Events and outings in 6 cities and 2 towns of northern Saitama

Menus and labels are in English. Event information is machine-translated from Japanese sources, and place details (names, descriptions, opening hours) are shown in Japanese.

About

About Saitama Odekake NAVI

Saitama Odekake NAVI treats the 6 cities and 2 towns of northern Saitama (Kumagaya, Higashimatsuyama, Gyoda, Konosu, Hanyu, Kazo, Yoshimi, Namegawa) as one area and helps you find places to go across city borders. You can discover local shops and community events on the map. The site is operated in Japanese; this English version translates the menus and labels, while event and place details are shown in Japanese. If this English page differs from the Japanese version, the Japanese version prevails.

  • Kumagaya
  • Higashimatsuyama
  • Gyoda
  • Konosu
  • Hanyu
  • Kazo
  • Yoshimi
  • Namegawa

What you can do

This site focuses on filtering, maps and easy hopping from one place to the next.

  • Filters

    Combine date, type, city and distance to narrow down to places you can actually go.

  • Map

    See events, parks, children's centers, hospitals, restaurants and roadside stations on one map and choose by distance.

  • Next stops

    From a venue, find nearby parks, restaurants and parking.

For rain plans, detailed notes and official flyers, see the official websites of each city and tourism association (in Japanese). See the guide for how to use the site.

Data sources

We edit and use data from the following public bodies and organizations. Full details are on the Japanese page.

Events

  • Event information is collected automatically from the official websites of cities and towns, tourism associations, libraries, museums, parks, cultural and sports facilities, sports teams, shrines, temples, chambers of commerce, amusement parks, schools and expressway parking areas, and from municipal newsletters (articles on My Kohoshi and PDFs on town websites), then summarized and organized with generative AI. When the same event appears on several official sites or past editions were announced, those are used as references too. Public posts on the official Instagram accounts of some tourism associations, libraries, museums, parks and shopping facilities are also read through Meta's official Instagram API, and generative AI extracts facts such as the name, date and venue of upcoming events. The text and photos of the posts are not republished; a link to the post is shown as the source. Personal social media accounts, blogs and review sites are not used.
  • “Also known as” names on event pages are chosen by generative AI from Google Search Console search terms (collected weekly) and are not official names. “Next edition” and “Previous edition” link events in the same city with the same name.
  • On the English pages (/en/…), event names, descriptions, times, venues, fees, booking, organizers, contacts, access and parking are machine-translated from the Japanese information by generative AI. Events not yet translated are shown in Japanese. Names and details of places, parks and shops remain in Japanese.
  • Events at shopping malls, department stores and housing exhibitions (AEON Mall Hanyu, Peony Walk Higashimatsuyama, Yagihashi Department Store, Nitto Mall, Elumi Konosu, Tiara 21, Unics Konosu, Michi-no-Eki Kazo Watarase, JA Kumagaya farmers' markets, Kumagaya Housing Stage, Shin-Kumagaya Housing Center and Silpia My Home Town Higashimatsuyama): only facts such as names, dates, venues and fees are collected from their official websites. Descriptions are written by generative AI; official text and images are not published. Sales, coupons and visitor gifts are not listed. This site is not affiliated with these facilities.
  • Professional and top-league games (rugby, baseball and more): home games at venues in the covered area, from the game list on Saitama Prefecture's sports site Spottama!.
  • Musashi Kyuryo National Government Park (Namegawa): names, periods, places, times, fees and booking from the event list on the official website (descriptions are not copied).
  • Annual festivals in Kazo and Konosu: edited from “Event list” datasets on the Saitama Prefecture Open Data Portal (Public Data License 1.0). Approximate timing is converted to a date range for the year.
  • Major festivals in Kumagaya: edited from the open data “Kumagaya Festivals” on Kumap (Kumagaya City map information) (Kumagaya City, CC BY 2.1 JP).
  • School and college festivals: only those open to the public, from each school's official news and blog pages.
  • Annual events at shrines and temples, local performing arts and tourism association events (Yoshimi Kannon, Menuma Shodenzan, Yakyu Inari Shrine, Iwadono Kannon Shoboji, the Kazo tourism association, and the official websites of Higashimatsuyama, Gyoda, Yoshimi and Namegawa): typical timing is extracted by generative AI and converted to a date range for the year.
  • Venue locations are matched against the public facility lists below; venues not found are searched with Google Maps Platform (Places API). Google Maps is also used to display maps.

Parks & children's centers

  • Parking, playgrounds, toilets, nursing rooms, diaper changing, stroller rental, hours, access and rules for parks are researched on the official pages of the cities, Saitama Prefecture and park operators, and re-checked four times a year with generative AI (the check date is shown on each park page). Parking, hours, fees and access for sights such as shrines, temples, historic sites and roadside stations are organized the same way from each official page (the shrine’s, temple’s or facility’s own website, or else the city’s or tourism association’s page). The shrines, temples, historic sites and museums under “Sights” on the map are chosen by this site from the tourist guides of the cities, towns and tourism associations (descriptions are written by this site). The shopping malls, department stores, station buildings and farm stands under “Shopping” on the map are larger facilities that families visit, chosen by this site. Supermarkets with a sales floor of 1,000 m² or more are also shown with smaller pins. To find the facilities and supermarkets, we use the list of stores by municipality in Saitama Prefecture’s “List of Large-Scale Retail Stores” (in Japanese), which we read four times a year to check for new and closed facilities and supermarkets. The farm stands are the shops listed on the official sites of each JA (JA Kumagaya, JA Hokusai and JA Saitama Chuo). Their opening hours, parking and access are re-read four times a year from each facility’s official site (or, when the facility has no site of its own, the store page of its anchor store’s chain; for supermarkets, each chain’s store page) and organized by generative AI, so for some facilities the hours shown are those of the anchor store rather than the whole mall (descriptions are written by this site). For facilities that require prior permission to link, no link to their site is shown until permission is obtained. Some toilet information is edited from “Public toilet lists” for Kazo and Konosu on the Saitama Prefecture Open Data Portal (Public Data License 1.0).
  • Small parks on the map are edited from the following data (re-imported four times a year): Kumagaya — Kumap open data “Parks” and “Public toilets” (CC BY) and the city planning park list; Konosu — the city's list of urban parks and the open data toilet list; Gyoda — the city's park list; Hanyu — the city's park pages and city planning data; Kazo — the city's park list and the open data toilet list; Higashimatsuyama — the “Higashimatsuyama Park Guide”; Yoshimi — the town's urban park list; other parks in Higashimatsuyama and Konosu, and parks in Namegawa — © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), kept separate from the city data. Locations not in the data are found from addresses with the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan address search and Google Maps Platform (Places API); some are approximate.
  • Children's centers, parenting support centers and libraries are edited from the Saitama Prefecture Open Data Portal “Baby Station” (map information) (Public Data License 1.0), re-imported four times a year.
  • Play and activity facilities (aquariums, museums, planetariums, amusement parks, indoor play areas) are chosen by this site and researched on official pages; hours, fees and more are re-checked monthly with generative AI. Descriptions are our own; official text and photos are not published.

Hospitals & clinics

Restaurants

Roadside stations

  • Stations within about 16 km (straight line) of the covered cities' and towns' offices are chosen from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's list of roadside stations (source: MLIT website; checked four times a year). Hours, shops, specialties, play areas and parking are organized four times a year from each station's official website by generative AI. Descriptions are our own; official text and photos are not published.

Maps, locations & stations

Weather

  • The weekend weather on the home page is loaded when you view the page from the weekly forecast on the Japan Meteorological Agency website (Saitama)(temperatures for Kumagaya) and edited for display (source: JMA website, used under the JMA website terms of use and Public Data License 1.0). The weather categories are grouped by this site from forecast codes; this site does not make its own forecasts.

Visit notes

  • “Visit notes” and photos on place pages were written and taken by the operator during actual visits (the visit date is shown).

Operator

Operator
Makiy
Contact
info@makiy.jp

For how we handle personal information, see the privacy policy. Inquiries in English are welcome, but replies may be in Japanese.

Disclaimer & about the information

Before you go, please also check the official information from each facility or organizer. If this English version differs from the Japanese version, the Japanese version prevails.

Accuracy

We try to publish accurate information about events, shops, opening hours, parking and links on this site (Saitama Odekake NAVI), but we do not guarantee its accuracy or safety.

Changes to events and shops

Information may differ from the actual situation, for example when events are canceled or postponed due to bad weather, or shops close temporarily or change their hours. Before you go, always check the latest information on the official websites or the official social media of organizers and shops.

Automatic collection and AI summaries of events

Event information is collected automatically from the official websites of cities, tourism associations, libraries, parks, shopping centers and others, and from public posts on the official Instagram accounts of some facilities and organizations. Descriptions, times, venues, fees, booking, access and parking are extracted and summarized with generative AI from the official pages (including other official pages about the same event and notices from past editions). When dates or other details appear only in flyer images, generative AI reads them from the images (the images themselves are not published). Errors or omissions may occur, and details may differ from the current edition. Generative AI also decides which events to list (whether anyone can attend and whether the venue is in a covered city or town), so some events may be missing. Event categories and the “For kids” (including age ranges) and “Rainy-day OK (indoor)” labels are judged by generative AI from names, descriptions, venues and booking information; please check age ranges and venues on the official websites. The “Free” and “No booking” labels are judged by this site from the fee and booking text extracted by AI; parking, materials or other costs may apply, and there may be capacity limits or numbered tickets. For events whose official names are unclear, generative AI rewrites the title (for example by adding the venue), and the official name is shown on the detail page. “Also known as” names on detail pages are nicknames or alternative spellings chosen by generative AI from Google search terms, not official names. “Next edition” and “Previous edition” link events with the same name and may connect different events. Events announced only with approximate timing (such as “mid-April”) are shown with an approximate period. On the English pages, event names, descriptions, times, venues, fees, booking and other details are machine-translated from Japanese by generative AI and may contain translation errors (events not yet translated are shown in Japanese).

Map locations

Event locations are estimated automatically from venue names (if the venue name includes a park listed on this site, the event is placed at that park). Locations may differ from the actual venue, and events without a single venue may not be shown on the map. Please check the venue on the official website.

Park information

Parking, playgrounds, toilets, nursing rooms, diaper changing, stroller rental, opening hours, public transport access and rules for parks are researched on official pages and updated four times a year by comparing them with the official pages using generative AI. Errors or omissions may occur, and details may have changed since the check date. Items not mentioned on official pages are shown as “no info”. Small parks are re-imported four times a year from open data published by the cities; some locations are approximate and some parks may have changed since the data was created. Parking locations and fees may change with the season or events, and facilities may be unavailable. Please check each park's official page before you go. Parking, hours, fees and access for sights such as shrines, temples and historic sites are also organized from official pages by generative AI four times a year; parking may be unavailable on festival days or over the New Year. Opening hours and parking for shopping facilities and supermarkets are also organized by generative AI four times a year from official sites (or, when a facility has no site of its own, the store page of its anchor store; for supermarkets, each chain's store page); for some facilities the hours shown are those of the anchor store, and hours of individual shops and the conditions for free parking may change.

Weather forecasts

The weekend weather on the home page shows the Japan Meteorological Agency's weekly forecast for Saitama Prefecture (temperatures for Kumagaya) as it is when you view the page. Weather may differ by city or place, and forecasts change. Please check the latest forecast before you go.

Nearest stations and distances

Nearest stations and distances to nearby places on place pages are straight-line distances calculated by this site from their locations, and differ from actual routes and travel times. Station exits and park entrances are not taken into account. Please check the official pages or route directions for how to get there.

Play and activity facilities

Hours, closing days, fees and age ranges for aquariums, museums, planetariums, amusement parks and similar facilities are updated monthly by comparing them with the official pages using generative AI. Errors or omissions may occur, and details may have changed since the check date. Temporary closures, seasonal opening days and booking requirements differ by facility. Please check each facility's official page before you go.

Children's centers, parenting support centers and libraries

Hours, closing days and diaper changing or nursing facilities are re-imported four times a year from what each facility registered with Saitama Prefecture's “Baby Station” program, and may not be up to date or reflect temporary closures or restrictions for events. This site decides which facilities to list from their names and services. Parenting support centers are mainly for babies, toddlers and their parents, and age ranges and conditions differ by facility. Please check with each facility before you go.

Roadside stations

Hours, closing days, shops, local specialties, parking and kids' play areas for roadside stations are organized four times a year from each station's official website (or the municipality's page) by generative AI. Errors or omissions may occur, and details may have changed since the check date. Hours and closing days may differ by shop and change by season, over the New Year or on event days. Map locations are estimated from addresses and may differ from the entrance. Please check each station's official website before you go.

Hospitals and clinics

Departments, hours and closing days of hospitals and clinics are based on what medical institutions reported to the national medical information system (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare), and may not be up to date or reflect temporary closures, appointment-only hours or reception deadlines. Holidays for “today's hours” are calculated by this site. Always call the medical institution before you go. If you are unsure whether to see a doctor for a sudden illness or injury, call the Saitama emergency phone consultation (#7119; #8000 for children; in Japanese). This site does not introduce or recommend medical institutions.

Restaurant information

Restaurant information on the food map (hours, closing days, budget, photos and more) is retrieved daily from the HOT PEPPER Gourmet Web Service and shown as listed on HOT PEPPER Gourmet, so it may differ from reality. Places without photos are selected by this site from Saitama Prefecture's food business permit data and Overture Maps data (“places with little info” appear only in the prefecture data); they may have closed or have a different genre (estimated from names). The “local specialty” mark and the hours and closing days of those shops come from lists published by cities, tourism associations and shop groups (checked monthly; the Higashimatsuyama yakitori list is a PDF read by generative AI). This site matches shops by name, location and phone number, so the mark may be attached to the wrong shop or differ from reality. Please check with the shop before you go.

Visit notes

“Visit notes” on place pages describe what the site operator saw on the day of the visit. Crowds, facilities and flowers vary by season and day.

Liability

We accept no responsibility for any trouble or damage arising from the content of this site.

Copyright and links

You are free to link to this site. Please do not reproduce or use text created by this site without permission. Copyright in information about events and facilities belongs to the operators of each official website.