Saitamaさいたま市

Saitama-shi. The name ends in (shi), the word for city.

Saitama (さいたま市, Saitama-shi) is a city and a designated city with 10 wards in Saitama Prefecture. Population 1,324,025 (2020 census), area 217.43 km². Borders 12 places.

An ordinance-designated city (政令指定都市 / seirei shitei toshi). Designated status lets a city take over services a prefecture would normally provide, and requires it to be divided into administrative wards. The wards are offices of the city, not governments of their own.

The city is one municipality. Its wards are internal divisions: voters in every ward elect the same mayor.

Open Saitama on the map

Facts

Japanese name
さいたま市
Reading
Saitama-shi
Kind
City (市), designated city (政令指定都市): a local government
Prefecture
Saitama 埼玉県
Region
Kantō 関東
Population
1,324,025 (2020 census)
Change since 2015
+4.8% from 1,263,979
Area
217.43 km²
Density
6,089 people per km²
Households
582,475
Under 15
12.8%
65 and over
23.6%
Foreign residents
26,928 (2.0%)
Code
11100 (団体コード, the municipality code)
Website
www.city.saitama.jp
Wikipedia
English / 日本語

The 10 wards of Saitama行政区

Saitama is a designated city, so it is divided into wards. Each ward has an office for counter services, and none has a mayor or an assembly. Voters in every ward elect the same city mayor.

WardPopulationkm²
Nishi Ward西区93,49929.12
Kita Ward北区149,24216.86
Omiya Ward大宮区117,78412.8
Minuma Ward見沼区165,04930.69
Chuo Ward中央区103,2698.39
Sakura Ward桜区98,66118.64
Urawa Ward浦和区164,82211.51
Minami Ward南区191,56313.82
Midori Ward緑区128,32126.44
Iwatsuki Ward岩槻区111,81549.17

Neighbouring municipalities

12 places share a land border with Saitama, counted through its wards. Borders across water are not counted.

Questions about Saitama

Is Saitama a city or a prefecture?
Saitama (さいたま市) is a city (市, shi) in Saitama Prefecture. It is a municipality, the lower of Japan's two tiers of local government, and elects its own mayor and assembly. It is a designated city, divided into 10 wards. The wards are offices of the city, not governments. Saitama Prefecture (埼玉県) is the larger unit around it. On its own, the name usually means the city.
Where is Saitama?
Saitama is in Saitama Prefecture (埼玉県), in the Kantō region of Japan. The prefecture is a government; the region is a customary grouping of prefectures and elects nothing.
What is the population of Saitama?
1,324,025 at the 2020 census, up 4.8% from 1,263,979 in 2015. The area is 217.43 km², which is 6,089 people per km². 582,475 households. 23.6% of residents are 65 or older and 12.8% are under 15.
Which municipalities border Saitama?
12: Kawagoe City (川越市), Kawaguchi City (川口市), Kasukabe City (春日部市), Ageo City (上尾市), Koshigaya City (越谷市), Warabi City (蕨市), Toda City (戸田市), Asaka City (朝霞市), Shiki City (志木市), Fujimi City (富士見市), Hasuda City (蓮田市), and Shiraoka City (白岡市). These are the municipalities that share a land border with Saitama in the boundary data. Borders across water are not counted.
How is Saitama written in Japanese?
さいたま市, read Saitama-shi. The last character, 市 (shi), is the word for city, and the name is often used without it in English.
How does an address in Saitama begin?
埼玉県さいたま市… (Saitama-ken, Saitama-shi, …). The prefecture name is written first, then the city name. Then the name of one of the 10 wards. After that are written the named area, the chōme, the block, and the building number.

Boundaries and neighbours: MLIT 国土数値情報. Population, households, and age groups: 2020 Population Census (令和2年国勢調査). Area: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (全国都道府県市区町村別面積調, 2020). Website and Wikipedia links: Wikidata.