is the capital and the most populous

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa,

Ōmiya Ōmiya 大宮 is a Japanese word originally used for the imperial palace or shrines, now a common name, and may refer to: People *Ōmiya (surname), a Japanese surname *Ōmiya, or is a female character in ''The Tale of Genji'', an 11th-century nove ...

Yono YONO (You Only Need One) is an integrated digital banking platform offered by State Bank of India (SBI) to enable users to access a variety of financial and other services such as flight, train, bus and taxi bookings, online shopping, or medical ...

and Iwatsuki. It is a

city designated by government ordinance A , also known as a or , is a Japanese city that has a population greater than 500,000 and has been designated as such by order of the Cabinet of Japan under Article 252, Section 19, of the Local Autonomy Law. Designated cities are delegate ...

. Being in the

Greater Tokyo Area The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, consisting of the Kantō region of Japan (including Tokyo Metropolis and the prefectures of Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Tochigi) as well as the ...

and lying 15 to 30 kilometres north of central

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, many of its residents commute into Tokyo. , the city had an estimated population of 1,324,854, and a population density of 6,093 people per km² (15,781 people per mi²). Its total area is .

Etymology

The name "Saitama" originally comes from the of what is now the city of

Gyōda is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 80,236 in 40,482 households and a population density of 1200 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Gyōda is located in north-centr ...

in the northern part of what is now known as Saitama Prefecture. "Sakitama" has an ancient history and is mentioned in the famous 8th century poetry anthology ''

Man'yōshū The is the oldest extant collection of Japanese (poetry in Classical Japanese), compiled sometime after AD 759 during the Nara period. The anthology is one of the most revered of Japan's poetic compilations. The compiler, or the last in ...

''. The pronunciation has changed from Sakitama to Saitama over the years. With the merger of Urawa,

, and

it was decided that a new name, one fitting for this newly created prefectural capital, was needed. The prefectural name was changed from ''

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

'' into ''

hiragana is a Japanese syllabary, part of the Japanese writing system, along with ''katakana'' as well as ''kanji''. It is a phonetic lettering system. The word ''hiragana'' literally means "flowing" or "simple" kana ("simple" originally as contrast ...

'', thus was born. It is the only prefectural capital in Japan whose name is always written in ''hiragana'', and belongs to the list of

hiragana cities The hiragana cities of Japan are municipalities whose names are written in hiragana rather than kanji as is traditional for Japanese place names. Many hiragana city names have kanji equivalents that are either phonetic manyōgana, or whose kanji ...

. However, Saitama written in ''hiragana'' () actually finished in second place in public polling to Saitama written in ''kanji'' (). Despite this, government officials decided to name the new city Saitama in ''hiragana'', not ''kanji''. In third place in the poll was . In fourth was , written with an alternative ''kanji'' for "sai" () which means "colorful". The "sai" () used in the prefectural name is a rare form of a common character () that means '

cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

' or '

promontory A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the so ...

Geography

The city is located 20 to 30 km north of central Tokyo, roughly at the center of the

Kantō Plain The is the largest plain in Japan, and is located in the Kantō region of central Honshū. The total area of 17,000 km2 covers more than half of the region extending over Tokyo, Saitama Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, ...

. Situated in the southeast of Saitama Prefecture, the city is topographically comprised by lowlands and plateaus, at mostly less than 20 m above sea level, with no mountain ranges or hills within the city boundaries. The western portion of the city lies on the lowland created by the

Arakawa River or Ara River may refer to: * Arakawa River (Kanto), which flows from Saitama Prefecture and through Tokyo to Tokyo Bay * Arakawa River (Uetsu), which flows from Yamagata Prefecture and through Niigata Prefecture to the Sea of Japan. * Arakawa Riv ...

along with those created by small rivers such as the Moto-Arakawa River, Shiba River, and

Ayase River is a river in Japan. Geography The Ayase River, takes its source in the city of Okegawa in Saitama Prefecture then joins the Naka River in Katsushika, Tokyo. The latter flows into the river Arakawa River, before Tokyo Bay. Development T ...

. The rest of the area mostly resides on the Ōmiya Plateau lying in the north-south direction. Dispersed in this region, major rivers flow southward, almost paralleling to one another.

Surrounding municipalities

Ageo 260px, Ageo Maruyama Park is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 229,517 in 103,709 households and a population density of 5000 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Ageo i ...

Hasuda is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 61,540 in 27,461 households and a population density of 2300 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Located in east-central Saitama Pr ...

Shiraoka is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 52,431 in 21,997 households and a population density of 2100 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Shiraoka is located slightly sout ...

** Asaka ** Kawaguchi ** Toda ** Warabi **

Koshigaya is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 345,353 in 158,022 households and a population density of 5700 persons per km². The total area of the city is . It is famous for producing daruma dolls ...

** Kasukabe ** Kawagoe ** Shiki ** Fujimi

Climate

Saitama has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Saitama is . The average annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Saitama has increased steadily over the past century.

Wards

Saitama has ten

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

(''ku''), which were assigned official colors as of April 2005:

History

The city was founded on May 1, 2001, and was designated on April 1, 2003 as a government ordinance. For the histories of Urawa, Ōmiya and Yono before the merger, see: *

Urawa-ku, Saitama is one of ten wards of the city of Saitama, in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, and is located in the northeastern part of the city. Urawa-ku is the governmental center of Saitama City and houses most of the city's administrative offices including ...

Ōmiya-ku, Saitama is one of ten wards of the city of Saitama, in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, and is located in the northeastern part of the city. , the ward had an estimated population of 119,298 and a population density of 9,300 persons per km². Its total area wa ...

and *

Yono, Saitama was a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. On May 1, 2001, Yono was merged with the cities of Urawa and Ōmiya to create the city of Saitama. Since April 1, 2003, the area of former Yono City is only consisted of Chūō-ku of Saitama ...

, respectively. On April 1, 2005, Saitama absorbed the city of Iwatsuki to its east, which became a new

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

, Iwatsuki-ku.

Government

Saitama has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

city council of 64 members. Saitama contributes 14 members to the Saitama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between the

Saitama 1st district , the House of Representatives of Japan is elected from a combination of multi-member districts and single-member districts, a method called Parallel voting. Currently, 176 members are elected from 11 multi-member districts (called proportional r ...

Saitama 5th district Saitama 5th district is a constituency of the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan (national legislature). It is located in Saitama Prefecture and covers Nishi, Kita, Minuma, Ōmiya and Chūō wards of the city of Saitama. Yukio Edan ...

and

Saitama 15th district , the House of Representatives of Japan is elected from a combination of multi-member districts and single-member districts, a method called Parallel voting. Currently, 176 members are elected from 11 multi-member districts (called proportional r ...

s of the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...

Elections

2005 Saitama mayoral election Saitama, capital of Saitama Prefecture held a mayoral election on May 15, 2005. Candidates * Sōichi Aikawa, incumbent mayor backed by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito. * Nakamori Fukuyo, former member of Saitama prefecture asse ...

The executive

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

, who is directly elected, is Sōichi Aikawa, an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

backed by the Liberal Democratic Party and

Komeito , formerly New Komeito and abbreviated NKP, is a conservative political party in Japan founded by lay members of the Buddhist Japanese new religious movement Soka Gakkai in 1964. Since 2012, it has served in government as the junior coalitio ...

. On May 24, 2009, Aikawa lost his bid for reelection against

Hayato Shimizu Hayato may refer to: *Hayato (given name), a masculine Japanese given name *Hayato, Kagoshima, a town located in Aira District, Kagoshima, Japan *, people of ancient Japan *Hayato (satellite), a Japanese CubeSat {{disambiguation, geo ...

, who was backed by the opposition DPJ.

Economy

Saitama's economy is principally constituted by commercial business. The city is one of many commercial centers of the Greater Tokyo area and serves Saitama Prefecture, North Kanto, and northeast Honshu. Saitama is also home to various manufacturers, exporting automotive (Honda manufactures the

Honda Legend :''Sections of this article are translated from Japanese Wikipedia''. The Honda Legend is a series of V6-engined executive cars/mid-size luxury sedans produced by Honda since 1985 which currently serves as its flagship vehicle. It is larger tha ...

at Sayama Plant), food, optical, precision and pharmaceutical products.

Calsonic Kansei was a Japanese automotive company with 58 manufacturing centres spread throughout the United States, European Union, South Korea, Mexico, Thailand, South Africa, India, China, and Malaysia. The corporation was the result of a merger in 2000 be ...

, a global automotive company is headquartered in the city. Iwatsuki is famous for manufacturing of ''

hinamatsuri , also called Doll's Day or Girls' Day, is a religious (Shinto) holiday in Japan, celebrated on 3March of each year. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2005)"Hina Matsuri"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 313. Platforms covered with a red carpet–mater ...

'' dolls and ornate ''

kabuto ' (兜, 冑) is a type of helmet first used by ancient Japanese warriors which, in later periods, became an important part of the traditional Japanese armour worn by the samurai class and their retainers in feudal Japan. Note that in the Jap ...

'' (

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

helmets).

Land use

The political and administrative center of the city is Urawa Ward (Urawa Station area), and the economic, commercial, and transportation center is Omiya Ward (Omiya Station area). Located approximately 20 km to 35 km from central Tokyo, Saitama City is a satellite city and bed town in the Tokyo metropolitan area, with a day-night population ratio of 92.8 in 2010, which is less than 100 despites being the prefectural capital and an ordinance-designated city (the southeastern part of Saitama Prefecture). (The southeastern area of Saitama Prefecture tends to be a suburb of Tokyo, and the day/night population ratio is particularly low in Minami ward and Midori ward, which are close to the center of Tokyo). Of the 747,000 commuters permanently residing in the city, 175,000, or 23.5%, commute to the Tokyo Special Wards area, making the city home to many so-called "Saitama Tomin". On the other hand, the former Urawa and Omiya cities were designated as core business cities in 1988, and in 2000, Saitama New Urban Center was opened and local branches of various central government offices were relocated from Tokyo. The southern part of the city, which is closer to Tokyo, tends to have a higher population density than the northern part. In addition, population tends to be concentrated along the Keihin Tohoku Line, Utsunomiya Line, Takasaki Line, and Saikyo Line, which directly connect to central Tokyo, and where both conditions overlap, there is a series of high population density areas of over 20,000 people/km2 from Minami ward to Urawa and Chuo ward. Urban functions such as administration, commerce, and business are concentrated around major stations such as Urawa, Omiya, and Saitama-new urban stations, which have formed the central urban area since the time of the former Urawa and Omiya cities (the center of the former Yono City is Yono-honmachi Station). The former Omiya City developed as a railroad town and commercial center, and Omiya Station in particular is one of the busiest and most prominent terminal stations in the Tokyo metropolitan area, with all Shinkansen bullet trains stopping there. The Urawa area is also known as an educational district with Saitama University and Saitama Prefectural Urawa High School, as well as an upscale residential area. The Iwatsuki Station area on the Tobu Noda Line (Tobu Urban Park Line) is also a part of the former Iwatsuki City's central urban area.

Transportation

Representative station is

Urawa Station is a junction passenger railway station located in Urawa-ku, Saitama, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is located near Saitama City Office and the Saitama Prefectural Government Office. Lines Urawa Station is served b ...

. Saitama is a regional

transportation hub A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports and ferry slips. F ...

for both passengers and freight train lines. Ōmiya Station, part of the

Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond l ...

high-speed train network, serves as the biggest railway hub in the prefecture. The closest major airports are

Haneda Airport , officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...

and

Narita International Airport Narita International Airport ( ja, 成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) , also known as Tokyo-Narita, formerly and originally known as , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Haneda Airport ...

, both about two hours away.

Honda Airport is a private airfield in the town of Kawajima, Hiki District, and the city of Okegawa, both in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Another name for it is Okegawa Airfield. The operator is Honda Airways, a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co. Ltd. Data The ...

in Okegawa is for

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

and offers no scheduled transport services. Commuter helicopter flights to Narita Airport are offered from Kawajima.

Railway stations

;

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

: Tōhoku,

Akita is a Japanese name and may refer to: Places * 8182 Akita, a main-belt asteroid * Akita Castle, a Nara period fortified settlement in Akita, Japan * Akita Domain, also known as Kubota Domain, feudal domain in Edo period Japan * Akita, Kumamoto, ...

, Yamagata, Jōetsu and

Hokuriku Shinkansen The is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), connecting Tokyo with in the Hokuriku region of Japan. The first section, between and in Nagano Pr ...

:* :

Utsunomiya Line The Utsunomiya Line ( ja, 宇都宮線, ) is the name given to a 163.5 kilometer section of the Tōhoku Main Line between Tokyo Station in Tokyo and Kuroiso Station in Nasushiobara, Tochigi, Japan. It is part of the East Japan Railway Compan ...

:* - - Ōmiya - - :

Takasaki Line The Takasaki Line ( ja, 高崎線, ) is a Japanese railway line which connects Ōmiya Station in Saitama, Saitama Prefecture and Takasaki Station in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture. It is owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) ...

:* (<Keihin-Tōhoku Line :* - Urawa - - - Saitama-Shintoshin - Ōmiya :

Saikyō Line The Saikyō Line ( ja, 埼京線, ) is a Japanese railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Ōsaki Station in Shinagawa, Tokyo, and Ōmiya Station in Saitama Prefecture. The line's name is an abbreviation of ...

:* - - - - - Ōmiya :

Musashino Line The is a railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It links Tsurumi Station in Yokohama with Nishi-Funabashi Station in Chiba Prefecture, forming a 100.6 km unclosed loop around central Tokyo. Passenger operations a ...

:* - Musashi-Urawa - Minami-Urawa - :

Kawagoe Line The Kawagoe Line ( ja, 川越線, ) is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), which connects the cities of Saitama, Kawagoe, and Hidaka in Saitama Prefecture. The main transfer stations on the line are , ...

:* Ōmiya - - - ; Saitama Railway Logo

Saitama Rapid Railway Line The is a mostly underground rapid transit line in Japan operated by the third sector operating company Saitama Railway Corporation. Funded by Saitama Prefecture, local municipal governments, and Tokyo Metro, it forms a continuation of the Toky ...

:* ;

Tōbu Railway is a Japanese commuter railway and '' keiretsu'' holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's rail system is the second long ...

Tōbu Urban Park Line The , formally known as the , is a long railway line in Saitama and Chiba Prefectures operated by the Japanese private railway company Tobu Railway. It connects the satellite cities of Tokyo, such as Saitama, Kasukabe, Noda, Nagareyama, Ma ...

:* Ōmiya - - - - - - ; Saitama New Urban Transit Logomark

Saitama New Urban Transit The is a manually driven rubber-tyred people mover system in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, operated by . The 12.7-kilometre that runs north from Ōmiya Station (Saitama), Ōmiya Station in Saitama, Saitama, alongside the Tohoku Shinkansen and Joets ...

("New Shuttle") - Ina Line :* Ōmiya - - - - -

Highways

* * *

Shuto Expressway is a network of toll expressways in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is operated and maintained by the . Most routes are grade-separated (elevated roads or tunnels) and central routes have many sharp curves and multi-lane merges that requi ...

Ōmiya Route * Shuto Urban Expwy Sign S2

Saitama Shintoshin Route The , signed as Route S2, is one of the five routes of the Shuto Expressway system serving the Greater Tokyo Area that are located within Saitama Prefecture. The long radial highway runs east from Yono Junction in the western part of the city of ...

* * * * *

Culture

Education

Universities

Mejiro University is a private university in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1923, it was chartered as a women's junior college in 1963, and opened as a four-year university in 1994. The school also has facilities in Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, including t ...

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice (Japan), Minister of Justice, in 1889. ...

Faculty of Law * The

Open University of Japan is a distance learning university which has students from all over Japan; it accepted its first students in 1985. History Although founded by the national government initiative with a single-issue law and heavily subsidized by the government, i ...

Omiya Study Center *

Saitama University Saitama University (埼玉大学, ''Saitama Daigaku'') is a Japanese national university located in a suburban area of Sakura-ku, Saitama City, capital of Saitama Prefecture in Tokyo Metropolitan Area. Founded in 1873, it became a national unive ...

Shibaura Institute of Technology The , abbreviated as , is a private university of Technology in Japan, with campuses located in Tokyo and Saitama. Established in 1927 as the Tokyo Higher School of Industry and Commerce, it was chartered as a university in 1949. The Shibaura I ...

University of Human Arts and Sciences The is a private university, private distance learning university with headquarters in Iwatsuki-ku, Saitama, Iwatsuki-ku, Saitama, Saitama, Japan, established in 2000. It has a satellite campus in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The predecessor of the universit ...

Urawa University is a private university in Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Se ...

Nippon Institute of Technology is a private university in Miyashiro, Saitama, Japan, established in 1967. History The Nippon Institute of Technology opened in 1907 as "Tokyo Engineering School". It was renamed "Tokyo Advanced Engineering School" in 1935, but was closed in 1 ...

Junior Colleges

Kokusai Gakuin Saitama Junior College is a private university, private junior college in Saitama, Saitama, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Saitama, Japan, established in 1983. Though the institution is coeducational, female students greatly outnumbers male students. In July 2004 it was se ...

* Urawa University Junior College

Professional Graduate School

Omiya Law School is a graduate level law school in Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. The school closed in 2015. External links Omiya Law School(jp icon) Educational institutions disestablished in 2015 Defunct private universities and colleges in Japa ...

High schools

operates prefectural high schools. The following municipal high schools are operated by the city: * * * *

Sports

Saitama was one of the host cities for the playoffs and the final of the official

2006 Basketball World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...

. It is home to two

J. League The , officially is Japan's professional football league including the first division J1 League, second division J2 League and third division J3 League of the Japanese association football league system. J1 League is one of the most succe ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

teams: the

Urawa Red Diamonds , colloquially Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, is a professional football club in the city of Saitama, part of the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan. The club plays in the J ...

, formerly owned by

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...

, and

Omiya Ardija is a professional association football club based in Ōmiya in Saitama, Japan. Its "hometown" as designated by the league is the whole of Saitama city, which is shared with neighbours Urawa Red Diamonds. Omiya competed in the J1 League follow ...

, formerly owned by NTT. The city and

Tokorozawa is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 344,194 in 163,675 households and a population density of 4800 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Tokorozawa is located in the ce ...

are home to the Japan Professional

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

League team the

Saitama Broncos The is a men's professional basketball club based in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It calls the whole prefecture home and its main home arenas are Tokorozawa Municipal Gymnasium and Saitama Super Arena in Chūō-ku, Saitama City. It comp ...

. *

football *

bj league The was a professional basketball league in Japan that began in November 2005 as a six-team league. The league was operated as a competitor to the established Japan Super League which was run by the Japan Basketball Association, the official go ...

basketball (The base is

, main is Saitama,

.) *

Saitama Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, wh ...

NPB or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

) *

NJPW Dojo (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares o ...

NJPW (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares o ...

(

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

) Since 2013, the city has hosted the Saitama Criterium cycling race sponsored by the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

, held at the end of October.

Mass media

Most of Saitama Prefecture's mass media presence is concentrated in this city. See

Mass media in Saitama Prefecture This article lists and describes the features of mass media based in Saitama Prefecture of Japan. Most are based in the capital and most populous city Saitama City's Urawa ward. Unless mentioned otherwise the language is Japanese. Like other pa ...

for details.

Sister cities

Saitama has six sister cities. *

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in M ...

State of Mexico The State of Mexico ( es, Estado de México; ), officially just Mexico ( es, México), is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Commonly known as Edomex (from ) to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is ...

, Mexico (1979) *

Zhengzhou Zhengzhou (; ), also spelt Zheng Zhou and alternatively romanized as Chengchow, is the capital and largest city of Henan Province in the central part of the People's Republic of China. Located in north-central Henan, it is one of the National ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

, China (1981) *

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, New Zealand (1984) *

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, United States (1994) *

Nanaimo, British Columbia Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "Hub City," which was ...

, Canada (1996) *

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, United States (1998) *

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, Germany (2020)

Visitor attractions

* Akigase Park * Besshonuma Park * Hikawa Shrine * Minuma Rice Paddies *

Minuma Tsūsen-bori The is Japan's oldest canal with a lock system. Built during the Edo period, it is located in what is now part of the cities of Saitama and Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It was designated a National Historic Site in 1982. Overview Th ...

Ōmiya Bonsai Village is the nickname for the bonsai nursery precinct in , Kita-ku, Saitama, Japan. Bonsai Village is located near Ōmiya-kōen Station on the Tobu Noda Line. It is closed on every Thursday (unless the Thursday falls on a national holiday). Histor ...

Railway Museum A railway museum is a museum that explores the history of all aspects of rail related transportation, including: locomotives ( steam, diesel, and electric), railway cars, trams, and railway signalling equipment. They may also operate historic e ...

Saitama New Urban Center is a business district in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Japan. Among the buildings located in the district is the Saitama Super Arena. The area is served by Saitama-Shintoshin Station is a passenger railway station located in Ōmiya-ku, Saitama, Sai ...

Saitama Stadium 2002 , often called or simply , is a football stadium located in Midori-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Currently, J1 League club Urawa Red Diamonds use this stadium for home games. It is the largest football-specific stadium in Japan an ...

Saitama Super Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It opened preliminarily on May 5, 2000, and then was officially opened on September 1 of the same year. Its maximum spectator capacity is 36,500, making i ...

* Saitama Museum of Modern Art *

Irumagawa stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ''ichimon'' or group of stables. It was set up in January 1993 by former ''sekiwake'' Tochitsukasa, who branched off from Kasugano stable. The first ''sekitori'' produced by the stable was ...

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Saitama Prefecture Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan Populated places established in 2001 2001 establishments in Japan