Niigata
Featured places: Niigata City, Yuzawa Town, Minamiuonuma City, Tokamachi City, Myoko City, Sado Island, Tsunan Town, etc.
Niigata City can be reached from Tokyo by Shinkansen in approximately 1.5 hours.
Kiyotsu Gorge
Tokamachi City
Known for its dramatic cliffs and stunning seasonal views, especially in winter. The highlight is "Tunnel of Light", a 750-meter walkway blending nature with art, offering breathtaking panoramic views.
Snow Resort
Yuzawa Town
Enjoy a variety of winter activities, such as skiing, snowboarding, and more—an exciting place for snow lovers.
Shiozawa Juku Bokushi Street
Minamiuonuma City
A charming historical street lined with traditional buildings, offering a glimpse into old-town Japan and local craftsmanship.
Sado Island
Sado Island
A culturally rich island known for its scenic coastline, traditional arts, and historic sites, offering a unique blend of nature, heritage, and local life.
Taiko Centre
Sado Island
A cultural hub dedicated to traditional Japanese drumming, offering hands-on taiko experiences and insights into the artistry of the world-renowned Kodo drumming troupe.
Sado Kinzan
Sado Island
Japan’s largest gold and silver mine, with over 400 years of history and designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Explore preserved tunnels, mining exhibits, and mechanical dolls reenacting Edo-period mining scenes.
Untoan Temple
Minamiuonuma City
A tranquil Zen temple surrounded by cedar trees, known for its stone path inscribed with Lotus Sutra characters and its offerings of zazen meditation and historic Buddhist culture.
Dragondola Sanroku Station
Yuzawa Town
The base of Japan’s longest gondola, connecting Naeba and Tashiro highlands, with year-round access to hiking trails, skiing slopes, and panoramic alpine views—especially stunning in autumn.
Hoshitoge Rice Terraces
Tokamachi City
A breathtaking landscape of around 200 terraced rice paddies cascading down the slopes, renowned for their mirror-like reflections, and the ethereal sea of clouds that often blankets the area at dawn.
Uonuma no Sato
Minamiuonuma City
The brewery complex includes shops, cafés,
and a rare chance to step inside yukimuro,
a naturally cooled snow warehouse kept at
0–5°C using packed snow, with no electricity.
Used to slowly age sake, it deepens flavor and highlights Niigata's traditional method to showcase rich sake-making heritage.
Weaving Museum
Minamiuonuma City
This interactive museum showcases the art of Shiozawa tsumugi silk weaving. Visitors can try their hand at weaving on traditional looms while exploring centuries-old craftsmanship. The exhibits also highlight fabrics snow-bleached using Niigata’s unique Yuki Sarashi method, a natural process that brightens silk with the power of snow.
Nishikigoi Village
Ojiya City
Nishikigoi Village, is a unique museum and garden in Ojiya City—the birthplace of the ornamental koi carp known as nishikigoi. This facility offers visitors an immersive experience into the history, breeding, and cultural significance of these living jewels.
Saifukuji Temple
Minamiuonuma City
A mountain temple known for its dramatic ceiling carvings by Uncho Ishikawa—often called the “Michelangelo of Japan”—showcasing dynamic Edo-period artistry in a serene setting.
Sightseeing Train
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A luxury sightseeing train, featuring Japan’s largest windows for panoramic views of sea, mountains, and countryside—complete with a lounge car, a fine dining restaurant, and curated pairings of local sake, wine, and seasonal cuisine.
Lake Okutadami
Uonuma City
A vast man-made lake once known for its silver mines, now famed for scenic boat tours,
vivid autumn foliage, and the dramatic 18 km Okutadami Silver Line road carved through
19 tunnels in the mountains.
Niigata Saito Villa & Cultural Museum
Niigata City
A beautifully preserved 1918 summer residence of the prominent Saito merchant family, featuring elegant Taisho-era architecture with historical artifacts and seasonal exhibitions, also Japanese garden that showcases seasonal beauty.
Bijin Bayashi Forest
Tokamachi City
A serene beech forest known for its slender, graceful trees—said to resemble beautiful women. It offers stunning scenery year-round, whether covered in vibrant autumn hues or blanketed
in snow.
Echigo-Tsumari Art Field
Tokamachi City & Vicinity
One of the world’s largest outdoor art festivals that transforms the rural landscape with contemporary art installations scattered across rice fields, forests, and abandoned schools. Blending art, nature, and community, it invites visitors to explore the beauty and culture of Niigata’s countryside.
Recommended Food
Niigata Rice is among Japan’s finest, prized for its taste, texture, and aroma. Ideal growing conditions—heavy snowfall, pure mountain water, fertile soil, and sharp temperature shifts—produce exceptional quality. The region is best known for Koshihikari, a beloved variety with a fluffy, sticky texture and natural sweetness, perfect for sushi, onigiri, and daily meals.
Niigata Rice is among Japan’s finest, prized for its taste, texture, and aroma. Ideal growing conditions—heavy snowfall, pure mountain water, fertile soil, and sharp temperature shifts—produce exceptional quality. The region is best known for Koshihikari, a beloved variety with a fluffy, sticky texture and natural sweetness, perfect for sushi, onigiri, and daily meals.
Koshihikari Rice
Renowned for its clean, smooth taste and refined aroma, crafted with pristine snowmelt water and high-quality rice in one of Japan’s top sake-producing regions.
Renowned for its clean, smooth taste and refined aroma, crafted with pristine snowmelt water and high-quality rice in one of Japan’s top sake-producing regions.
Niigata Sake
An intimate omakase experience at the foot of Mount Hakkai, offering creative sushi that blends fresh seafood with local mountain flavors.
An intimate omakase experience at the foot of Mount Hakkai, offering creative sushi that blends fresh seafood with local mountain flavors.
Omakase Sushi
Recommended Accommodation
From traditional to Michelin Guide-listed ryokan, Niigata has it all. Indulge in exquisite seasonal kaiseki cuisine and unwind in soothing onsen baths, surrounded by the region’s natural beauty.
From traditional to Michelin Guide-listed ryokan, Niigata has it all. Indulge in exquisite seasonal kaiseki cuisine and unwind in soothing onsen baths, surrounded by the region’s natural beauty.
Ryokan
Nestled in Niigata's serene landscape, this villa blends traditional Japanese aesthetics with rustic charm and modern comforts. Enjoy nature in the summer or winter activities in a region known for its heavy snowfall.
Nestled in Niigata's serene landscape, this villa blends traditional Japanese aesthetics with rustic charm and modern comforts. Enjoy nature in the summer or winter activities in a region known for its heavy snowfall.
Villa
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