Temples and Shrines of Saitama Prefecture

Saitama Prefecture is an inland prefecture situated north of Tokyo and many important cities in Saitama are easily accessible either using Tobu Railways or Japan Railways. 
Most important cities in Saitama are Omiya, Fukaya, Kawagoe and Sayama.  Omiya is also called as Saitama city and JR Omiya is a Shinkansen stop, so it is easily accessible from Tokyo.

Even though Saitama is one third mountainous and was a agricultural land, recently it has been transformed into an industrial economy.  The proximity to the Tokyo Metropolis has definitely helped this transformation.



The Prefectural emblem is a circle created forom 16 comma-shaped beads called magatama.  These magatama were highly prized in ancient as accessories.  The circle formed by the magatama is said to represent the sun, development, passion and vitality.



Prefecture Emblem              Prefecture Mascot
     (Magatama)                              (Kobaton)

In January 2005, Kobaton was appointed as the prefectural mascot and can be seen throughout the prefecture to bring this festive character to the world.  The Kobaton character is based on the prefectural bird, shirakobato.  This mascot is energetic and has the charms of Saitama Prefecture.  (Source: Saitama prefectural website).

Famous temples like Kitain Temple are in Saitama prefecture.  But the Chichibu area in Saitama is famous for it's Chichibu 34 Kannon temples pilgrimage.  This pilgrimage circuit is a fairly new addition to the 100 Kannon pilgrimage circuits (Saikoku and Bando are the other two) compared to the other circuits.  Chichibu are is easily accessible from Tokyo city, so you can actually visit many temples in Saitama prefecture and do the Chichibu pilgrimage from Tokyo itself.

Please click the link below to peruse through the temples and shrines of Saitama prefecture.