Location: Saitama Prefecture
Top Things to do in Saitama Prefecture
Top Hotels in Saitama Prefecture
- 1. King Ambassador Hotel Kumagaya
- 2. Hotel Grantia Hanyu
- 3. Toyoko Inn Saitama Shintoshin
- 4. COCO STAY Nishikawaguchi Ekimae
- 5. Hotel Route Inn Fukaya Ekimae
- 6. Toyoko Inn Wakoshi Ekimae
- 7. HOTEL WILL Urawa
- 8. Toyoko Inn Kumagaya-eki Kita-guchi
- 9. Hotel Metropolitan Saitama-Shintoshin
- 10. Palace Hotel Omiya
What to do and see in Saitama Prefecture, Kanto: The Best Things to do
Saitama Prefecture (埼玉県, Saitama-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region. The capital is the city of Saitama.
Restaurants in Saitama Prefecture
1. Mitsumine Shrine
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 421 reviews
Reviewed By Retron - Leysdown-on-Sea, United Kingdom
I visited Mitsumine at the end of 2016 with a friend and we both thoroughly enjoyed our time there. This year we were back in Tokyo and we both wanted to go back - not least because we missed part of the shrine (the old part of it) and the shops and museum were closed in December. In the intervening months it seems that Mitsumine has been featured on a TV programme in Japan, as a "power spot". As a result, visitor numbers have gone up - which means you have to be quick off the mark if you're taking the rickety old bus to the shrine. As with last year, we went from Ikebukuro to Chichibu on the Seibu-Chichibu line. The tourist office has closed at Ikebukuro (they helped last year with filling in the train ticket forms), but luckily said forms are now in English as well as Japanese. The bus still leaves from the Chichibu train station, but this time there was a long queue awaiting us - unlike last time where we were the only ones heading for the shrine as we got off the train. Luckily, we were able to get seats on the bus (it's a 75-minute ride), but there were several people who had to stand throughout. More people got on as the bus stopped en route to the shrine. This time upon arrival at the shrine we both went straight past everything and headed west - for beyond the hotel, there's a path leading to the original old shrine. Unlike the new shrine (which is very fancy, colourful and dedicated to the founders of Japan), the old shrine is much more modest - and is the shrine which is dedicated to the wolf said to have guided the prince through the forest nearly 2000 years ago. The old shrine has plenty of wolf statues around it (and plenty more inside), along with offerings of sake and such placed there by worshippers. It was well worth the visit! The new shrine itself was just as before - splendid in every way and clearly fondly looked after. The guardian wolf statues had new bibs and there were different votive tablets (ema) for sale at the shrine shop. This time I picked up some of the new year ceremonial arrows, as well as some ema, another ofuda and some little wooden wolf charms (with bells). Unlike last time, the museum and main wolf gift shop was open. The museum is fascinating. It contains several pelts of wolves (including a Honshu wolf from Chichibu), as well as all sorts of things from the shrine in years gone by. There's also a story board explaining how the shrine was founded. It's all in Japanese, with pretty much no English whatsoever, but it's still well worth a visit. The only downside is that photography isn't allowed, so you'll have to make do with the museum's pamphlet. The wolf shop was well worth visiting. It's the only place in Japan that stocks so much wolf merchandise, as far as I'm aware, and aside from some rather overpriced soft toy wolves the rest of it was unique. I've been to wolf centres across the States, Canada, France, Spain and the UK - and most of the items on sale at Mitsumine were unique. They had laser-etched crystal replicas of the shrine (and wolf guardians), little glass wolves and pawprints, lots of types of sake - and glasses - a Japanese-style pen set, enamel badges and lots more besides. I spent a small fortune there, something not lost on the lady who served me - she disappeared for a bit, then came back with a carrier bag full of small square bits of paper. "Origami, tanabata", she said. She gave the bag to me, as a gift, meaning I've now got enough bits of paper to make a whole mass of origami wolves! Having seen how busy the bus was on the way out, we decided to get to the bus queue 25 minutes early for the way back. There was already quite a queue and we were lucky to get seats. It seems that Mitsumine has become more popular than before, so if you plan to visit there are a few things to bear in mind: * The museum and wolf shop are closed for the winter period - December to March. * They're also closed every Tuesday. * The shrine is more popular than ever, so be prepared to get to the bus stop at least 20 minutes before the bus is due to arrive. This is much harder to do on the way out if you're coming from Tokyo! * Weekdays are quieter than weekends, but there are fewer buses running. * Avoid the 1st of the month unless you really like queueing - special talismans/charms are given away and the queues are astronomical these days! 3km or more of queues aren't unheard of, meaning it'll take you hours and hours just to get to the shrine.
2. The Omiya Bonsai Art Museum Saitama
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 183 reviews
Omiya Bonsai Art Museum is the most historical public museum of Bonsai in the world. Bonsai is one of the most aesthetic Japanese traditional arts and one of the must-see attractions in Japan! Here you can appreciate our collection of more than 120 Bonsai masterpieces and bonsai-related artifacts such as bonsai pots, miniature landscape stones called Suiseki, literature, woodblock prints, etc. In addition, about 70 pots of bonsai varying with the seasons are displayed in the garden. Taken care of delicately and continuously by Bonsai masters, Bonsai exudes its fascinating glamour. We are looking forward to seeing you explore the elegance and the secrets of this unique living art at Omiya Bonsai Art Museum! ** 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM March-October/ 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM November-February/ Closed December 29 – January 3./ **The opening hours are subject to change due to the COVID-19 state of emergency.
Reviewed By Eric_Greeney
This bonsai museum gives you a thorough introduction to the art of the bonsai. Different species and styles of the trees and aspects in their nursing and display are presented throughout the museum that has several sections. The tour ends in a courtyard with most impressive collection of large bonsai trees that are at least 200 years old, the oldest ones even 1000 years old! Taking photos is not allowed in all areas, but permitted at least in parts of the open air collection. Saitama is a bit far away from the central Tokyo, but reasonably easy to reach by train. If you have several days to spend in Tokyo and have interest in the art of the bonsai, Saitama has also several bonsai nurseries you might be interested in. All in all, this museum is a heaven for any bonsai tree enthusiast!
3. Tove Jansson Akebono Children's Forest Park
4. Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine
5. Kitain
6. Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park
7. Kodai Hasunosato
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 100 reviews
Reviewed By cinchriste - Dallas, United States
Loved seeing the rice art field. I was there too late in the year to see the Lotus in bloom, but was a fun place to go. There is an observation tower you can go up and really see the rice art very well.
8. Sakitama Kofun Park
9. Kawagoe Ichibangai Shopping Street
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 622 reviews
Reviewed By Gus_Riboldi - Sydney, Australia
A great place to get away from the frantic pace of Tokyo for a day and easy to get to. Keep going out of the shopping district and explore the local area. Really beautiful shrines and temples. There is a hop on, hop off bus, but it’s easily doable by foot. Pick up a map from the tourist information centre on the Main Street past the bell tower. In the same street as the bell tower there is a Starbucks on the left. Really nice garden out the back to sit and have a break.
