Wakō: Minka House History, Strawberry Picking, and Park Culture

In Wakō, historic architecture and garden culture come together with strawberry picking, green spaces, and traditional performances. If you’re looking for hotels in Wakō, it helps to first decide what you want to focus on during your trip. The main differences are whether you’re interested in a historic complex, specific strawberry-picking conditions, or park and festival culture.

Historic Architecture at Niikura Furusato Minka-en

At Niikura Furusato Minka-en, the thatched-roof former Tomioka House is the main attraction. It is estimated to have been built around 300 years ago and is one of the oldest historic buildings in Saitama Prefecture. The grounds also include a passage gate, a shed-like administrative building, a warehouse-like pump house, a field, and a pond. This allows you to appreciate the house, outbuildings, and outdoor areas as a complex, rather than focusing on just one building.

Minka-en is generally open to the public. It usually remains open even during repairs to the thatched roof, but check the conditions before your visit. Plantings inspired by a satoyama landscape shape the grounds. Irises grow on the ridge of the thatched roof, and medaka fish live in the pond. Hiroha-amana also grows there; it once grew wild along the banks of the Yanaka River. The architecture, plantings, and individual natural features offer different aspects to discover during a visit.

Strawberry Picking with Different Conditions

At Ohana Strawberry Farm, you can pick strawberries just a five-minute walk from Wakō City Station. Participation requires a complete reservation. The strawberries are recognized as the Wako brand. If you’re planning a visit, check the reservation requirements before you travel.

At Torikai-san’s strawberry farm, elevated growing beds let you pick strawberries while standing. Guests with strollers or wheelchairs can also take part; reservations are available. The strawberries grow in a greenhouse, so picking is possible regardless of the weather. As the farm is seasonal, confirm before traveling whether it will be open on your chosen date. The difference for planning is clear: a complete reservation is required at Ohana, while reservations are available at Torikai-san’s, where the elevated beds allow you to pick strawberries while standing.

Parks, Festival Culture, and Historic Landscapes

Wako Jurin Park, also known as Emi Park Wako Jurin, covers 20.2 hectares. It opened in March 1989 on part of the former U.S. military site, Camp Asaka. Versatile spaces and jogging trails offer opportunities for sports and recreation. The park offers a different focus from Minka-en: here, recreational activities take center stage, while Minka-en is about its historic house and plantings.

Shirako Bayashi has been passed down since its origins in the early Tenpō period and is performed at two festivals: on July 26 for the Suwa Shrine Festival, and on the first Sunday in October for the Kumano Shrine Festival. The dates also differ in how they are set: the July date is fixed, while the October date falls on the first Sunday of the month. If you’d like to plan your trip around a performance, confirm the festival dates locally.

Shirako-juku is also part of the historic landscape. It is said that abundant spring water brought from Kumano Shrine was used in the middle and lower sections. This tradition adds another historical perspective on the town of Wakō to its architectural and festival culture.

Discover more destinations: Saitama, Iruma, Kōnosu, Yoshimi, Sayama, Minano, Yashio, Furusato

For the broader travel overview: Saitama Prefecture.