Running north from Ikebukuro Station way up into the deepest parts of Saitama Prefecture and beyond, the Tobu Tojo line has long played a very important role during my time in Japan. Other than Kawagoe (a.k.a. Little Edo) though it is often overlooked by many domestic and international travellers so to try and rectify that Tokyo Fox has come up with 10 sights (in no particular order) that are worth checking out…

1. Yoshimi Hyaku-ana Caves @ Higashi Matsuyama (TJ29)

These little known caves and tunnels were used as storage for weapons in WWII and made bigger to protect the Japanese from the Allied bombing raids. It is alleged that they were enlarged in 1945 through the efforts of 3500 Korean forced labourers. More details here

2. Tokyo Daibutsu @ Shimo Akatsuka (TJ09)

The giant Buddha, which is about 12.5m tall, was erected in 1977 in the hope that it would protect the area from war and natural disasters like earthquakes. It is Japan’s third largest bronze buddha, and is very much off the beaten track. It can be found at Jorenji Temple in Akatsuka. More details here

3. Shinrin-Koen @Shinrinkōen (TJ30)

This vast park also needs a short bus ride from the station, and includes the likes of a wading pool, an adventure course, streams, lakes, bridges, restaurants, a dog run, cycle tracks, lookout points, flowering trees, swamp land, gardens as well as sculpture and memorial squares. More details here

4. Mizukokaizuka Park @ Mizuhodai (TJ16)

It is said that this park was built to preserve the remains of a village from approximately 6000 years ago. There’s a museum as well as about half a dozen reproductions of pit-house dwellings from the Jōmon Period (14,000–400 BC) of prehistoric Japan. More details here

5. Gan Kutsu Cliffside Hotel @ Higashi Matsuyama (TJ29)

This place was carved out as a cave hotel by one man and his chisel between 1904 and 1925 when he sadly died before it was opened. It did open after his death but eventually closed due to cave-ins and obviously fell in to the disrepair that can now be seen today through the iron bars which surround the place. More details here.

6. Panda/Shinkansen 200 Series Toilet Blocks @ Kami-Fukuoka (TJ19)

Public toilets aren’t usually considered sights but these ones, just minutes apart from each other, are the kind of quirky constructions which are just so Japanese! More details here & here

7. Renko-ji Temple @ Yorii (TJ39)

An impressive looking golden god which is part of a seven gods tour that can be done in the area. More details here

8. Seitenkyū @ Wakaba (TJ25)

The largest Taoist temple in Japan is seemingly located in the middle of nowhere. It’s sculptures are impressive and the stone pillar carvings are elaborate. More details here

9. Hikarigaoka Park @ Shimo Akatsuka (TJ09) or Narimasu (TJ10)

A vast park covering more than 600,000 m2 containing a lawn square, bird sanctuary, gymnasium, library, baseball fields, tennis practice wall, track field and archery ground. More details here

10. Yakyu Inari Shrine (a.k.a. the baseball shrine) @ Higashimatsuyama (TJ29)

The kanji for yakyu can also be read as baseball which is the reason many fans visit the place as they pray to the gods in return for some luck and fortune being bestowed on the team they support, or even to assist their own batting or pitching skills. More details here

Click here to read ‘Tokyo Daytripper: A Unique Frog Shrine & A Park Featuring A Few Pre-Historic Dwellings’

Click here to read ‘Japan’s 3rd Largest Buddha Statue Is Actually In Tokyo!’

Click here to read ‘TF Top 10……Alternative Sights In Saitama Prefecture’

Click here to see the ‘Top 10 day trips beyond Kanagawa, Saitama & Chiba’