Kasukabe, Saitama

Kasukabe 春日部市
Special city
View of central Kasukabe
Flag
Location of Kasukabe in Saitama Prefecture
Kasukabe Location in Japan
Coordinates:
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Saitama Prefecture
Government
• Mayor	Ryozo Ishikawa
Area
• Total	65.98 km2 (25.48 sq mi)
Population (November 1, 2015)
• Total	236,983
• Density	3,600/km2 (9,300/sq mi)
Symbols
• Tree	Paulownia tomentosa
• Flower	Wisteria
• Bird	Black-headed gull
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City Hall Address	6-2 Chuo, Kasukabe-shi, Saitama-ken 344-8577
Website	www.city.kasukabe.lg.jp

Kasukabe (春日部市, Kasukabe-shi) is a city in eastern Saitama Prefecture, Japan, approximately 30 kilometers (19 mi) north of Tokyo. It was formerly located in Kitakatsushika and Minamisaitama Districts. Kasukabe once prospered as part of the Nikkō Kaidō highway, an important trade route that linked Edo with Nikkō.

Overview

Kasukabe City Office

The city was founded on July 1, 1954 and its mayor is Ryozo Ishikawa.

On October 1, 2005, Kasukabe City absorbed the town of Shōwa (from Kitakatsushika District) to create the current and expanded Kasukabe City.

Kasukabe is famous for the production of kiri-tansu (桐箪笥), traditional dressers made from paulownia wood. The cultural and economic value of the paulownia is reflected in its designation as the official town tree. The city's official flower is the wisteria.

Kasukabe is also well known in Japan as the setting of the manga and anime series Lucky Star and Crayon Shin-chan. Shin-chan's creator Yoshito Usui also lived in Kasukabe.

The public entrance to the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel is located here. Also known as G-CANs, this huge underground flood control system was completed in 2009. The monumental main storage chamber, sometimes called the "underground temple", has been the setting for TV shows and commercials. It is open to tours.

Transport

Kasukabe Station

Kasukabe Station is served by the Skytree and Urban Park lines of the private Tobu Railway; they connect to the JR East train network at Shin-Koshigaya and Omiya stations, respectively.

Education

• Saitama Prefectural Kasukabe High School
• Kasukabe Girls' Senior High School

Shopping

Kasukabe is home to what was formerly one of the two Robinsons department stores in Japan, which became a Seibu department store in March 2013. The large, seven-story American-style store is a landmark for local residents. It is located on the east side of Kasukabe Station. However, Seibu is scheduled to close its doors due to a shortage of business, likely caused by competition with Aeon Mall.

Close to the west entrance to the station is a shopping mall, known as Lala Garden. Lala Garden houses several chain retail stores, such as Uniqlo, Gap, ABC-Mart, as well as a supermarket, 100 yen shop, and more. There is also an Ito-yokado on the west side of the station.

In March 2013, an Aeon mall opened on National Route 16, which shoppers can either reach by car, or by taking a regularly scheduled bus from the east entrance of the station. This mall, as well as Lala Garden, has a movie theatre.

Kasakabe Kite Festival on May

Sister cities

• Pasadena, California, United States

Pasadena, California's Junior Chamber of Commerce does an exchange program each summer, alternating every year with Kasukabe residents going to Pasadena one summer and Pasadena residents coming to Kasukabe the next.

External links

• (Japanese)