Minuma Tambo

Japan is a global contender when it comes to amazing views and scenery, with its dense vegetation and complex geography. Saitama is no exception! A great thing about Saitama City is that it concentrates all the shops and restaurants you could ever want around the station, but nature, and the beautiful landscape of Japan you see on the internet is just a short car ride, or adventurous walk away.

Minuma is the wetlands area spreading through the center of Saitama City, and is a prosperous rice production area of the Kanto region (tambo means rice field). If you’re a fan of the typical “Japanese scenery” consisting of endless rice fields and various nooks and crannies with temples, parks, flower fields and the like, Minuma is a must! Under an hour from Tokyo station, you should seriously consider a jaunt here before spending your time traveling to more crowded tourist destinations.

Cherry blossoms often come up in talks about Japan’s unique nature, and it just so happens that the Minuma area has the single longest walkable stretch of cherry blossom trees in all of Japan. If you find yourself here during the blooming season, plop down and have some snacks and drinks under a tree. But even before or after spring, when the cherry trees are bare, the variety of other vegetation gives you a true sense of how bountiful Japanese nature can be in all seasons.

Over bridges and between rice fields, this walk will give you a new perspective on Japan, and if you’re lucky, you’ll be treated to an epic view of the Saitama-Shintoshin skyline during sunset. The rice fields are private farms, so let’s be sure to stay on the roads, and not tread into anyone’s crops. Minuma Tambo will be a picture-perfect part of your time in Saitama.