Archive4 Hours Trips

4 Hours in Saitama Sightseeing in Saitama

4 Hours in Saitama

Sightseeing in Saitama

Start at

[Omiya Station]

↓ New Shuttle (2 minutes, 190 yen)

[Tetsudo-hakubutsukan Station]

↓ Walk 1 minute

[1. The Railway Museum] (60 minutes, 1,000 yen)

↓ Walk 1 minute

[Tetsudo-hakubutsukan Station]

↓ New Shuttle (2 minutes, 190 yen)

Omiya Station

↓ Tobu Urban Park Line (3 minutes, 150 yen)

Omiya-koen Station

↓ Walk 8 minutes

[2. The Omiya Bonsai Art Museum] (60 minutes, 300 yen)

↓Walk 2 to 7 minutes (depending on garden chosen)

[3. Bonsai gardens ] (40 minutes, free entry)

↓Walk 1 to 4 minutes

Omiya-koen Station

↓Tobu Urban Park Line (16 minutes, 170 yen)

↓Walk 1 to 4 minutes

Iwatsuki Station

↓ Walk 2 minutes

[4. Togyoku Doll Museum] (30 minutes, 300 yen)

Course (2,300 yen)

Option

[Option A: Saitama Stadium 2002]

(60-minute stadium tour, 600 yen)

[Option B: Togyoku Doll Museum]

(from 30 minutes, 300 yen. Doll-making classes from 540 yen, available May to Nov with reservation. For other times, arrangements must be made in advance.)

[Option C: Unagi Eel in Urawa]

(60 minutes, from 3,000 yen)

The Railway Museum
Admission: 1,000 yen for adults

The Railway Museum opened in Saitama in 2007 to continue the legacy of the closing railway museum in Kanda, Tokyo. With its many fascinating railway artefacts depicting the vital role of the railways in Japanese history, the museum is especially designed to appeal to children. You can wander among actual engines and carriages set against authentic historical backdrops, see the country's biggest railway diorama, and try your hand at train driving on Japan's first D51 steam locative simulator, as well as on both real and model engines.

English website:
http://www.railway-museum.jp/en/index.html

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Musashi Ichinomiya Hikawa Shrine

This beautiful shrine, with a history going back over 2,000 years, was for centuries one of the most important and revered in Japan. In fact, the presence of the shrine gave Omiya its name, which literally means “great shrine”. People from all over the Kanto region flock to the shrine during New Year's celebrations to pray for good luck in the coming year. In May it hosts the annual Omiya Takigi Noh Performance. Spectators experience the profound world of traditional Noh theatre outdoors at night amidst the light of bonfires.

Website:
http://musashiichinomiya-hikawa.or.jp/access/index.html
No English website available.

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Omiya Bonsai Village
The Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, Saitama (Admission: 300 yen)
Bonsai gardens (Free)

After the devastation of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, most of Tokyo's bonsai nurseries relocated here, creating what became the Omiya Bonsai Village. In the world of bonsai, this is a special place, attracting lovers of the art from around the world. There are currently five gardens or nurseries, and all welcome walk-in visitors year round.
The world's first publicly run bonsai museum was opened in Omiya in 2010. Collections include a wide range of paintings, prints and traditional arts depicting bonsai, and there are also exhibitions of bonsai tools, accessories and historical items.