Aobaen

Welcoming both the living and the dead!

Aobaen is a scenic cemetery in Saitama City. It sounds so strange to promote a cemetery as a place to visit. However, Aobaen welcomes both the living and the dead! The seasonal flowers at the graveyard were perhaps initially planted to attract would be customers. But the welcome result has been a steady flow of tourists. The wisteria on the grounds are 700 years old and a natural monument of Saitama Prefecture. There is an hydrangea garden backdropped by Japan's tallest three story pagoda. And in one corner of the cemetery beautiful azalea grow in spring. I believe there are some nice cherry blossoms on the grounds too, but I haven't seen them yet. There is plenty of parking with four large car parks - one on each side of the vast cemetery grounds. There are also at least two different rest areas with places to sit, toilets and vending machines.