01 ／ Space
In October 1978 the Earth Observation Center was set up amid the town's greenery. Now a JAXA facility, its 13-metre parabolic antenna receives observation data from the satellite Daichi-4 (だいち4号) via a data relay satellite, for use in disaster monitoring and in understanding environmental problems. There is even an asteroid named after the town: Hatoyamamachi.
02 ／ Kiln sites
Good clay, firewood and gentle slopes for building kilns: kiln sites from the 6th to the 10th century spread across almost the whole town. In the mid-8th century, centred on the Shinnuma kiln site, huge numbers of tiles were fired for the founding of Musashi Kokubunji temple and carried some 40 km south. In 2023 the Minami-Hiki kiln sites (南比企窯跡) became the town's first National Historic Site.
03 ／ New town
In 1974 residents began moving into Hatoyama New Town in what had been a purely farming village, and for a time Hatoyama had the fastest population growth in the prefecture. Nearly all of its roughly 137 ha lies within the Hiki Hills Prefectural Natural Park. In 2017 a former Seiyu store floor was reborn as the Community Marché, home to a relocation support centre and a shared office.
Living here
There is no railway station in town. The town directs visitors to the Kawagoe Kanko bus bound for Ōhashi from the north exit of Sakado Station on the Tobu Tojo Line, about 20 minutes to the Yakuba-mae (役場前, "Town Office") stop. Within town, the shared on-demand taxi Hatotaku (はとタク) takes residents anywhere in town for 200 yen a ride. Medical care is free up to age 18, and school lunches at town kindergartens and schools are free.
−5.4% since 2015
17,973 → 13,560
16.62km² of it habitable
2024
2.5 people per household
2020
5.2 per 10,000 people
2023
These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.
ACCESS
Travel times follow 町公式「アクセス」（役場の案内）の「最寄りの駅・・・東武東上線坂戸駅よりバスで約20分」。川越観光自動車の事業者公式の時刻表（大橋線〔坂戸駅-大橋〕・2026-09-24 現在）でいまの運行を確かめた (checked 2026-09-24). They vary by time of day.
Shape
North to south
5.4km
If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.
Similar towns
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Strong childcare support, Vacant house bank, Commuter town
Home of Japan's first state-run park.
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Saitama's northern tip, facing Gunma.
Kanna RiverStrong childcare support, Vacant house bank, Commuter town
