Getting around Saitama

Getting inHow you arrive in Saitama

No airport — Omiya Station (shinkansen) · Kawagoe is 30 min from Ikebukuro (Tokyo)

Confirmed journey times

Fastest services, checked on the date shown.

You are already almost here: Saitama begins where Tokyo ends, and both of its best days out start from Ikebukuro station — no shinkansen and no airport transfer needed.
Checked 2026-08-16
To the old warehouse town: Ikebukuro to Kawagoe on the Tobu Tojo line express, about 35 to 50 minutes depending on the service. The clay-walled merchant street is a fifteen-minute walk from the station, or a short bus.
Checked 2026-08-16
To the mountains: Ikebukuro to Seibu-Chichibu by Laview limited express, about 1 hour 20 minutes (about 1 hour 30 on the slower runs). It calls at Tokorozawa, Iruma-shi, Hanno and Yokoze on the way.
Checked 2026-08-16
About rail passes: Tobu and Seibu are both private railways. A Japan Rail Pass is not valid on either of these routes. Both companies sell their own day tickets that come to less than the separate fares — buy at the Ikebukuro counter before you board.
Checked 2026-08-16

A Japan Rail Pass does not cover Nozomi or Mizuho. What a rail pass covers

An IC card works on most of them. Signs and station names are in English.

Worth it the moment you leave the main city. What you need to drive here

Permit neededDrive left

Clean, safe and metered. Show the address on your phone rather than saying it. Doors are often opened for you.

Show the address

City: Usually around midnight
Country: Far earlier — sometimes mid-afternoon. Ask at the stop when you arrive, not when you want to leave
If you miss it: Ask your inn to call a taxi before the last bus goes, not after

ATMs: Use 7-Eleven or Japan Post for a foreign card. Bank ATMs are hit and miss
Carry: ¥10,000–20,000 on a day out of the city. Rural areas have very little
Small places: Cash only is common. Ask “Card OK?” before you order

Lockers: At the main station, paid by IC card. They fill by mid-morning
Send it: Any convenience store will deliver it to your next hotel, usually next day. Cheaper than carrying it up stairs
At your inn: They will hold it before check-in and after check-out