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Saitama is the capital of Saitama Prefecture in Japan's Kanto region, a city of about 1.3 million just north of Tokyo, famous for Omiya's Hikawa Shrine, the Railway Museum, its bonsai village and Urawa Reds football. It was formed in 2001, when Urawa, Omiya and Yono merged, and Iwatsuki joined in 2005, so each old town keeps a distinct character.
Omiya is named after its 'great shrine', Hikawa Shrine, reached along a long avenue of zelkova trees beside the cherry-filled Omiya Park. The same district holds the Omiya Bonsai Village, founded by Tokyo growers after the 1923 earthquake, the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum and the Railway Museum. Omiya Station is the junction where Shinkansen lines to Tohoku, Joetsu and Hokuriku divide.
Urawa, the prefectural seat, lives for football at Saitama Stadium 2002, while Saitama Super Arena anchors the Shintoshin towers. Iwatsuki has made traditional dolls for centuries and keeps the green remains of its castle. Late March and early April bring cherry blossom, and Kawagoe is a short train ride away.
The Railway Museum in Saitama's Omiya district, opened by JR East's culture foundation in 2007, lines up steam locomotives, early electric cars and Shinkansen trains around a working turntable. Driving simulators and a huge model railway diorama keep children and rail fans busy for hours.
The Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, a Saitama city museum opened in 2010 on the edge of the bonsai village, shows prized trees in a walled courtyard garden and seasonal alcove displays, along with antique pots, viewing stones and woodblock prints. Exhibits rotate, so maples and azaleas take turns.
The Museum of Modern Art Saitama, designed by Kisho Kurokawa and opened in 1982 inside Kitaurawa Park in Urawa, mixes Western and Japanese works with changing exhibitions. Its collection of designer chairs is spread around the building, and visitors are welcome to sit in them.
The Saitama Prefectural Museum of History and Folklore sits in Omiya Park in a tile-clad modernist building by Kunio Maekawa. It traces the region from prehistoric finds and medieval stone itabi markers to Edo-period daily life and local festivals, and pairs well with Hikawa Shrine next door.
Hikawa Shrine in Omiya, Saitama, gave the district its name, meaning great shrine, and heads the many Hikawa shrines across the Kanto region as the leading shrine of old Musashi Province. A vermilion tower gate, a pond crossed by bridges and deep woods draw huge crowds at New Year.
Jionji Temple in Iwatsuki, Saitama, is a Tendai temple that tradition says the monk Ennin founded in the ninth century, and it is the 12th stop on the Bando 33 Kannon pilgrimage. Nearby stands a thirteen-storey stone pagoda built in 1950 to hold relics of the Chinese monk Xuanzang.
Omiya Bonsai Village in Saitama was founded after the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, when bonsai growers from Tokyo moved here for the clean air and good soil. A handful of family nurseries still let visitors wander among rows of pines, junipers and maples, some trained over many decades.
Iwatsuki Castle Park in Saitama preserves the earthworks and dry moats of Iwatsuki Castle, a medieval stronghold that later guarded the northern approach to Edo. The black Kuromon gate from the castle was moved here, and a red bridge zigzags over the pond, lovely when the cherry trees bloom.
Omiya Park, laid out beside Hikawa Shrine in Saitama in the 1880s, is one of the region's favourite cherry blossom spots, with around a thousand trees circling its boating pond. A free small zoo, a Japanese garden, a football stadium and the prefectural history museum fill the rest of the day.
Bessho-numa Park in Saitama's Minami-ku circles a pond under tall metasequoia trees, with a small shrine to the goddess Benten on an island. On the shore stands the Hyacinth House, a tiny cabin built in 2004 from sketches left by the poet and architect Michizo Tachihara, who dreamed of living here.
Yono Park in Saitama's Chuo-ku holds the city's best-known rose garden, with thousands of bushes in well over a hundred varieties at their peak in May, when a rose festival draws crowds. A raised terrace looks over the beds, and the park is an easy walk from the towers of Saitama-Shintoshin.
Kitaurawa Park in Saitama's Urawa district surrounds the modern art museum with outdoor sculpture and a large fountain that plays shows set to music. It also displays a capsule saved from Kisho Kurokawa's demolished Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo, a rare chance to see the Metabolist design up close.
Saitama Super Arena opened in 2000 beside Saitama-Shintoshin Station and uses a huge movable seating block to switch between a compact hall and a stadium for more than 30,000 people. It hosts major concerts, mixed martial arts, figure skating and basketball, so check the schedule before going.
Saitama Stadium 2002, Japan's largest football-only stadium with more than 60,000 seats, was built for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and staged the semi-final between Brazil and Turkey. It is home to the Urawa Red Diamonds, whose famously loud supporters turn every home match into a spectacle.
NACK5 Stadium Omiya, tucked into the woods of Omiya Park in Saitama, opened in 1960 as Japan's first stadium built just for football and was later rebuilt with stands set right against the pitch. Omiya Ardija play their home games here, and the close-up view makes any match feel lively.
Urawa Racecourse in Saitama is one of the regional tracks around Tokyo run outside the national JRA circuit, staging dirt-track horse racing on a tight oval during meetings held through the year. The crowd is relaxed and local, offering an offbeat slice of everyday Japanese sporting life.
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