Kumagaya Sports & Culture Park is a vast park in Kumagaya City, Saitama Prefecture. Since the Rugby World Cup in 2019 it needs little introduction, but when I first wrote this post in 2015 it wasn’t that well known outside the prefecture. Moreover, the park has developed a lot in that time. For example, a barbecue area was added in recent years as was the large sunflower display:
Sunflowers at Kumagaya Sports and Culture Park
There are approximately 25,000 sunflowers at Kumagaya Sports Culture Park. They typically bloom from early to mid August. In 2021 the sunflower season was declared open on August 4th. During the period you can usually enjoy a Barbecue at the park and kids can splash in water. However, in 2021, due to the State of Emergency both the BBQ and water play area are closed.
From the original post in 2015:
Kumagaya Sports Bunka Park
Kumagaya sports park is massive. It has all sort of pitches and sports areas, as well as a stadium and a dome arena. My guess is that the stadium and the dome arena will be used for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, maybe the Olympics too. Near both the stadium and the dome is a playground, particularly suited to kindergarten and primary school age. The park and its facilities are hosts to many events throughout the year.
Playground
Apologies for the poor quality of photos – I only had an old “garakei” (old fashioned flip phone) with a shutter camera the first time we visited. And on subsequent visits I either forgot to take photos or we were just in the stadium area.
General information for the playground at Kumagaya Sports Bunka Park.
The playground is located near the dome. Parking areas 4 and 6 are the closest, but they are still a fair distance away. We parallel parked along the small public road that runs along the side of the playground area. 5 year old and (then) 3 year old loved the circular climbing frame as well as the other climbing equipment. 2 year old was able for some of the climbing equipment, but she wasn’t able for the circular climbing frame. She enjoyed the sandbox.
Water play
There is a nice water play area in the park. However, in both 2020 and 2021 the water will not be turned on to help prevent the spread of the Coronavirus.
Kumagaya Sports Bunka Park Access
Kumagaya is commutable from Tokyo. It is easily accessible by a direct train line from areas of Tokyo, such as Ueno on the Takasaki Line or Shinjuku on the Shonan Shinjuku Line. The park is an approximate 12 minute taxi ride from Kumagaya station.
ADDRESS: 300 Kamigawakami, Kumagaya-shi, Saitama-ken 360-0004
TEL: +81 48-526-2004
Another park in Kumagaya: Great playground in Beppunuma Park| KUMAGAYA