Saitama Prefecture · Japan
Where to stay in Saitama
Saitama is a city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, home to about 1,326,000 people. This guide covers 4 hotels in Saitama.
- Places to stay in this guide
- 4
- Nearest airport
- HND37 km · Tokyo Haneda International Airport
- Currency
- JPYyen
- Time zone
- Asia/Tokyo
- Language
- Japanese
About
About Saitama
Saitama is the capital and largest city of Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki.
If Tokyo is New York, then Saitama is New Jersey, a half industrial, half suburban commuter town agglomerated by bureaucratic fiat, and Tokyo snobs joke about Dasai-tama ("Uncool-(Sai)Tama"). But as the bonsai capital of the world and home to what is arguably Japan's best railway museum, Saitama has more to impress visitors than it's given credit for. It is also home to some of the most fervent soccer fans in Japan.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Saitama
See
- Saitama Museum of Modern Art
- Hikawa Shrine
- Saitama Prefectural Museum of History and Folklore
- Railway Museum
- Sōji-in
- Tōgyoku Doll Museum
- Urawa Art Museum
- Jion-ji
- Omiya Bonsai Art Museum
- Fuyō-en
- Kyūka-en
- Seikō-en
Do
- Ōmiya kōen
- Omiya Park Zoo
- Saitama Super Arena
- Saitama Arts Theater
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Places to stay in Saitama
4 places to stay from the chains this guide covers, each linked to its own website.
Where to stay
More hotels in Saitama
5 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel Metropolitan Saitama-Shintoshin Nippon Hotel | 3.8 km | |
| Palace Hotel Omiya | 1988 | 5.4 km |
| Royal Pines Hotel Urawa | 1999 | 0.6 km |
| 浦和ワシントンホテル | 1.0 km | |
| 浦和東武ホテル | 0.5 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Saitama
Saitama has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 32 °C; September is the wettest, with about 200 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Saitama: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND), about 37 km from the city centre in a straight line; Narita International Airport (NRT, 68 km) and Ibaraki Airport (IBR, 78 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
The closest major international airport is Narita (NRT). A tiny number of JR Narita Express trains serve at Omiya Station—as of this writing, the 17:16 and 18:48 NEX departures from NRT T1 terminate at Omiya, and Omiya has two originating NEX services at 6:21 and 9:09. When it is available the NEX is fairly fast, taking around 110 minutes. At other hours, you can make it to Ōmiya station by taking the Narita Express to Tokyo and changing to the Tohoku/Joetsu Shinkansen; either route is covered by the Japan Rail Pass or JR East Pass.
Getting around
Most of the attractions are within walking distance of one of the city's train stations, but there are Community Buses with routes throughout the city.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
HND · Tokyo Haneda International Airport
NRT · Narita International Airport
IBR · Ibaraki Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Saitama
Eat
Jūmangoku Manjū (十万石まんじゅう) is a famous brand of cake from Gyōda, Saitama. Manjyū is a Japanese-style bun stuffed with red bean paste. Some department stores and souvenir stores such as Sogo department in Omiya station always sell it. One manjyū is ¥105.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Saitama: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Saitama?
Saitama has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 32 °C; September is the wettest, with about 200 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Saitama?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND), about 37 km from the city centre in a straight line; Narita International Airport (NRT, 68 km) and Ibaraki Airport (IBR, 78 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Saitama?
yen (JPY).
Nearby
Destinations near Saitama
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.