Tokorozawa, Saitama

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**Tokorozawa**
**所沢市**
Tokorozawa's location in Saitama Prefecture, Japan.
Location
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Saitama Prefecture
Physical characteristics
Area	71.99 km² (27.80 sq mi)
Population (as of 2008)
Total	340,947
Density	4,736.03 /km² (12,266 /sq mi)
Location	35°48′N, 139°28′E
Symbols
Tree	ginkgo
Flower	tea flower
Bird	skylark
Flag
Tokorozawa Government Office
Mayor	Yoshiko Toma
Address	〒359-8501 Tokorozawa-shi Namiki 1-1-1
Phone number	04-2998-1111
Official website: [1]

Tokorozawa (所沢市, Tokorozawa-shi^?) is a city in Saitama, Japan. It is located in the central part of the Musashino plain, about 30 km west of downtown Tokyo. Tokorozawa can be considered part of the greater Tokyo area; its proximity to the latter and lower housing costs make it a popular bedroom community.

Tokorozawa borders the Tokyo communities of Kiyose, Higashimurayama, Higashiyamato, Musashimurayama, and Mizuho; and the Saitama communities of Iruma, Sayama, Kawagoe, Miyoshimachi, and Niiza.

Most of Lake Sayama falls within city boundaries; Lake Tama also touches the south-western part of the city. Today the city is an agricultural market for locally grown Sayama green tea. Other agricultural products include spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, burdock, pears and grapes.

The area around Tokorozawa Station's west exit is built up as a shopping district with several department stores. Prope Street is a popular shopping arcade.

Tokorozawa houses the Tokyo Area Control Center, which controls airspace in the Kantō, Jōetsu, Tōhoku, Chūbu, and Hokuriku regions and a portion of the Kansai region.^[1]

Central Tokorozawa from Hachikokuyama

1 History
2 Professional sports teams
3 Points of interest
4 Events
5 Transportation
- 5.1 Railways
- 5.2 Bus
6 Areas
7 Notable people
- 7.1 from Tokorozawa
- 7.2 who live in Tokorozawa
8 Tokorozawa in popular culture
9 Sister cities
10 Gallery
11 References
12 External links

[edit] History

Tokorozawa was established as a city on November 3, 1950.

During the Edo period (1603–1867) the area's major industry was silk textile production.

Tokorozawa is known as "the birthplace of Japanese aviation." It was the site of the first airfield in Japan, opened in 1911.

[edit] Professional sports teams

Club	Sport	League	Venue	Established	Championships
Saitama Seibu Lions	baseball	Pacific League	Goodwill Seibu Dome	1950	12 (Japan Series)
Saitama Broncos	basketball	BJ	Tokorozawa Municipal Stadium	1999	0

[edit] Points of interest

Goodwill Seibu Dome, home of the Seibu Lions
Seibu-en, an amusement park
Tokorozawa Aviation Museum, the location of Japan's first airfield.
Sayama Ski Slope, an indoor ski and snowboard resort
UNESCO Village, an educational park with dinosaur exhibits
Muse, Tokorozawa Civic Cultural Centre [2]
Hachikokuyama, nature park famous for being the inspiration of Totoro
Tokorozawa Shinmei Shrine
Hatogamine Hachiman Shrine

[edit] Events

The Tokorozawa Matsuri is a festival held each year in October and features parade floats (mikoshi), taiko drums, and samba dancers.

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Railways

Main station: Tokorozawa Station

Seibu Ikebukuro Line:
- Tokorozawa Station, Nishi-Tokorozawa Station, Kotesashi Station, Sayamagaoka Station

Seibu Shinjuku Line:
- Tokorozawa Station, Koku-koen (Aviation Park) Station, Shin-Tokorozawa Station

Seibu Sayama Line:
- Nishi-Tokorozawa Station, Shimo-Yamaguchi Station, Seibu-Kyujomae (Seibu Dome) Station

Seibu Yamaguchi Line:
- Seibu-Kyujomae (Seibu Dome) Station, Yuenchi-Nishi (Amusement Park, West) Station

JR East Musashino Line:
- Higashi-Tokorozawa Station

[edit] Bus

The city is served by Seibu Bus.

Buses run frequently between Tokorozawa and both Haneda domestic airport and Narita international airport. Buses leave from Tokorozawa Station (east exit) and Higashi-Tokorozawa Station.

[edit] Areas

Namiki

[edit] Notable people

[edit] from Tokorozawa

Bokuzen Hidari (1894–1971), actor born in Kotesashi Village (which was absorbed into Tokorozawa)
Tokoro Joji (Takayuki Haga), comedian

[edit] who live in Tokorozawa

Hayao Miyazaki, animated film director
Hideshi Hino, horror manga artist
Tom Dillon, humorist, newspaper columnist for The Japan Times, and author of Japanese Made Funny (ISBN 4-915645-21-5)

[edit] Tokorozawa in popular culture

Tokorozawa inspired the setting for the animated film My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro).^[2]

Scenes in the Japanese film Shall We Dance? were set in Tokorozawa. The Seibu Ikebukuro Line's Sayamagaoka Station features in the film.

Scenes in the Japanese horror film Ju-on were filmed in Tokorozawa. The area around Tokorozawa station is identifiable.

[edit] Sister cities

[edit] Gallery

Tokorozawa City Hall	Downtown, Tokorozawa Station, west exit	Communication tower of the Tokyo Area Control Center	Prope Street
Tokorozawa Aviation Museum	Sayama tea