Saitama

Omiya and Urawa

In Saitama City's own description, the streets around Omiya Station, in Omiya ward, are the biggest commercial and business district in the prefecture. The town started out serving pilgrims to Hikawa Shrine and travellers on the Nakasendo road, and later became a railway, commercial and business centre. The city describes Omiya Station as one of Japan's leading terminals.

Saitama City, the prefectural capital, was formed in 2001 when Urawa, Omiya and Yono merged. Heading west from Omiya, the JR Kawagoe Line reaches Kawagoe in about 20 minutes. This site lists each venue under its nearest station or city area, so pick the station you will use and open the matching area below.

Getting there

From central Tokyo, Omiya is about 31 minutes from Shinjuku with no change, and Urawa about 25 minutes from Tokyo Station; both are Saitama City's figures. Six Shinkansen lines, including the Tohoku, Joetsu and Hokuriku, also stop at Omiya, so it is an easy stop on the way to or from those regions.

Kawagoe is about 30 minutes from Ikebukuro by Tobu Tojo Line express, or about 60 minutes from Shibuya. On the Seibu line, Seibu-Shinjuku to Hon-Kawagoe takes about 45 minutes on the Koedo limited express and about 60 minutes by express. These are the guide times on Kawagoe City's tourism page.

NIGHT LIFE JAPAN's Saitama areas

The Saitama pages are split into Saitama City; Kawagoe, Sakado, Higashimatsuyama; Tokorozawa, Iruma, Hannō; Soka, Koshigaya, Kasukabe; Kawaguchi, Warabi; Ageo, Konosu; Kumagaya · Fukaya; Wako, Shiki, Kamifukuoka; Kuki and Hasuda; and Chichibu and Nagatoro. Hostess clubs, girls bars, snack bars and lounges are listed under the station or city area where they are.

What each area contains: Saitama City (Omiya, Urawa, Kita-Urawa and Minami-Urawa); Kawagoe, Sakado, Higashimatsuyama (Kawagoe, Hon-Kawagoe; Tsurugashima and Sakado; and Higashimatsuyama); Tokorozawa, Iruma, Hannō (Tokorozawa; Sayama and Iruma; and Hanno, Hidaka); Soka, Koshigaya, Kasukabe (Kasukabe; Soka; Minami-Koshigaya; and Yashio, Misato); Kawaguchi, Warabi (Kawaguchi, Nishikawaguchi, Higashikawaguchi, Warabi, Hatogaya and Toda).

The other areas: Ageo, Konosu (Ageo and Konosu); Kumagaya · Fukaya (Kumagaya and Fukaya and Honjo); Wako, Shiki, Kamifukuoka (Wako, Asaka, Niiza; Shiki and Mizuhodai; and Kamifukuoka); Kuki and Hasuda (Kuki, Hasuda and Kazo); Chichibu and Nagatoro (Chichibu and Nagatoro).

Opening hours rules

Venues where staff sit and talk with guests, such as hostess clubs, count as entertainment businesses under the national act. Article 3 of Saitama's implementing ordinance makes 25 December to 8 January special days on which they may stay open until 1 a.m. anywhere in the prefecture. Hours on other days depend on the venue and the area, so check each venue page.