Things you can do during summer holidays this year

Summer Holidays / Summer in Saitama 2024.

Here is a selection of events, activities and seasonal offerings you can enjoy in Saitama Prefecture in the summer of 2024. The list is slightly different to 2023, so even if you’ve seen the 2023 list you will find some new ideas / events / things to do on this list…

Summer in Saitama 2024

1. Pools
2. Water play
3. Natural Rivers
4. Barbecue
5. Fruit Picking
6. Flower Viewing
7. Camping
8. Fireworks and Festivals
9. Summer season activities
10. New Attractions

1. Pools

Unfortunately, during the pandemic Saitama Prefecture permanently lost several of our pools and / or aqua parks. For example, the Saitama Water Park, Fujimi Beach Garden, Owada Family Pools and Kumagaya Sakura Undo Koen closed their seasonal pools permanently. However, thankfully there are still three prefectural aqua parks and they are planning to open again in 2024. They are Kawagoe Water Park, Shirakobato and Kazo Hanasaki Aqua Park. However, you need to purchase a ticket in advance, like last year. Saitama City lost a pool last year, the very popular Numakage pool, but they still have four municipal outdoor pools. Once again in 2024, you will need to buy a ticket in advance.

In addition, you will also find that some of the pools in hotels are opening again in 2024, such as the extremely popular Sunpia pools. The map above shows 18 outdoor pools open in Saitama Prefecture in 2024 and you can find a summary for each here:

Saitama Summer Holidays 2024

2. Water Play

In 2020 and 2021 more water play areas were closed than were open. Water play refers to artificially created water areas that children are allowed to play in, such as paddling pools, splash pads, manmade wading rivers and ‘pop jets’. In 2022, quite a few more opened, but much later in the year and with restrictions. In 2024 thankfully things are back to normal. Moreover, Shiki’s excellent water play area is celebrating its two year anniversary in July. Shinrin Park are also opening in 2023, but for a shorter period than normal.

Here is a small selection of the water play areas you can find on the site:

• Paddling pool (Tokorozawa)
• Artificial Wading river (Tokorozawa)
• Aobaen (Asaka)
• Ageo Maruyama Park (Ageo)
• Kamihira water play (Ageo)
• Water play (Konosu)
• Shiroyama Park (Okegawa)
• Water play (Kitamoto)
• Water play (Kawajima)
• Piala City water play area (Misato City)
• Water play (Gyoda)

Moreover, some water play areas are already operating since Golden Week; you can see which ones here.

Then there is always the real deal – natural rivers which are abundant in Saitama Prefecture….

3. Rivers

Unfortunately, one of Saitama’s most popular river areas, at the Kurakake Clear Stream Village, is still closed in 2024 for river work. The barbecue area was supposed to reopen in April 2024, but it is still closed. But there is still a great selection of fresh water rivers that are suitable for water play in Saitama Prefecture. You can also fish in some and enjoy a riverside BBQ too.

*Summer holidays in Saitama 2024*

4. Barbecue

Most of the locations mentioned in the river play section above also allow barbecues. In addition, there are several other places you can enjoy barbecue in the Prefecture. I collated fifteen of the most popular BBQ spots in Saitama, based on customer reviews on sites like Jalan and Rurubu. For the ones in the list below, it is advised that you book in advance. In fact, some of the locations will not let you in without a prior reservation. Also, please note, although rare, a couple of them do require that you have someone from the city or town in your party. Most of these sites changed their website during the pandemic! Links have been updated for 2023 and beyond.

Barbecue sites

1. Shinrin Park (Namegawa) – Official site | General information in English
   
2. Mangan village (Chichibu) – Official site | Basic Information in English
   
3. Saiko Doman Green park (Toda) – Official site | Basic Information in English
   
4. Misato Park – Official site | Basic Information in English
   
5. Kazo Hanasaki Park – Official site | General Information in English
   
6. Warabi City Park – Official web page | In English on Tripadvisor (Please note Tripadvisor is not great in Japan)
   
7. Soka park – Official web page | General Information in English
   
8. Akiha no mori Park (Nishi Ward) – Official site | Information in English
   
9. Shirakobato Park (Koshigaya) – Official site | Information in English
   
10. Kawagoe Water Park – Official site | Information in English
    
11. Ageo Maruyama – Official site | Information in English
    
12. Sagiyama Kinen Park (Minami Ward) – Official site | Information in English
    
13. Inariyama Park (Sayama) – Official site | Information in English
    
14. Shiroyama park (Okegawa) – Official site | Information in English
    
15. Hanno-gawara – Official site | Information in English. Along the Irumagawa, famous for its red bridge.
    

*Summer in Saitama 2024*

5. Fruit Picking

There are five main fruits ripe for the picking in Saitama in summer. Blueberries, cherries, peaches, melon and grapes. Blueberry picking can start as early as the end of May and, in some places, last until the end of August. Cherry picking is generally from around mid June to mid July in Saitama, so before the summer holidays start. Peaches can be picked from around end of June to early September. Melon picking is generally around July. Finally, grapes have a long picking season which starts in summer and goes right through to October. Below some suggestions for places to pick blueberries and grapes.

Blueberry Picking

The most famous place for Blueberry Picking in Saitama Prefecture is Sayama Berryland. It is also one of the largest blueberry picking farms in all of Japan. Their blueberry season is in full swing already. Information for blueberry picking at Sayama Berryland.

One of the cooler places to pick blueberries, and I mean that in both senses of the word, is at the 876 meter high Dodaira Observatory. The Dodaira Observatory is a popular place for stargazing. It was once Japan’s National Astronomical Observatory. The season usually opens early July and picking is reasonably priced here. Official website here.

For the amateur photographer and / or the cafe lover, Hilltop Farm in Namegawa is a nice spot for early morning blueberry picking. You can combine picking with a treat in their rustic cafe. In recent years they don’t start the season until early July (it used to be June 1st). More information in English here.

Farm Fumi is located in Kumagaya City in Northern Saitama. The season for blueberries is from July to late August (in late autumn you can pick oranges here). Please note that Kumagaya is notoriously the hottest city in Saitama, so taking necessary precautions against sunburn and heat stroke is advised. Information in English can be found here.

Grape Picking

Tokorozawa is one of the better known places for grape picking in Saitama Prefecture. Between 2020 and 2022 a few of the farms didn’t open to the public on account of the pandemic. Tokorozawa Vineyard opened in both 2021 and 2022. They are all back open in 2024. The season starts early August.

Komatsuzawa Leisure farm is a really lovely place to visit, especially in summer when you can try many different activities. They actually have a blueberry picking plan where you can have a barbecue as well as choose another activity such as fishing, mushroom picking or sweet potato picking. Also, this farm has nagashi somen in summer.

Chichibu Fruit farm is a tourist picking farm. In winter and spring you can pick strawberries and in August you can pick grapes. Grape picking actually carries into Autumn when different varieties are ripe for picking. There is comprehensive information available in English on the Way of Japan website (here). (I have no affiliation to this site).

There is also vegetable picking early in the summer, before the summer holidays start. You can pick corn at Fukaya Vegetable Friends Farm. And they have various picking options throughout summer too. You can also pick corn, if you book in advance, at Masaki Farm in Sakado. They have blueberry picking too.

Summer Holidays Japan 2024

6. Flower Viewing

There are quite a few blooms that flower during the months of July and August, a sample hereafter:

Sunflowers

One of my personal favorites – sunflowers – bloom in July and August in Saitama. Unfortunately, one of the most popular – Hasuda – have said they are not growing the sunflowers in 2024. But there are still several locations around the prefecture, but if you want to see a full field of sunflowers here are a few recommendations:

• Shinrin Park in Namegawa (they also have other large summer flower displays)
• Sunflower maze among 1,000,000 sunflower on the border of Gunma
• Mikajima Himawari Batake aka Tokorozawa Sunflowers
• Higashimatsuyama Norin Park

Himawari Hiroba in Kasukabe has approximately 240,000 sunflowers . Unfortunately I have no personal experience with this location, but I do have an event post up for the sunflowers in Ushijima in Kasukabe!

Lotus

If you like lotus, Kodai Hasu no Sato is a must visit. Not only because the flowers and park are beautiful, but because the lotus have a fascinating history. Read more here. You can see an absolutely mind blowing rice art display (planted, not painted) here in August too.

Heisei no Mori Park in Kawajima has a smaller lotus pond, but across the road they also have a sunflower field. The park is famous for its roses. Its past rose season, but sometimes you can see a few growing here and there. For a completely off the beaten path, but really scenic lotus pond, I recommend the John Deere park in Hatoyama. There are also lotus in Kawagoe and Fujimi, to name but a few.

Salvia

Saitama is the largest producer of Salvia in Japan. The Salvia in Omiya Hana no Oka generally bloom around the end of July. But in the last few years they’ve been visible from early July. They generally bloom until around early October.

The above is only a sample, there are also marigold, lilies, Yamayuri, Coleus, Petuna, Water hyacinth and several other flowers that bloom in summer in Saitama.

Summer in Saitama 2024

7. Camping

For me personally there are only a handful of places I can camp comfortably in summer. It depends on your tolerance for heat. However, even if you aren’t up to tenting it in summer, there are plenty of places where you can stay in a log cabin or glamp with some extra cooling comforts to evade the summer heat. There are so many campsites in Saitama, I’ve just chosen a sample (of dozens) in the Chichibu District.

Chichibu District

By and large the Chichibu district is cooler than the rest of Saitama Prefecture. Particularly if you are staying by a river. Furthermore, several of the campsites in Chichibu have cabins, trailers, cottages or some form of accommodation with air conditioning.

Nagatoro Autocamp, one of Saitama’s best known campsites, covers all bases with a variety of accommodation options. Rough it out wild style to luxurious glamping options with most of the comforts of home. There are several activities and facilities for children with river play a big draw in summer.

Waterpark Nagatoro, which is actually in Minano not Nagatoro!, is a similar set up, but with less options and lacking a bit of the je ne sais quoi of Autocamp. But it is also more reasonably priced and easier to get a booking.

Forest Sons Nagatoro is particularly popular despite its hiked prices. But it has a great water play area for kids that keeps them coming back! Their accommodation choices are also more limited, but their trailers are spotlessly clean and designed very well for a comfortable stay.

Midori no Mura only offers cabin accommodation, but due to its high altitude in a natural forest tends to be a good bit cooler than anywhere else. They even have a kotatsu in the room in case it gets cold! In the height of summer that is unlikely, but who knows!

Another place with just cabins is Yoshida Genki Mura. But they are really awesome cabins! Yoshida Genki Mura is located along a river that is popular for river play in the summer. There is air conditioning in the kitchen / dining area and in the bedroom. It is particularly good value for money so it tends to book up fast. Bonus: beautiful orange and marigold are in bloom all over the town in summer…

Campsites

• Peach Moon Campsite (Saitama City)
• Kitamoto Camp field (Kitamoto) which also has cabins, very affordable
• Kinomura Camp (Tokigawa) which has cabins too, but no air conditioning
• O park Ogose (Ogose) which also has a range of cabins and air conditioned accommodation
• Hatchoko Park Campsite (Yoshimi)
• Ryokami Sanroku (Ogano) which also has cabins, but no air conditioning
• Tsuchiuchi Camping grounds (Chichibu) also has cabins, but no air conditioning

8. Fireworks and Festivals

There were a lot more festivals and fireworks scheduled in 2023 than in 2022. But in 2024 it is almost back to normal. However, there are still a couple that are cancelled. But let’s focus on what is on. The below posts also include summer events, not just fireworks and festivals:

The August event round up here:

9. Summer season activities

1. Try the ever so fun and memorable “Nagashi somen“
2. See a wind chime display. One of the most famous is pictured above, the ‘Enmusubi’ wind chimes of Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine. But you can find wind chimes in dozens of locations, such as Koshigaya, Iwatsuki, Nishi Ward and Higashimatsuyama.
3. Fish your own lunch / barbecue. There are many restaurants that offer this service, but there is nothing quite like doing it in a fishing park. Such as this one in Yorii or this one in Kamikawa.
4. Receive a summer blessing called Natsumode. There are several different shrines that have a summer blessing event.
5. Tube down giant water slide at the Sayama Ski ground which is transformed into a water fes in summer!
6. Taste famous natural ice Kakigori
7. Be mesmerised by wild fireflies
8. Pick up a stunning limited edition temple seal
9. Roll down the River on the Line Kudari
10. Enjoy a seasonal afternoon tea
11. Try a traditional Japanese shooting gallery game, called “Shateki“.
12. Kingyo Sukui, goldfish scooping, another fun traditional festival activity.

New Attractions

Several new attractions and eateries opened in Saitama Prefecture during the pandemic. This summer might be a chance to check them out! Here is a selection of 10:

1. The cutest Miffy bakery. Read more…
2. A campsite in Saitama City. Read more…
3. Instabae (Instagrammable) goldfish themed cafe. Read more…
4. Crayon Shinchan play area. Read more…
5. Starbucks with an outdoor terrace and playground in Sayama. Read more…
6. Oh Hanno! “Fermentation, Health, Food Magic!!” Read more…
7. Shiki water playground (Summer only) Read more…
8. The Kadokawa Musashino Museum. Read more…
9. Instabae cube like cheese cake. Read more…
10. Delicious and instagrammable Wagyu beef slider restaurant. Read more…

Is there anything else you would add to this list for Summer in Saitama 2024? Whatever you do this summer, I hope you have a great and safe one.