Northern Saitama Guide 2026: Burial Mounds, Castle & Shibusawa

The flat farm country of northern Saitama, around Gyoda and Fukaya, rewards travellers who like their history hands-on and uncrowded. Here you can climb a giant fifth-century burial mound, see a National Treasure sword whose inscription helped rewrite early Japanese history, walk the ruins of a castle that famously survived a siege by flood, and stand in the birthplace of the industrialist often called the father of Japanese capitalism. Almost no foreign itinerary reaches it. This guide explains what is here, why it matters, and how to plan a visit that trades resort comforts for substance.

At a glance: 2 days · year-round; ancient lotus late June–early August, rice-paddy art from early August · budget roughly ¥6,000–12,000 per person for admissions, meals and local transport · for history and heritage travellers happy to skip resort comforts · base your night in Kumagaya; consider a local guide to bring the stories alive.

Why northern Saitama

This is deep-history country on the Kanto plain. Long before Tokyo existed, powerful clans ruled here and left enormous tombs; centuries later, a riverside castle held out against one of Japan’s great warlords; and in the nineteenth century, a farmer’s son from Fukaya went on to build much of modern Japan’s economy. The sites are spread across flat, workaday towns rather than scenic resorts, and that is the appeal — you encounter major Japanese history with almost no crowds, often nearly alone. Lodging is honest business-hotel comfort, so come for the stories, not the rooms.

Gyoda: ancient tombs and a floating castle

Start at the Sakitama Kofun Park, where nine of the largest ancient burial mounds in eastern Japan rise from the plain — vast keyhole-shaped and round earthworks raised for local rulers between roughly the fifth and seventh centuries, now grassed over in a spacious, free park. You can climb Maruhakayama, the biggest round mound, for a view across the group. Beside it, the Saitama Prefectural Sakitama Historical Museum displays the treasures excavated here, above all the Inariyama Sword: a fifth-century iron blade inlaid in gold with 115 characters naming a great king, a discovery so important it is a designated National Treasure and helped rewrite the chronology of early Japan. (Its precise display schedule can vary, so re-confirm if the actual sword is your main reason to visit.)

Then comes Oshi Castle, famous as the “floating castle” that would not sink. In 1590, when one of Hideyoshi’s generals tried to take it by damming a river to flood the defenders out, the castle held above the water and never fell to the assault — a story later popularised by the novel and film “The Floating Castle.” The grounds are open and free; a reconstructed three-tiered turret houses the Gyoda City Museum, which tells the siege and the town’s tabi-sock-making history. For lunch, try Gyoda’s beloved soul food, the oddly named “zelly fry” (zerii furai) — a flat, crumbed patty of mashed potato and okara, deep-fried and dipped in a thin sauce, with no jelly involved — at a simple rest-stop such as Kanetsuki-dō near the castle.

A note for planners: a much-promoted indigo-dye experience at the old tabi building Makiteisha closed in June 2024, so do not build a day around it; the building now serves other uses.

Fukaya: Shibusawa Eiichi’s home town

The second day belongs to Fukaya, birthplace of Shibusawa Eiichi, who founded or helped found hundreds of Japanese companies — the first modern bank, the stock exchange, breweries, railways and more — and is widely called the father of Japanese capitalism. He is also the face of the redesigned 10,000-yen note. The Shibusawa Eiichi Memorial Museum tells his life and his ideas about ethical business and public good, with documents, belongings and a robot lecture (free, but advance reservation required). Nearby stands Nakanchi, the preserved Shibusawa family home where he was born and raised, a substantial Meiji-era farmhouse compound rebuilt by the family in the 1890s.

Fittingly, Fukaya Station is a striking red-brick building modelled on the facade of Tokyo Station — because the bricks for Tokyo Station were made here, at the brick company Shibusawa founded in Fukaya in 1887. It makes a neat, photogenic close to the trip: the industrialist’s legacy literally built into the building you leave from. Earlier in the day, fit in Kodai Hasu no Sato, a Gyoda park built around an ancient strain of lotus whose two-thousand-year-old seeds germinated on the site, with a 50-metre tower that overlooks the lotus and, in summer, the town’s Guinness-record rice-paddy art.

Our northern Saitama history and heritage itinerary sequences all of this into a workable two-day plan, with the seasonal lotus timed for the morning.

Getting to northern Saitama from Tokyo

The area is reached via the Takasaki Line and the Joetsu/Hokuriku shinkansen corridor. Kumagaya, the best overnight base, is a shinkansen stop about 40 minutes from Tokyo Station and also on the Takasaki Line; Fukaya is a couple of stops further on the Takasaki Line. Gyoda is served by Gyoda Station on the Takasaki Line and Gyoda-shi Station on the Chichibu Railway, with the Sakitama mounds a bus or cycle ride from either. The sites are spread across flat country, so a rental cycle, occasional taxis, or a local guide with a car make the days much smoother.

When to go

The history is there year-round, and the towns are quiet in every season. Two windows add a seasonal layer: the ancient lotus at Kodai Hasu no Sato blooms in the early mornings roughly late June to early August, and the rice-paddy art is best from early August through the summer. Spring and autumn are the most comfortable for walking the open mound park and castle grounds. Whenever you come, weekdays are even quieter than weekends — which, in this under-visited corner, is saying something.

FAQ

What is the Sakitama Kofun Park? It is a park in Gyoda containing nine large ancient burial mounds, raised for local rulers between roughly the fifth and seventh centuries; you can climb the biggest round mound for a view across the group. The adjacent prefectural museum displays finds from the tombs, including the gold-inlaid Inariyama Sword, a National Treasure. Both are inexpensive and rarely crowded.

Why is Oshi Castle called the “floating castle”? Because in 1590 it withstood a siege in which an attacking general dammed a river to flood the defenders out; the castle held above the water and never fell to the assault. The story was popularised by the novel and film “The Floating Castle.” Today the grounds are free and a reconstructed turret houses the Gyoda City Museum.

Who was Shibusawa Eiichi and why visit Fukaya? Shibusawa Eiichi, born in Fukaya in 1840, founded or helped found hundreds of Japanese companies, including the first modern bank and the stock exchange, and is widely called the father of Japanese capitalism; he is the face of the new 10,000-yen note. Fukaya has his memorial museum (free, reservation required), his preserved birthplace, and a red-brick station echoing Tokyo Station.

Is northern Saitama worth visiting for international travellers? If you value substantial, uncrowded history over resort comforts, yes. You can climb ancient tombs, see a National Treasure sword, walk a siege-surviving castle and trace the roots of modern Japanese capitalism, often nearly alone. Lodging is modest business-hotel standard, and a local guide helps bring the stories to life.

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