Saitama Museum of Rivers

An interactive museum exploring rivers—including the Arakawa River flowing directly in front of it—and the relationship between water and people's lives.

Highlights include three record-setting facilities known as the museum's three main symbols. Made with cypress from Saitama Prefecture, the giant waterwheel is Japan's largest at 24.2 meters in diameter. The Arakawa River Large-Scale Model 173 is Japan's largest outdoor model, recreating the river from its source to its mouth at 1:1,000 scale. The main building's exterior wall features a ceramic reproduction of a work depicting the Arakawa River by Japanese-style painter Gyokudo Kawai—the largest ceramic reproduction of a Japanese painting in Japan.

Interactive permanent exhibits include a large aquarium recreating a mountain stream in the upper Arakawa River basin, where visitors can watch river fish swimming through viewing windows, as well as models they can ride and operate. The museum also holds several temporary and special exhibitions each year. Popular attractions available for an additional fee include the Adventure Theater, where motion seats synchronized with a large screen simulate a river-rafting experience, and Arakawa Wakuwaku Land, a water playground where visitors can learn about the properties of water while having fun.