Omiya Bonsai Village
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Omiya Bonsai Village (大宮盆栽村, Bonsai, Saitama city (さいたま市北区盆栽町)) Omiya Bonsai Village was established in 1925 by a group of professional bonsai gardeners who originally lived around Dango-Zaka (Hongo) area in Tokyo and emigrated from there due to the crucial damages caused by the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923. Today Bonsai Village nurses hundreds of thousands of bonsai trees (bonsai pots) in a site of about 330,000 square meters. It is known as a Mecca of bonsai at home and abroad, and number of bonsai devotees visit there from all over the world. This area is also known as a very popular tourist spot among foreign people.
Bonsai Village consists of about ten privately owned bonsai gardens, and it is famous that the current residence indication itself is also “Bonsai”. The community members of Bonsai Village used to have some unique rules among them (especially when they found there), such as “Each members must bring up more than 10 pots of bonsai.”, ”Each members must open their gardens to the public.”, Each members must build the fence of quickset hedge”, “To construct the height of more than two story buildings are strictly regulated.” and so on (of course these rules had already become invalid, for this area is also located in the commuter belt to Tokyo today).
Annually Bonsai Village holds “Great Bonsai Festival” from May third to fifth. And this area is packed with many bonsai devotees from all over Japan during this festival.
Bonsai Village is located near “Omiya Koen (大宮公園, Omiya Park)” station at Tobu Noda Line (it takes about 2 minutes from the station on foot), which is connecting with JR Omiya station (JR大宮駅). It is closed on every Thursday (unless the Thursday falls on a national holiday).
