Saitama

Sansai soba at Fukushimaya in Chichibu, topped with green mountain vegetables, mushrooms, spring onion and maitake tempura.

Saitama Food Story

Sansai Soba: When the Mountains Join the Noodles

Eaten at: Fukushimaya (福島屋)
Published: Sep 7, 2026

A handmade scarecrow in Niegawa-juku raises one leg while holding a long wooden tool.

Saitama Local Culture

Niegawa-juku: A Quiet Village with Busy Scarecrows

Published: Sep 7, 2026

A rounded stone with pale shell fossils resembling eyes and a mouth, displayed in a gold-backed case at Chinsekikan.

Saitama Museums

Chinsekikan: Where Stones Acquire a Personality

Published: Sep 5, 2026

Interior of Pari Shokudo in Chichibu, with old tables and chairs, wall posters, shelves and a kettle resting on a stove.

Saitama Restaurants

Chichibu Pari Shokudo: Sauce Katsudon in a 1927 Cultural Property

Published: Aug 30, 2026

Full-length concrete figure of the Beautiful Girl of Okegawa in a swimsuit, standing beside a stone plaque bearing her name in Saitama.

Saitama Monuments

The Beautiful Girl of Okegawa: A Beach Pose in Landlocked Saitama

Published: Aug 27, 2026

Object preserved at Hounji Temple in Chichibu as a dragon bone, displayed behind glass with visible teeth and jaw-like features.

Saitama Temples & Shrines

Hounji Temple: A Dragon Bone, a Tengu Claw and Yang Guifei’s Mirror

Published: Aug 26, 2026

Rows of massive concrete columns inside the Underground Temple in Kasukabe, Saitama.

Saitama Architecture

MAOUDC: The Underground Temple Beneath Kasukabe

Published: Aug 25, 2026