_amd_ym.php?prec_no=46&prec_ch=%90_%93%DE%90%EC%8C%A7&block_no=0388 &block_ch=%8AC%98V%96%BC&year=&month=&day=&elm=normal&view=)Japan Meteorological Agency Source #2: 観測史上1〜10位の値（年間を通じての値） (http://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/rank_a.php?prec_no=46&prec_ch=%90 _%93%DE%90%EC%8C%A7&block_no=0388&block_ch=%8AC%98V%96%BC&year=&month=&day=&elm=rank&view=) Wards Saitama has ten wards (ku), which were assigned official colours as of April 2005: ■1 - Chūō-ku 中央区 (Rose red) ■2 - Iwatsuki-ku 岩槻区 (Ochre) ■3 - Kita-ku 北区 (Dark green) ■4 - Midori-ku 緑区 (Green) ■5 - Minami-ku 南区 (Lemon yellow) ■6 - Minuma-ku 見沼区 (Sky blue) ■7 - Nishi-ku 西区 (Blue) ■8 - Ōmiya-ku 大宮区 (Orange) ■9 - Sakura-ku 桜区 (Cherry blossom pink) ■10 - Urawa-ku 浦和区 (Red) - administrative center Economy Saitama's economy is principally constituted by commercial business. The city is one of many commercial centers of the Greater Tokyo area and serves Saitama Prefecture, North Kanto, and northeast Honshu. Saitama is also home to various manufacturers, exporting automotive (Honda manufactures the Honda Legend at Sayama Plant), food, optical, precision and pharmaceutical products. Calsonic Kansei, a global automotive company is headquartered in the city.[1] Iwatsuki is famous for manufacturing of hinamatsuri dolls and ornate kabuto (samurai helmets). Transportation Representative station is Urawa Station. Saitama is a regional transportation hub for both passengers and freight train lines. Ōmiya Station, part of the Shinkansen high-speed train network, serves as the biggest railway hub in the prefecture. The closest major airports are Haneda Airport and Narita International Airport, both about two hours away.[2] Honda Airport in Okegawa is for general aviation and offers no scheduled transport services. Commuter helicopter flights to Narita Airport are offered from Kawajima.[3] Railway stations ■ East Japan Railway Company ■ Tōhoku, Akita, Yamagata, Jōetsu and Hokuriku Shinkansen Omiya Station, a major railway hub in Ōmiya Saitama ■ Utsunomiya Line Urawa - Saitama-Shintoshin - Ōmiya - Toro - Higashi-Ōmiya ■ Takasaki Line Urawa - Saitama-Shintoshin - Ōmiya - Miyahara ■ Keihin-Tōhoku Line Minami-Urawa - Urawa - Kita-Urawa - Yono - Saitama-Shintoshin - Ōmiya ■ Saikyō Line Musashi-Urawa - Naka-Urawa - Minami-Yono - Yonohommachi - Kita-Yono - Ōmiya ■ Musashino Line Nishi-Urawa - Musashi-Urawa - Minami-Urawa - Higashi-Urawa ■ Kawagoe Line Ōmiya - Nisshin - Nishi-Ōmiya - Sashiōgi ■ Saitama Rapid Railway Line Urawa Misono ■ Tobu Urban Park Line Ōmiya - Kita-Ōmiya - Ōmiya-kōen - Ōwada - Nanasato - Iwatsuki - Higashi-Iwatsuki ■ Saitama New Urban Transit ("New Shuttle") Ōmiya - Tetsudō-Hakubutsukan - Kamonomiya - Higashi-Miyahara - Konba - Yoshinohara Highways Tohoku Expressway Tokyo Gaikan Expressway Shuto Expressway National Route 16 National Route 17 National Route 122 National Route 293 National Route 463 Politics and government The executive mayor, who is directly elected, is Sōichi Aikawa, an independent backed by the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito. On May 24, 2009, Aikawa lost his bid for reelection against Hayato Shimizu, who was backed by the opposition DPJ.[4] The city assembly of Saitama has 64 elected members.