Saitama Hidden Gems
Tokyo's northern neighbour, where an Edo-era merchant town, river valleys and long-standing craft traditions sit half an hour from Ikebukuro.
6 spots
Climate & Best Season
Hot, humid summers (Kumagaya regularly tops Japan's charts) and dry, sunny winters. Spring and autumn are most comfortable.
Famous For (Food)
- Soba
- Unagi
- Sayama tea
- Kusadango
Signature Sights
- Kawagoe 'Little Edo'
- Chichibu valley & Mitsumine Shrine
- Nagatoro river boating
- Hitsujiyama Park shibazakura
Chichibu Shrine — Dragon-Carved Sanctuary Since 2000 Years
Chichibu Shrine (秩父神社) claims a founding date of 2,100 years ago, though the current structures date to the 1592 reconst…
Hitsujiyama Park Shibazakura — Pink Moss Carpet Fields
Each spring, Hitsujiyama Park's hillside explodes into 400,000 pink, white, and purple shibazakura (芝桜, moss phlox) flow…
Chichibu Night Festival — Fire, Floats, and Fireworks
The Chichibu Yomatsuri (秩父夜祭, Night Festival, December 2–3) is one of Japan's three greatest hikiyama festivals — six ma…
Mitsumine Shrine — Mountaintop Wolf Guardian
Mitsumine Shrine (三峯神社) sits at 1,100 meters on a remote mountain peak in the Chichibu range, enshrining wolf deities (o…
Nagatoro Autumn Foliage — River Gorge Maple Tunnel
Nagatoro's limestone gorge transforms each November into one of Kanto's premier autumn foliage destinations — the layere…
Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage — Sacred Temple Circuit
The Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage (秩父三十四箇所観音霊場) is one of Japan's three major Kannon temple pilgrimages — a circuit of 3…