When did SKIP City open?

SKIP City opened on 1 February 2003.

What does SKIP stand for?

SKIP stands for Saitama Kawaguchi Intelligent Park.

Which major archives are located at SKIP City?

NHK Archives are located at SKIP City.

How is SKIP City reached by public transport?

From JR and Saitama Rapid Railway stations take Kokusai Kogyo Bus routes; Hatogaya Station (Saitama Rapid Railway) is about a 20-minute walk.

SKIP City Saitama Kawaguchi audiovisual production hub

SKIP City (SKIPシティ) opened on 1 February 2003 as a dedicated video-production facility on the site of the former NHK Kawaguchi radio broadcasting station in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture. The name SKIP is an acronym for Saitama Kawaguchi Intelligent Park. The redevelopment repurposed a site that once featured two transmission towers and long-standing NHK infrastructure.

History: from NHK radio to a production campus

The location was formerly NHK Kawaguchi Radio Broadcasting Station, a two-tower transmitter complex that was even referenced in the nearby Kawaguchi Municipal Ue-Aoki Elementary School song. As the broadcast facilities aged, NHK moved antenna operations to Kuki in Saitama (the NHK Shobu-Kuki radio site) and reviewed options for the large parcel. NHK reused parts of the site as a provisional transmitter for NHK World Radio Japan, and some sections were assigned as a ground control station for satellite broadcasting operations managed by the relevant communications-and-broadcasting organization.

During deliberations on the site’s future, Saitama Prefecture and the prefectural assembly decided to pursue a redevelopment plan focused on the moving-image industry. A special-purpose company backed by Saitama Prefecture and NHK invited proposals; the plan submitted by a consortium that included Waseda University and NTT Communications was accepted. Phase 1 construction (today’s A district) was contracted to a joint venture of Takenaka Corporation and Shimizu Corporation, with Sony appointed to manage facility-related services. Construction for the A1 district began in 2000 and the A1 complex fully opened on 14 November 2003.

Governance and project structure

The project is a public–private endeavour. Principal stakeholders listed for the redevelopment are Saitama Prefecture, Kawaguchi City, NHK and the special-purpose company SKIP City Inc. (株式会社スキップシティ), with NTT Docomo Business (formerly NTT Communications) also named among the participants. SKIP City Inc. was established mainly for asset and facility management; the redevelopment itself was set up as a time-limited project and the company’s operation is scheduled to end in 2033, at which point tenant operations are intended to stand on their own.

Facilities and production resources

The complex brings together public agencies, production facilities and public exhibition spaces.

A1 district: a seven-storey main building and a three-storey annex. The main building houses the Saitama Prefectural Industrial Technology Center (the prefectural industrial research institute and industry–government–academia liaison office), the Saitama Prefectural Consumer Life Support Center (the Saitama branch of the National Consumer Affairs Center), the Saitama Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion public corporation and the Kawaguchi City Industrial Promotion Foundation. The three-storey annex is home to the Kawaguchi City Science Museum.
A2 district (the video-industry base): includes the Sainokuni Visual Plaza (Saitama Prefectural Film Museum and related facilities), an Eizo (moving-image) Museum, a dedicated Video Hall used for screenings and events, an HD studio equipped for full high-definition production with experience opportunities for general users, and incubator offices to support video-related start-ups. There is also an on-site video database and NHK Archives facilities to centralize NHK’s audiovisual holdings that had previously been managed by individual local stations. A public viewing library provides terminal-based access to digitized materials held by NHK and by Saitama Prefecture.
Production support: soft-support production facilities for editing and other workflows, an IP-solution centre operated by NTT Communications (CCW/IIJ centre) for distribution and transmission needs, and commercial amenities including a convenience store (SKIP Mart), a ramen shop and an izakaya (Tsubohachi). SKIP City Inc. maintains offices on site to manage the complex.

A range of small and larger production companies occupy tenant spaces across the complex, providing an on-site community for audiovisual work.

Districts: B, C and D explained

The SKIP City site is organised into multiple districts with distinct roles.

B district: ownership was split between Saitama Prefecture (about 17,000 m²) and Kawaguchi City (about 16,000 m²), giving a gross area of about 33,000 m². Following a long freeze on development, NHK announced on 9 June 2020 a plan for a new “Kawaguchi facility (provisional name)” featuring four large television studios and ancillary spaces such as editing rooms and art-storage. NHK planned to acquire B-district land by an equal land swap with C district; construction was scheduled to start in fiscal 2022, with a completion target in fiscal 2025 and operation targeted for fiscal 2026. The portion NHK expected to obtain was about 22,000 m²; the contractor named in the plan was Obayashi Corporation.
C district: recorded as vacant land with a business-use area of about 24,000 m². It has been used for wide-area disaster drills organised by the Kawaguchi Fire Department. C district was once considered as a candidate site for a relocated Kawaguchi City Hall, but on 22 November 2013 the city announced a policy to rebuild the city hall at its existing Aoki location; C district remained vacant and, as noted above, was slated for a land-swap with NHK prior to B-district development.
D district: hosts the ground operations centre for a broadcast-satellite system. The ground station on D district is operated by the Broadcast Satellite System Corporation (a company with investment from NHK and commercial broadcasters) and its parabolic antenna functions as a ground control facility for geostationary broadcast satellites rather than as a radio telescope.

Events, production shoots and community use

SKIP City is active as both an industry cluster and a community venue. It is the home of the annual SKIP City International D-Cinema Film Festival, an event aimed at emerging filmmakers. The prefectural Industrial Technology Center’s multipurpose hall has hosted professional wrestling events since 2016. The promenade between A1 and A2 serves as an open communal space where families and schoolchildren gather; students from nearby schools — including Saitama Prefectural Kawaguchi High School, Saitama Prefectural Hatogaya High School and Kawaguchi Municipal Kawaguchi Sogo High School — are often seen rehearsing dance and band performances. Film and television productions regularly use the complex for location shoots. Commercial and public uses overlap as well: SKIP City is used each year as a venue for tax-filing consultation sessions by the Kawaguchi Tax Office in February–March; until 2023 the Nishikawaguchi Tax Office also used the site, and from 2024 it became the single tax-office venue. Since 2019 SKIP City has also been used as the venue for Kawaguchi City’s summer “Tatara” festival (held each August), prompted by the closure of part of the former Kawaguchi Auto Race facility after 2018 on seismic-safety grounds.

Access

Public transport connections rely mainly on local buses and walking from nearby stations. From JR and Saitama Rapid Railway stations, Kokusai Kogyo Bus operates multiple routes to SKIP City. From Kawaguchi Station East Exit take routes labeled Kawa18, Kawa19, Kawa20 or Kawa23 (each runs via Kawaguchi Municipal High School); alight at the stop serving the municipal high school (the route stop is listed as “Sogo Koko”) and walk about two minutes. From Nishi-Kawaguchi Station East Exit there are routes including a SKIP City circulator (listed as NishiKawa09) that stops at “SKIP City” and “SKIP City West” (operation on that circulator is limited to morning and evening services). The Kawaguchi City community bus (the “Minna Nakama” service, Kawaguchi 02) serves SKIP City East and SKIP City West stops. Hatogaya Station on the Saitama Rapid Railway is approximately a 20-minute walk to the complex.

FAQ

When did SKIP City open?: SKIP City opened on 1 February 2003.
What does SKIP stand for?: SKIP stands for Saitama Kawaguchi Intelligent Park.
Which major archives are located at SKIP City?: NHK Archives are located at SKIP City.
How is SKIP City reached by public transport?: From JR and Saitama Rapid Railway stations take Kokusai Kogyo Bus routes; Hatogaya Station (Saitama Rapid Railway) is about a 20-minute walk.