Fujimi: Jōmon Traces, Castle Park, and Local Festivals

In Fujimi City, very different chapters of history come together: a Jōmon settlement, a medieval castle, temples with dated monuments, and recurring local festivals offer concrete points of interest for a trip. Nature also has its own seasonal highlights. For families, reconstructed dwellings, traces of the past, and festival traditions can offer different themes to explore together.

From the Jōmon Period to the Castle

Mizuko Kaizuka is a shell mound site with the remains of a ring-shaped settlement established about 6,000 years ago during the Jōmon marine transgression. Mizuko Kaizuka Park was created to preserve and make use of this National Historic Site. A Jōmon-period village has been recreated there; reconstructed dwellings and trees are among the exhibits. The settlement layout and reconstructions bring this distant period vividly to life. Across from the park is Daioji Temple, founded in the Middle Ages, whose entrance gate also serves as a bell tower.

Nanbata Castle Park offers a glimpse into another era. The medieval castle belonged to the Nanbata clan, which used Fujimi as a base; in 1961, the site was designated a historic site by Saitama Prefecture. The approximately 17,000-square-meter historic park opened in June 2000. Part of it is designed to preserve and make use of the cultural heritage. In the castle ruins area, kuruwa (enclosed baileys), moats, and earthen ramparts from the Sengoku period have been reconstructed based on excavation findings and old castle plans.

In the historic farmhouses area are two city-designated cultural properties built in the early Meiji period and a reconstructed nagayamon gate. Newly built outbuildings complement the depiction of a traditional Fujimi farmstead. The Nagayamon Exhibition Room in the park displays agricultural tools collected in the city under the theme “Fujimi’s Livelihoods.” The Granary Exhibition Room at the Nanbata Castle Museum focuses on Fujimi’s craftspeople; videos cover local folk performing arts and agricultural work. The castle, rural life, and crafts thus offer distinct ways to explore history.

At Nanbata Castle Park, volunteer citizen guides offer tours on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tours may be canceled during events or on days when Saitama Prefecture issues a heat warning. If you plan your visit around a tour, check the date in advance.

Temples, Nature, and Seasonal Highlights

Individual temples also preserve traces that can be dated precisely. At Raigōji Temple are a hōkyōintō pagoda dating from 1784 and an Enmei Jizō statue from 1723. At Rurikōji Temple are a hōkyōintō pagoda dating from 1864 and six Jizō statues from 1790. According to tradition, Jōenji Temple was founded by the Okado family, a hatamoto family that governed the area during the Edo period. At Mizumi Shrine in Mizuko, unusual frog guardians sit in place of komainu—an eye-catching detail of local shrine culture.

Yamazaki Park, also known as “Seseragi Shobuen,” offers a natural highlight. Its iris field covers about 1,000 square meters and contains 60 varieties, with around 5,000 plants. Blooming begins in early June, though the seasonal timing may vary; many residents visit the park during the iris bloom each June. The area around Binnuma is known as a habitat for birds. Binnuma Nature Park, designed as a biotope, was created in a wetland by the river. At Kumoi Waterfall by Suwa Hikawa Shrine, residents care for the surroundings and raise fireflies. The 1,048-meter-long Fujimi Egawa Cycling Road runs from near the Uchikoshi municipal allotment gardens in Tsuruma 3-chome to the area around Uzurabashi Bridge in Ōaza Tsuruma.

Festivals and Local Products

Recurring festivals provide further seasonal highlights. The annual Tenno Summer Festival in the Mizuko district takes place on a Saturday or Sunday near July 15 at Kamigumi Hikawa, Shiro-no-shita Yakumo, and Ishii Yakumo shrines. Adults and children parade through their respective neighborhoods with mikoshi, accompanied by hayashi music and flower lanterns. The annual main festival at Haruna Shrine in Katsuse, “Hanna-sama,” takes place on April 10. “Osuwa-sama,” the festival of Suwa Shrine, is held annually on August 28.

Local products offer more concrete points of interest: Tedukuri-mura makes and sells miso using soybeans and rice grown in Fujimi City. Fujimi Gyoza is made with ingredients from the city, including komatsuna, and is recommended as a souvenir; product availability may change. The tourism app “Kokoshil Fujimi” organizes information about shops, events, cultural properties, and walking routes by category.

When choosing a vacation rental in Fujimi, the themes of your stay can help you decide: Jōmon history and the castle park, temples and shrines, seasonal nature, or a visit timed around one of the recurring festivals. If you are planning a trip for the iris bloom, keep in mind that the season begins in early June; the dates listed above are a useful guide for the festivals.

Discover more destinations: Chichibu, Kawaguchi, Kumagaya, Sayama, Wakō, Furusato, Toda, Saitama.

Back to the main travel guide: Saitama Prefecture.