Kawagoe 'Little Edo'
Intact merchant townscape with Edo-period kurazukuri houses, Toki no Kane bell tower, and Kashiya Yokochō (candy alley).
Open in Maps ↗Prefecture profile · 都道府県
Saitama 埼玉県
Tokyo's bedroom community — and the third-largest commuter economy in Japan. Saitama is Omiya bonsai, Kawagoe's surviving Edo townscape, Chichibu festival floats, Hello Kitty's Sanrio Puroland, and a flat agricultural plain that quietly feeds the capital.
Capital
Saitama City
Population
7.3 million
Area
3,798 km²
Region
Kantō
History
Saitama's Omiya district anchored an ancient Musashi-no-Kuni province; Hikawa Shrine (founded ~2,400 years ago, mythically) is the central node of a Kantō-wide Hikawa shrine network.
Kawagoe — 'Little Edo' — escaped the bombings that destroyed Tokyo and preserves an intact Edo-period merchant-house streetscape, including the kurazukuri storehouses on Ichibangai Street and the wooden Toki no Kane bell tower.
Postwar Saitama's identity was set by JR commuter lines: the Saikyō, Tōbu Tōjō, and Tōkaidō-related links bound it economically to Tokyo, and the prefecture grew from ~2 million in 1950 to 7 million today, becoming Japan's most densely-populated 'bedroom' prefecture.
Economy & business
Saitama's prefectural GDP is around ¥23 trillion (US$155 billion), the country's 5th-largest. The economy is split between manufacturing (Honda's Sayama plant, JTEKT, Calbee, Lotte), logistics (Greater-Tokyo distribution centers cluster here), bedroom-community services, and agriculture (rice, broccoli, spinach).
Key industries
Automotive & parts
Honda Sayama (Odyssey, Stepwgn), JTEKT steering systems, Bridgestone Saitama.
Food processing
Calbee (Sayama), Lotte (Urawa), Glico (Kitamoto), Nichirei — Saitama supplies a sizeable share of the Greater-Tokyo packaged-food market.
Logistics
Greater Tokyo's main distribution-center belt runs through Saitama; Amazon Japan, Yamato, and Sagawa all operate hub facilities here.
Bonsai & traditional crafts
Omiya Bonsai Village (Edo-era specialists relocated here after the 1923 quake), Iwatsuki dolls, Chichibu silk.
Tourism & entertainment
Kawagoe, Chichibu festivals, Tobu Zoo, Sanrio Puroland (technically in Tokyo Tama but draws across Saitama), Railway Museum in Omiya.
Notable companies
Honda Sayama PlantCalbee (Sayama)Lotte (Urawa)Glico (Kitamoto)Bridgestone SaitamaMusashino BankSaitama Resona Bank
Trade partners
ChinaUnited StatesThailandSouth KoreaTaiwan
Tourism highlights
Omiya Bonsai Village
Cluster of bonsai nurseries and a public bonsai museum — Japan's most concentrated bonsai district.
Open in Maps ↗Chichibu Yomatsuri (Night Festival)
December 3 — UNESCO-inscribed festival of giant floats and the year's biggest winter fireworks.
Open in Maps ↗Tetsudo Hakubutsukan (Railway Museum)
JR East's flagship museum in Omiya; bullet-train shinkansen interiors, simulators, and the imperial-railway carriage.
Open in Maps ↗Hitsujiyama Park (Chichibu)
Hillside of 400,000 moss-phlox in April–May; rolling pink-and-white blanket against the Buko peak.
Open in Maps ↗Nagatoro river boating
Punt-poled wooden boats through limestone gorges — quieter, gentler cousin of Iwate's Geibikei.
Open in Maps ↗Did you know
Saitama Stadium 2002 (in Saitama City) is the largest soccer-specific stadium in Asia, with capacity for 63,700; it was a 2002 FIFA World Cup venue.
Omiya Bonsai Village formed in 1925 when Tokyo bonsai growers, displaced by the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, collectively relocated to Omiya for its cleaner air and looser soil.
About 14% of working-age Saitama residents commute into Tokyo every weekday — one of the highest cross-prefecture commuting rates in the world.
About Saitama — Frequently asked
What is the capital of Saitama?
The capital of Saitama is Saitama City.
What region of Japan is Saitama in?
Saitama is part of the Kantō region of Japan.
What are Saitama's main industries?
Saitama's key industries include Automotive & parts, Food processing, Logistics, Bonsai & traditional crafts.
What are the top tourist attractions in Saitama?
Top attractions in Saitama include Kawagoe 'Little Edo', Omiya Bonsai Village, Chichibu Yomatsuri (Night Festival), Tetsudo Hakubutsukan (Railway Museum).
What major companies are based in Saitama?
Notable companies headquartered in Saitama include Honda Sayama Plant, Calbee (Sayama), Lotte (Urawa), Glico (Kitamoto), Bridgestone Saitama.
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