Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, Saitama

The Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, Saitama is the world’s first public bonsai museum, displaying famous and exceptional bonsai works. The museum also collects and publishes historical and folk materials related to bonsai, including pots for planting bonsai in, viewing stones often referred to as “suiseki,” and works of art such as ukiyo-e featuring bonsai.

Today the word “bonsai” has become so well-known that it is even listed in dictionaries for languages other than Japanese, including English, Spanish, and German. Omiya Bonsai Village (Bonsai-cho, Kita-ku, Saitama City) is adjacent to the museum, and it is known as a mecca for famous bonsai works, bringing in bonsai-loving visitors from across Japan and the entire world.

Bonsai is an art form that carves out a natural landscape within a pot, condensing the appearance of large trees like you might see outside into a small area. Relax and take in this different view of the world.