Saitama (city)

is the capital city of Saitama Prefecture that is in Japan. It is in the south-east of the prefecture. It includes the former cities of Urawa, Omiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance. It is about 15 - 30 kilometres north of central Tokyo, so many people commute from here into Tokyo. More people live in Saitama than any prefecture in Saitama.
History
The city was founded on May 1, 2001, and was designated on April 1, 2003 as a government ordinance. For the histories of Urawa, Omiya and Yono before the merger, see
Urawa-ku and Saitama, Omiya-ku and Saitama and Yono and Saitama, respectively.
On April 1, 2005, it merged with the city of Iwatsuki to its east, which became a new ward, Iwatsuki-ku.
Geography
The city is 20 to 30 km north of central Tokyo. This is the center of the Kanto Plain. The city is mostly below 20 meters above sea level. There are no mountains or hills in the city.
Wards
Saitama has ten wards (ku), which were assigned official colours as of April 2005:
Economy
Manufacturing includes automotive (Honda manufactures the Honda Legend here), food, optical, precision and pharmaceutical products. Iwatsuki is famous for manufacturing of hinamatsuri dolls and ornate kabuto (samurai helmets).
Transportation
Saitama is a regional transportation hub for both passengers and freight.
Omiya Station is the biggest railway hub in the prefecture.
The closest major airports are Haneda Airport and Narita International Airport, both about two hours away.
Railway Stations
East Japan Railway Company
Tohoku, Akita, Yamagata, Joetsu and Nagano Shinkansen
- -
Utsunomiya Line
- - - Omiya - - -
Takasaki Line
- Urawa - Saitama-Shintoshin - Omiya - -
Keihin-Tohoku Line
- - Urawa - - - Saitama-Shintoshin - Omiya
Saikyo Line
- - - - - - Omiya
Musashino Line
- - Musashi-Urawa - Minami-Urawa - -
Kawagoe Line
Omiya - - - -
Saitama Railway Corporation
Saitama Rapid Railway Line
-
Tobu Railway
Tobu Noda Line
Omiya - - - - - - -
Saitama New Urban Transit
New Shuttle
Omiya - - - - -
Culture
Education
Universities
Mejiro University
Nihon University Faculty of Law
The Open University of Japan Omiya Study Center
Saitama University
Shibaura Institute of Technology
University of Human Arts and Sciences
Urawa University
Junior Colleges
Kokusai Gakuin Saitama Junior College
Urawa University Junior College
High Schools
Omiya Nishi High School
Omiya Kita High School
Urawa High School
Urawa Minami High school
Professional Graduate School
Omiya Law School
Sports
Saitama has two J. League football (soccer) teams: the Urawa Red Diamonds and Omiya Ardija.
Origin of the name "Saitama"
The name "Saitama" originally comes from the Sakitama (Qi Yu Jun ) district of what is now the city of Gyoda in the northern part of what is now known as Saitama Prefecture. "Sakitama" has an ancient history and is mentioned in the famous 8th century poetry anthology Man'yoshu. The pronunciation has changed from Sakitama to Saitama over the years.
With the merger of Urawa, Omiya, and Yono it was decided that a new name, one fitting for this newly-created prefectural capital, was needed. The prefectural name "Saitama" (Qi Yu Xian ) was changed from kanji into hiragana, thus Saitama City (saitamaShi ) was born. It is the only prefectural capital in Japan whose name is always written in hiragana, and belongs to the list of hiragana cities.
However, Saitama written in hiragana (saitamaShi ) actually finished in second place in public polling to Saitama written in kanji (Qi Yu Shi ). Despite this, government officials decided to name the new city Saitama in hiragana, not kanji. In third place in the poll was Omiya (Da Gong Shi ). In fourth was Saitama (Cai Yu Shi ), written with an alternative kanji for "sai" (Cai ) which means "colorful". The "sai" (Qi ) used in the prefectural name is a rare form of a common character (Qi ) that means cape or promontory.
Sister cities
Saitama has six sister cities.
Toluca, Mexico (1979)
Zhengzhou, China (1981)
Hamilton, New Zealand (1984)
Richmond, Virginia, United States (1994)
Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada (1996)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States (1998)
Tourist attractions
Akigase Park
Besshonuma Park
Hikawa Shrine
John Lennon Museum
Minuma Rice Paddies
Omiya Bonsai Village
Railway Museum
Saitama Museum of Modern Art
Saitama Stadium 2002
Saitama Super Arena
Sonic City
Other websites
Official website in Japanese
Official website in English
References
Cities in Japan
Settlements in Saitama Prefecture