Omiya Bonsai Village, Saitama

Omiya Bonsai Village (大宮盆栽村), in the north of Saitama City, is the most famous bonsai district in the world. It was founded in 1925 by professional growers from Tokyo who, after the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923, went looking for space, clean air and good water for their trees. Japonista is based in Saitama, and the village is our neighbour.

Japanese 大宮盆栽村, Ōmiya Bonsai-mura
Founded 1925
Location Bonsai-chō, Kita-ku, Saitama City
Museum The Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, Saitama
World conventions The first in 1989; the eighth in 2017

A village with rules

The founders agreed rules that shaped the place: each resident was to keep at least ten bonsai, open the garden to visitors, avoid two-storey houses and use hedges in place of walls. Something of that calm, low, green character survives today in the quiet streets around the gardens.

The gardens

A handful of historic nurseries remain, some run by the same families for generations. Their trees have won the highest awards at the Kokufu exhibition, and visitors from around the world come to see them. The great annual moment is the Daibonsai Matsuri, the bonsai festival held in early May.

The Omiya Bonsai Art Museum

The city's museum, a short walk from the gardens, shows masterpiece trees in rotation alongside antique pots, viewing stones, display stands and paintings that record the history of the art. It is the best single place to understand how a tree, a pot and a stand are judged together.

World Bonsai Conventions

Omiya hosted the first World Bonsai Convention in 1989, with around 1,200 participants from 32 countries, and Saitama hosted the eighth in 2017, which drew about 120,000 visitors from more than forty countries and regions.

Visiting

  • The village lies a short walk from Toro and Omiya-koen stations.
  • Many gardens close on certain weekdays and during the hottest and coldest weeks. Check before travelling, and ask before photographing trees.
  • Pots, tools and small stones can often be bought in the gardens and at the festival; living trees need export certification. See Sending Bonsai Abroad.

In the collection

Browse bonsai and suiseki. Our curator desk can search Japan for a particular pot, stone or stand; replies follow within 1–3 business days.

See also

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