Economy

Saitama, especially Omiya has been a regional transportation hub for railways and roads for both passengers and cargo. The radial traffic to and from Tokyo and the arc traffic bypassing Tokyo often merge here. This includes daily commuter traffic, regional and national traffic of agricultural and industrial products as well as seasonal vacations. Rail and road development in the past 25 years at last seems to have caught up with the slowing of traffic demand.

Honda Airport in Okegawa is for general aviation and offers no schedlued transport services. A trip from almost domestic Haneda Airport or Narita International Airport takes about two hours.

Due to the Football World Cup 2002, the Nanboku Line of the Tokyo Metro system was extended from Akabane-Iwabuchi all the way to Urawa-Misono: however, the name of the line changes from Nanboku to Saitama Railway when the train passes the official boundary of Tokyo and Saitama. The extension of the metro obviously gave a boost to the neigborhood, and parts of Saitama are increasingly popular to live in, being about a 30–40 minute commute to central Tokyo.