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Tokorozawa City
所沢市

Tokorozawa City's location in Saitama Prefecture, Japan.
Location
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Saitama Prefecture
Physical characteristics
Area	71.99 km² (27.8 sq mi)
Population (as of 2006)
Total	339,341
Density	4,713.72/km² (12,208.5/sq mi)
Location	35°47′N, 139°28′E
Symbols
Tree	ginkgo
Flower	tea flower
Bird	skylark
Tokorozawa City Government Office
Mayor	Hiroshi Saitou
Address	〒359-8501 Tokorozawa-shi Namiki 1-1-1
Phone number	04-2998-1111
Official website: [1]

Tokorozawa (Japanese: 所沢市; -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 City, Higashi-Murayama City, Higashi-Yamato City, Musashi-Murayama City, and Mizuhomachi, Tokyo; and the Saitama communities of Iruma City, Sayama City, Kawagoe City, Miyoshimachi City, and Niiza City.

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.

Contents 1 History 2 Professional sports teams 3 Points of interest 4 Events 5 Transportation 5.1 Railways 5.2 Bus 6 Notable people 6.1 from Tokorozawa 6.2 who live in Tokorozawa 7 Tokorozawa in popular culture 8 Sister cities 9 References 10 External links

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.

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

• 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

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

• 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

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.

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

• 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)

• Tokorozawa inspired the setting for the animated film My Neighbour Totoro (Tonari no Totoro).^[1]

• 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 Juon were filmed in Tokorozawa. The area around Tokorozawa station is easily identifiable.

• Decatur, Illinois 1966
• Changzhou 1992
• Anyang, Gyeonggi 1998

• Tokorozawa official website in Japanese

Saitama Prefecture
Saitama City
Chūō-ku | Iwatsuki-ku | Kita-ku | Midori-ku | Minami-ku | Minuma-ku | Nishi-ku | Ōmiya-ku | Sakura-ku | Urawa-ku
Cities
Ageo | Asaka | Chichibu | Fujimi | Fujimino | Fukaya | Gyōda | Hannō | Hanyū | Hasuda | Hatogaya | Hidaka | Higashi-Matsuyama | Honjō | Iruma | Kasukabe | Kawagoe | Kawaguchi | Kazo | Kitamoto | Koshigaya | Kōnosu | Kuki | Kumagaya | Misato | Niiza | Okegawa | Saitama (capital) | Sakado | Satte | Sayama | Shiki | Sōka | Toda | Tokorozawa | Tsurugashima | Wakō | Warabi | Yashio | Yoshikawa
Districts
Chichibu | Hiki | Iruma | Kita-Adachi | Kita-Katsushika | Kita-Saitama | Kodama | Minami-Saitama | Ōsato
See also: Towns and villages by district edit