Redhead in Japan

If you're interested in museums, Niigata City has a few different options. Some of them are related to aspects of Niigata, while others are just for fun. This is my list of the top 7 Niigata City museums.

7. Niigata Science Museum

The Niigata Science Museum has many interesting sections to show off all kinds of science in action. Even without being able to read Japanese, there are a lot of interactive displays that you can enjoy. There are sections on optical illusions, space, robotics, dinosaurs, and much more. They also have a planetarium and a section where they hold special exhibitions, like the Pokemon fossil one I went to see with friends. It’s also near a nice bakery, Saffron Meikei, so you can always grab some breakfast before heading over.

6. Niigata City Aquarium Marinepia

Right next to the ocean, the Niigata Aquarium, Marinepia, is full of ocean wildlife. You can see dolphin shows or walk around and check out the various animals inside. A small outdoor section showcases different plants and animals with some quiz questions too (though they are in Japanese). It’s not huge, but there’s still plenty to do, and it’s right across from a gelato store and an all-you-can-eat Indian curry restaurant.

5. Niigata Rice Cracker Kingdom

Niigata Rice Kingdom is a rice cracker museum about a 20-minute walk from Niizaki Station, though there are also closer bus stops. It isn’t very large, but it does have a small kitchen where you can cook your own rice cracker and paint it to make some parts darker. It can be a little difficult to find because the first thing you see is the back of one of the buildings, but you should be able to follow the arrows to the doors. They also have a small rice cracker store in Niigata station 2F East Side.

4. Northern Cultural Museum

The Northern Cultural Museum is the beautiful old house of a wealthy farming family. It’s got a Japanese-style garden and a few displays of old artifacts, as well as the Wisteria which blooms in late April and early May. However, it is difficult to get there. You either need a car, or you have to catch one of the few buses that drop off nearby, which don’t run late at night during the Wisteria light-up season because the museum isn’t usually open that late. However, there is a smaller version close to Furumachi that was an author’s home. While it’s not as big, it’s much easier to get to.

3. Shirone Kite Museum

Another museum that’s not further up the list because of the distance, the Shirone Kite Museum is still worth a visit, especially if you can go while the actual kite festival is taking place. The buses to the Shirone Kite Museum come and go about once an hour and during the festival, there are also free shuttle buses to important parts around Shirone. The museum itself displays kites like the ones used in the kite battles over the river, some small and some giant. There’s even a video hall where you can see the creation process, though as far as I could tell it’s all in Japanese, but the visuals are the most interesting part anyway.

2. Minatopia

Minatopia is the Niigata City History Museum located along the Shinano River. It’s a nice place to check out the history of Niigata and even includes some cool old buildings on the grounds. If you want to read more about it, check out my full article here: https://www.tumblr.com/redheadinjapan/720910514442633216/niigata-city-history-museum-minatopia-activity?source=share

1. Saito Villa

Saito Villa is very similar to the Northern Cultural Museum and is just around the corner from its city branch. It’s an old merchant’s house with beautiful Japanese architecture and gardens. It is a little smaller than the Northern Cultural Museum, but you can actually get tea or coffee and snacks while you sit and view the garden. Unfortunately, the Noto earthquake in January did damage part of the garden, but only a small section is currently roped off.

With the opening of the final new section of Niigata station last week, we now have several more foreign restaurants to add to Niigata's growing list. Even though it sometimes feels like the only foreign restaurants are basic American chains like McDonald's and Domino's, that’s certainly not true. So, let’s talk about some of the best harder-to-find foreign restaurants in Niigata City. 

Burgers

Burgers are generally not too hard to find in Japan in the form of McDonald's and Burger King. However, finding good non-chain burger restaurants can be tricky. Leather Tramp Kitchen has good big burgers for around 1500 yen, as well as some other sandwiches and even milkshakes and fries. It’s run by a really nice guy, whose brother also owns a donut shop near Furumachi called Howdy Donut.

Mexican Food

On the other hand, Mexican food isn't always easy to find in Japan. However, Niigata City does have at least one good Mexican restaurant. El Mirasol is the best Mexican restaurant in Niigata City. They have everything from burritos to tacos to hot chocolate, and the owner is a very sweet lady who speaks a little English and will actually make the food spicy if you want.

English Pubs

One of the new restaurants at Niigata station is the English Pub-style restaurant called HUB Echigo Beer Pub. A collaboration between HUB English-style Pubs and Niigata’s Echigo Beer, it has a great atmosphere, good food, and lots of cool mixed drinks (including some non-alcoholic). You can grab some classic English favorites with a nice Echigo Beer or share one of the Liter Tower drinks with some friends.

Another good English Pub-style restaurant is The Liffey Tavern. There are actually three Liffey’s in Niigata City (two by Niigata Station, one near Furumachi) and one in Nagaoka. They also serve English favorites like Fish & Chips and Shepherd's Pie along with drinks like Guinness beer and Bailey’s Irish Cream.

Indian Curry

One of my favorite foreign foods in Japan is Indian curry. There’s just something nice about a good bowl of curry and a piece of naan bigger than my head that is very satisfying. One excellent Indian curry restaurant in Niigata City is Parbati Restaurant & Bar, sometimes affectionately referred to as The Orange Curry Place for its bright orange building. You can get a curry set with naan, rice, a salad, and a drink for around just 1500 yen.

Another good Indian curry restaurant is Star Curry in Furumachi. They offer similar curry sets for a good price and a wide variety of other foods. And if you’re over by the Niigata Aquarium, there’s a buffet-style curry place that’s only about 2000 yen.

Vietnamese Pho

Pho Minh is another new restaurant in Niigata station that serves Vietnamese pho. Their main dishes are different types of beef pho, but there are also several side dishes and drinks. You can even get a beef pho, side dish, and drink as a set for 1550 yen. The flat noodles are thicker and wider than I’m used to at American pho restaurants, but it was still pretty good and the lotus tea I got with it was also nice.

Thai Food

Sengdee Thai Beer Station is Niigata station's new Thai food restaurant. It opened in April with the other restaurants in 2F East Niigata Bar-Ramen Yokocho, and it serves both a good variety of Thai food and also Thai beers.

Korean Food

Korean food isn’t exactly hard to find in Japan but if you’re in Niigata City, you should try Kangeki. Right next to Niigata station, they have a wide variety of Korean foods including Chijimi and Tteokbokki. Many of their foods can also be pretty spicy if that’s something you miss when eating a lot of Japanese cuisine. Just don’t buy their Soju since they sell the same bottles at convenience stores for half the price.

You can also get good Korean gimbap at Gangnam Gimbap in Niigata Station as well as a variety of Korean side dishes.

Nestled in one of the three largest gorges in Japan, Kiyotsu Gorge Tunnel has been turned into an exhibit of art and nature. The 750-meter tunnel includes four different sections, three of which branch off from the main tunnel and one at the very end, where you’re sure to get some interesting photos, especially if there aren’t too many people. While it’s not as big as I thought, it does make for a fun half-day trip.

The tunnel’s location in Tokamachi makes it a little difficult to get to, but it’s about 2 hours from Niigata City by car on the toll roads and 1.5 hours from Joetsu. You can use trains and buses to get there, but since it’s a 30-minute walk from the closest bus stop, that’s definitely something to consider. Once there, it’s relatively easy to find and only around 1000 yen to get in. The four sections of the tunnel are open to the outside, giving you wonderful views of the gorge’s rocks and river. However, it’s also an art exhibit with unique and interesting experiences in each section, as well as in the main walkway of the tunnel. 

The main tunnel is rather dark and lined with different sections of colorful lights, which is why it is sometimes called the Tunnel of Lights. In some areas, they even play music meant to increase the mystery and curiosity but may come off as a little creepy to some, especially in the dark. The tunnel’s first branch-off is rather plain, allowing you to simply enjoy the gorge and its interesting rock formations. The next section is a stark contrast, with white and black stripes painted on the walls to create an almost warped appearance. A mirror structure sits in the center to reflect the paint and block the view of the gorge, though you can walk around it and even go inside where there’s a hidden bathroom with a one-sided mirror. The third section is more open, almost like the first but the walls are dotted with mirrors backlit by orange lights. They called them waterdrops, and while I’m not sure orange made me think of water, they were pretty cool.

The last section at the end of the tunnel is Panorama Station. This section is in most pictures you’ll see if you look up Kiyotsu Gorge Tunnel as it’s the signature location. Next to the tunnel’s opening is a shallow pool of reflective water, allowing you to capture stunning photos of your silhouette against the gorge and reflected back in the pool. We were lucky enough to be there on a less crowded day, making it easy to get pictures of just us, but even the pictures with other people in them tend to turn out nice. Just be careful in the water and consider bringing a towel, since it can be cold and while the sides are very shallow, the middle can be up to your knee in some places.

Given the more remote location, there’s not much in terms of restaurants and shops in the immediate area. However, there is one small shop nearby that sells some snacks and souvenirs and even has a small foot bath on the second floor. The foot bath is surrounded by sloping wooden ceilings that lead up to a window and set of mirrors, which allow you to see the gorge’s river even from inside. It’s certainly a nice resting place after walking to the end of the tunnel and back. 

Today, April 25th, was the official Niigata station grand opening! With only a small section of the station left to finish, almost all of the shops in Niigata station are now open to the public just in time for Golden Week. So, let’s take a look at what’s new and what’s left to come.

Bar-Ramen Yokocho (Alley) (2F East Side)

The east side 2nd floor mostly opened in March, but at the time they were still working on the Bar-Ramen Yokocho dining area. Now, the dining area is ready to show off Niigata Izakaya and ramen culture during both the day and night. One side of the U-shaped dining area features bars and izakaya, including a Thai restaurant and a Korean restaurant, while the other side highlights Niigata ramen like Ittoya Ramen. There’s even a kushikatsu place on the bar side that not only uses Niigata rice flour panko, but also fries Niigata specialty foods like tarekatsu (pork cutlet with sauce) and even sasadango (mochi and red bean paste).

Nishi Deli Street (West Deli Street) (2F West Side)

If you haven’t gotten your fill of Niigata foods at Yokocho Bar and Ramen, then you can head to the west side of the 2nd floor for even more food. Nishi Deli Street, or West Deli Street, is an eating and drinking zone where people can experience “Niigata-ness,” according to the Cocolo website. This area also features stores with Niigata foods including Tonkatsu Taro, also in Furumachi, and an onigiri shop which will open at 7am when some of the first trains start running. There’s also an udon restaurant and taiyaki stand, too.

Cocolo Mart (1F East Side)

From vegetables to meat to fish and more, the 1st floor east side now has a variety of grocery stores, including some familiar ones. Along with the 2nd floor stores, this will add even more grocery options to a place where they have been lacking for the last three years. One new store, Niigata Kaisenka (Seafood Store), is actually a familiar store by a different name. Kenko Shijou (Healthy Market) has been near the station for many years, and it will now sell its fish and other products at the station under this new name. Another somewhat familiar store is Meidi-ya, which had a shop in Furumachi 19 years ago and has now returned to Niigata in the station. It’s famous for its wide foreign food selection and its “My Jam” collection.

But groceries aren’t all this section has. There are also restaurants ranging from cafes like Sanmaruku Cafe and Mister Donut to a Korean food stand and even a Niigata sushi restaurant.

Cocolo 1F West Side- Fashion and Cosmetics

The biggest section that opened is Cocolo 1F West Side. While it doesn’t have a fancy name like some other sections, it does makeup almost half of the newly opened space. This section is geared toward fashion and cosmetics with stores like Maker’s Shirt, Usagi Online Store, and Fruits Gathering. However, there is also a furniture store, Unico, and three places for sweet treats: Lindt store (formerly near Bandai City), Godiva Dessert (first Godiva crepe store in Japan), and Gong Cha (first of this popular bubble tea chain in Niigata). There’s even a Doutor that sells not only coffee but also alcohol! 

This section also includes the Gatarium, an open space for holding events (and where many opening events will be happening). While a few stores in this area along with the station’s new Lawson and Ekinan Kitchen (South Station Kitchen) are set to open in May, there’s still plenty to explore now.

There’s nothing more synonymous with spring in Japan than sakura, and the cherry blossoms you can see at Niigata hanami are no exception. Niigata is a long prefecture, so the cherry blossoms in different areas can bloom at very different times, starting from the south in Joetsu and working up to Niigata City. Unfortunately, it can be hard to determine exactly when the cherry blossoms in different areas will bloom, which is why this post was postponed since they’re blooming later than originally expected this year. However, when they do start to bloom, it’s a wondrous sight to see.

Takada Castle Site Park

Takada Castle Site Park in Joetsu is by far one of the most popular Niigata hanami spots. The park is lined with cherry blossom trees that are some of the first to bloom since it’s in one of the furthest south cities in Niigata Prefecture. In addition to beautiful views of the castle and its fountain through the cherry blossoms, there is also an abundance of food stands throughout the park. They sell all of the typical staples–karaage, yakisoba, takoyaki, candied fruits–as well as many other interesting treats. And if you can stick around until nighttime, they light up the whole park with lanterns. Even the castle is lit up and, in photos, almost looks like it’s glowing green from the light shining off the grass. This year, only some of the cherry blossoms had bloomed by the weekend we visited, but it was still very pretty.

Hakusan Park

If you live closer to the north of Niigata Prefecture and it’s too hard to get down to Joetsu, you can also visit Hakusan Park in Niigata City. Next to Hakusan Shrine, Hakusan Park has an entire grove of cherry blossom trees that bloom in the spring. You can set up a blanket under the many flowering trees, look out over the reflective pool, and eat food from nearby stands that are set up for most of the spring season. It’s not as big as Takada Castle Site Park, but there’s still a fair bit of space and a lot of food options. There were even some performances during the weekend when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

Yasuragitei (Shinano Riverside)

Another option for Niigata hanami in the city is Yasuragitei. Yasuragitei runs along the Shinano riverbank and is lined with cherry blossoms and flowers in the spring. Local students plant tulips along the riverbanks in the fall, and the colorful buds bloom in the spring with the cherry blossoms. It’s a beautiful place for a walk, or you can bring a blanket and find a spot to sit. However, you will have to bring your own food because there aren't any food stands by Yasuragitei, though you can go back again in the summer when the riverside restaurants open up.

Yahiko Park

If you’re looking for a place closer to Niigata City that still has lots of space, beautiful nature, and a wide variety of food stands, you can also check out Yahiko Park. Generally, Yahiko Park is geared toward fall foliage, so there aren’t too many cherry blossoms around its iconic red bridge. However, most paths are lined with cherry blossom trees, including the main opening to the park just before the Yahiko Park tunnel. Plus, on top of the permanent restaurants, many food trucks and stands set up in the parking lots and along the streets. While there aren’t many cherry blossoms at the top of Yahiko Mountain, you can still see the beautiful view of the town while you’re there and stop by Yahiko Shrine on the way up.

The Niigata station construction will soon start paying off as Niigata station is opening several new sections over the next few months. Ever since I arrived in Niigata a year and a half ago, Niigata station has been under construction, sometimes opening sections and closing others. However, we’re nearing the end of one of the major projects: the station building. Many new stores are set to open on the second floor by the end of March as well as the new bus tunnel under the station, and more will be coming before summer.

On March 27th, Niigata station will officially open most of the second floor. Two small sections–one on the east side and one on the west side–will remain closed until next month, but there will be almost 60 new stores available by the end of March. Most of the stores in this section seem to be food and snack shops, though there will be some general stores and services. There will be rice cracker stores like Happy Shop (soft rice crackers) and Bakauke (Niigata rice crackers), as well as coffee shops and cafes like Kaldi Coffee Farm and Tully’s Coffee. Everything from gelato shops to sake stores to snack stands and even a Japanese omelet cafe will be opening. There will even be a 500 yen store, adding to the existing bargain stores Can Do (100 yen store) and 3 Coins (300 yen store).

If you want more information, check out the Niigata CoCoLo website: https://jenic.jp/cocolo/newopen/#f1-east_wrapper

While the second floor will be open next Wednesday, we’ll have to wait a few more days for the new bus terminal under the station, which won’t open until March 31st. This new terminal is meant to connect the north and south sides of the station, which were previously separated by the station building. A combined B12/S61 line will go all the way from City Hall through Furumachi and Niigata station to Kameda Aeon Mall, making travel more convenient. Several other lines will also change their routes to go through the station, including S5, E9, and S9, and two morning direct routes will be added for S90 and W14/W24/W46, which won’t stop at the station at all. 

You can check out the new bus stop location map and routes here: https://www.niigata-kotsu.co.jp/~noriai/news/infomation/2024/2024_kouka_station.html

Even more excitingly, just today they opened a brand new grocery store in Niigata station! Seijo Ishii is the newest centrally located grocery store and the first of its kind in Niigata prefecture. This will be great for people living around the station and those passing through as there hasn’t been a grocery store inside the station since construction started. Seijo Ishii is known for its premium raisin cheesecake, cup desserts, and cheeses, and it features many great products from around the world. Next to Seijo Ishii supermarket is also Niigata station’s new tourism center, which opened earlier this month and has information about tourism across the prefecture.

Okay, I recognize that this is very, very late, but I wanted to write about New Year’s in Niigata City before I leave at the end of this year. As I mentioned in my New Year's post last year, New Year’s in Japan is focused more on the first few days of the year rather than the night before as it often is in the US. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t stuff to do on New Year’s Eve in Niigata City. It just might not be as big of a party as in the US.

I can’t talk about New Year’s in Niigata City without bringing up Hakusan Shrine. Hakusan shrine is one of the most famous shrines in Niigata City, which many people go to for New Year’s Eve for their hatsumode, or first prayer of the year. There are, of course, other shrines as well, including Yahiko Shrine and Gokoku Shrine, but Hakusan is somewhat close to Niigata Station, making it a popular destination. The shrine stays open through the night for people to visit and buy Omamori, or charms. While there wasn’t a cool lion dance or performance like there was at the shrine in Tokyo, there was a big fire to burn Omamori for purification and good luck. Plus, for 300 yen, you can fish for a New Year's fortune.

Like most shrines do for New Year's, Hakusan Shrine had rows of food stands set up for people to pass through as they waited to pray. They set up the stands along the walkway into the shrine anytime there’s a big event–including Sakura season in the spring and the wind chime festival in the summer–and New Year’s is certainly a big event in Japan. They usually have all of your typical stands at a Japanese festival–yakisoba, okonomiyaki, takoyaki, fruit candies–in addition to some of Niigata’s specialties, like Poppoyaki, the little pancake sticks they serve at many Niigata festivals.

Then, for the first few days of the New Year, many stores in Bandai City and all around Niigata have the same fun New Year’s sales as stores across Japan. These can range from regular in-store sales for the first few days of the year (usually the 1st through the 3rd or 4th) to specialty bags you can sign up for or buy in stores. These bags, known as Fukubukuro or Lucky Bags, come with a variety of the store’s products and might even include some New Year’s exclusive items. A friend and I split a Lucky Bag from Imayotsukasa Sake Brewery that came with three sake, one of which was only available in the Lucky Bag.

You may have also seen that this year there was a big earthquake near Niigata on January 1st. While this is not typical of New Year's in Niigata, it was an interesting and somewhat frightening way to start this New Year. It was my first big earthquake, so there was a lot of frantic researching, trying to figure out what to do and if I needed to do anything at all other than stay put. Luckily, things turned out alright for me in the end and Niigata City suffered minimal damage, but some of the closer areas are still recovering.

There are two things that Niigata is known for: rice and sake. Given that sake is made from rice, it makes sense that a place known for good rice is also known for good sake. But there are so many varieties of sake made in Niigata. How could you possibly try them all? Especially if you don’t want to drink a whole bottle of each one. Well, Niigata’s got you covered with its sake vending machines in Ponshukan.

I call them sake vending machines, but that’s not exactly what they are. They’re more like little sake dispensers that take coins and dole out small amounts of sake for you to taste. For 500 yen, you get five coins and a little cup that’s maybe half the size of a shot glass, just enough for you to get an idea of the taste.

In addition to sake, they also have a water dispenser for cleansing your palate between tastes or washing down a sake you’re not a fan of. However, for the sake you do like you can grab one of the little business cards on top of the vending machines to remind you of the name of the sake. Oh, and make sure you check behind the counter, where they keep rotating sake that you can also ask to try. You do have to return the little cup at the end of your sake-tasting adventures but don’t worry, they also sell versions of them if you want one as a souvenir. Plus, you can get them in various sizes instead of just the extra-small taste-testing size. 

Once you're done, you can shop around the rest of the Ponshukan store where you can buy sake and a variety of Niigata treats. If you’re looking for souvenirs, it’s a great place to go, plus you can duck in, try some sake, and maybe find a bottle of your favorite using those little cards you picked up, all in the same place. While there is a Ponshukan in Niigata City Station, the big one is in the Echigo-Yuzawa station, where they also have sake vending machines and a sake museum as well.

Ponshukan is a great way for you to taste a bunch of sake while visiting Niigata, but if you live in the area, there are perks for going multiple times. While paying for your coins, you can ask for a stamp card for an extra 500 yen. Along the bottom are 20 squares that they will stamp every time you visit. They are kind of particular about it: only one stamp per card per person. That means you can’t get multiple stamps if you pay for multiple people, and they probably wouldn't be too happy if they saw you handed it to a friend, even if you’re paying separately. But, if you manage to go all 20 times and get all 20 stamps, they’ll put your name on the wall to be immortalized with all the other sake enthusiasts. The card even includes a section to make off which brands you’ve tried, but since that’s all in Japanese and not in number order, it’s kind of hard to use.

Not only has it almost been almost a year since I first arrived in Japan, but we’re also starting to get into the rainy season (called Tsuyu), so I thought it would be a good time to talk about the weather. Specially, Niigata weather. Niigata weather is, in a word, “rainy” (or, in the winter, “snowy”), but there’s a lot more to it than just that. You can find “Niigata’s cold, rainy, and gets lots of snow in the winter” anywhere, so I wanted to break it down a little bit more.

While it is true Niigata gets a lot of precipitation, which means rain most of the year and snow in the winter, it’s not all rainy all the time. When I first got here last summer, it was hot and muggy (though people kept telling me I’d missed the worst of it) with the occasional rainy day. It wasn’t rainy all the time like I had feared after reading about the area, and when it did rain, it was usually on and off rather than continuously pouring rain. This can make the area a little dreary with lots of overcast days, but it doesn’t stop you from being able to go outside.

Summers and winters in Niigata last for a while, a little more than three months each. I was surprised because where I’m from in the US each season is about the same length, but here there’s a notable difference. Especially when it comes to fall, which lasted maybe a couple of weeks last year. It felt like we had just reached the point where the air had that crisp coolness that I associate with fall and then it was over again. Winter hit hard, starting December off with some wet snow flurries. Then, a week or two into December, it absolutely dumped snow on us. So much snow piled up in one afternoon that some of us were worried about bus/train cancellations and if we’d be able to get home (since Japan doesn’t do snow days like we do in the US). Most people said this was an anomaly, even for Niigata City, we did continue to get a decent amount of snow throughout the winter, and it seems the further inland you get, the more snow you get. A good coat and snow boots are definitely worth the investment.

The season that surprised me the most, though, was spring. It was so refreshing when the warm weather started coming in after nearly four months of cold, wet winter. I’d never seen so many blue skies in Niigata City until spring. One of the first days I noticed the clear blue sky, I took a picture of it to send to my friends in the US since it was so unusual at that point. Another day, I scrapped all of my plans for the evening to go eat by the river because it was so nice outside. Turns out, spring in Niigata is really pretty with less rain than usual and not too much humidity. Of course, this also makes for some good Sakura viewing to kick off the new season. 

Last month during Golden Week, I didn’t travel outside of Niigata, but I still made the most of my time by visiting several places in the city. One place that I’d been wanting to go to was the Niigata City History Museum, also known as Minatopia. Minatopia, as its more formal name would suggest, is a museum focused on the history of Niigata all the way from the Jomon period to modern times.

From the minute you step onto the grounds of the museum, you’re struck by the history of the place. The first building you see is a beautiful old red and white building which you walk through to get to the museum grounds. This is the former customs building, and includes some free areas where you can read about Niigata and rest. There are also several other historical buildings on the grounds, each marked by a sign with a description (in Japanese, but that’s what Google translate is for). They even have some cool water features and tons of beautiful plants if you go in the spring or summer, which, along with the view of the Shinano river, makes for some beautiful scenery.

The Niigata City History Museum itself is the biggest building on the grounds, with the only other one coming close being the hall right across from it that has bathrooms and a restaurant (which looked temporarily closed when I went). The museum almost looks like a palace or a government building with its high ivory walls, simple designs, and mock columns. While it’s free to roam the grounds, Minatopia has an admission fee of 300 yen for the regular exhibit about Niigata on the second floor. Or, for 400 yen you can get a combination ticket to the museum and the Ozawa family residence, an old merchant's house a 15 minute walk away. Minatopia also has a rotating special exhibit on the first floor, but the price for that is separate and depends on the exhibit.

Once upstairs, you can scan a QR code to access both English and Chinese guided tours, as long as you don’t miss the paper like I did the first time. Each section has a number that you can use to listen to the right explanation. However, even if you miss the translated guided tour like me, you can still have fun. You might want to translate some of the explanations, but there’s plenty to simply look at too, including old artifacts, replicas of artifacts or places, and videos about how things were made. One side takes you through a timeline of Niigata from the Jomon period to the late 1900s, while the other side dives deeper into the lifestyle of people in Niigata before modern times. Plus, your regular admissions ticket also allows you to see some of the showings at the museum theater to learn more. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to see any this time, so I can’t be sure whether the short movies are all in Japanese or if there are any subtitles.

(The original Bandai Bridge stretching across the Shinano River in Niigata)

Hey, I guess it’s been a while since I last posted. I fell out of writing for a while partially because I got busy and partially because I kept trying to write the things I thought I should write rather than the ones that excited me. As much as I do want to write some more researched, informative posts about living in Japan or the JET program, I also want to get back to what I wanted to do with this blog in the beginning: writing about Niigata.

It’s about that time of year when school comes to an end, at least, it is in Japan. In America, we’re used to the September to June school schedule, but Japan’s schools run from April to March. This means the school year ended a few weeks ago and is just starting back up after a couple of weeks of spring break (for the students, not really for the teachers, at least not in my area). As such, I’ve just been through a lot of firsts: first graduation ceremony, first farewell party, and first entrance ceremony.

Depending on whether you have one school or many, you may be asked to attend the school’s graduation ceremony and entrance ceremony, which are usually held in the school gym. While I wasn’t asked specifically to attend either, if the day I was there overlapped with when they were happening, the schools made sure I knew where to go and what to do. The graduation ceremony at my middle school was short, about an hour, just long enough to watch the 3rd years (9th graders) graduate. The entrance ceremony at my elementary school, on the other hand, was a little more than an hour, maybe an hour and a half. For that one, they did ask me to stand with all the teachers when they announced our names and classes at the end. The entrance ceremony seemed mostly geared towards welcoming the students and the new teachers, which put me in a strange position because it was my first entrance ceremony, but I wasn’t exactly new. It also sounds like there was another entrance ceremony specifically for the first graders that weekend.

The other important event that comes with the end of the school year is the farewell parties. Known as sobetsukai (送別会) in Japanese, these farewell parties are for the teachers to–well–say farewell to any teachers leaving the school or retiring. They’re held after hours and are a nice, less formal environment to get to know the teachers you work with, especially non-English teachers who you don’t normally talk to. They usually hold events like these throughout the year for teachers to mingle, but because of Covid, this was the first time any of my schools has held one. Or, in my case, two, because two of my four schools invited me. Beware, though, they are hard on your budget. One of my farewell parties was 7,700 yen (about $77) and the other was 100,000 yen ($100)! But as long as you’re willing to pay that, you’re in for a fun night of fancy food and lots of drinks. At one farewell party, they even put bottles of beer on the table for people to pick up and use to refill other’s drinks. One of the English teachers told me this was a typical way to mingle at these parties, but it didn’t happen at the other one, so I can’t be too sure. 

And if you’re lucky, you might also be invited to a second party (nijikai / 二次会) or even a third (sanjikai / 三次会). After the fancy farewell party, any teachers that aren’t ready to go home will head to another bar or izakaya where things get even less formal in the more casual environment. It’s almost a little like barhopping. We went to a separate bar for nijikai at both my schools, and one school invited me to sanjikai which was basically just late-night soba. That school’s teachers said that you have to end the night with noodles, but I haven’t been able to confirm that either.

Niigata is known in Japan for its rice and, by extension, its sake. The meters of snow that pile up in winter melt and run down the mountains, collecting nutrients and creating a crisp, clean taste that transfers to Niigata’s rice. So, it’s no surprise that a prefecture that is famous for rice and sake has its own big sake event: Sake no Jin. Sake no Jin usually happens in March and is a sake-drinking fair that gathers sake breweries from all around the prefecture in one place to show off their products.

This year’s Sake no Jin was a little bit different. For the past few years, Niigata has had to cancel the sake fair due to Covid, but this year they were able to take some precautions so they could hold the event once again. Sake no Jin was held at Toki Messe in the Wave Market Exhibition Hall, which is their big convention center, and we had to buy tickets for one of four 3-hour slots over the course of two days. This 3-hour slot system appears to be different from past years and was likely a way to keep the number of people in the venue down while giving as many people as possible the opportunity to attend.

The tickets were 3500 yen for standing space or 5000 yen for sitting space. Honestly, though, unless you’re planning to somehow try every sake there, you probably don’t need a seat as there are still tables for those who are standing. It’s harder to find information on previous years now, but I thought I remembered Sake no Jin tickets being cheaper in my Niigata research from just after getting my placement. I’ll have to see next year if it was simply more expensive this year due to the limited spots or if I’m just remembering incorrectly. Either way, there are hundreds of sake breweries to try from all around Niigata, and you basically get unlimited drinks with both types of tickets. We even got a little tray to carry a couple of sake at a time. While some specialty drinks do cost a little extra and our 3 hours was barely enough time to get through half the stands with all the lines, I would definitely say that I got my money’s worth.

Plus, if you can’t drink without needing something to eat, like me, then no worries. Not only are you more than welcome to bring your own snacks, as there are no rules against it, but they also had a small section of food tents in the back. These tents were past all of the sake stands at the far end of the venue, and they’re pretty hard to see from the front since they’re technically outside! There was a large doorway open that led to several connected tents just outside, so you could easily grab some food. This setup was, presumably, to keep any smoke from the cooking from ruining people’s sake drinking experience. However, be warned that these lines can be a little long, so if you’re hoping to get the most out of your sake-drinking experience, it might be best to bring your own food anyway.

Learning to do laundry in Japan has been a bit of a change for me. Not only because of all the new Japanese words I need to read to make sure I don’t ruin any clothes, but I’ve also had to get used to hanging my clothes out to dry. While most American houses have dryers, Japanese apartments don’t. Instead, there’s space to hang your clothes to dry. While not using a dryer is better for saving energy, it has certainly been an adjustment.

Since most people in Japan don’t have dryers, apartments typically come with space to hang your clothes. Whether you have a balcony or not, you’ll likely have a hanger for a clothesline or a rod outside your window. However, once winter hits, you’ll have to move your clothes inside to dry so they won’t freeze. Your Japanese apartment bathroom will likely have something like a shower rod that’s actually for hanging clothes, as well as fan settings to help with the drying process.

When it comes to hanging clothes, I recommend hanging them in such a way that you won’t notice if they stretch a little since hanging wet clothes can stretch out the fabric. I’ve taken to hanging shirts and pants folded on the bottom rung of hangers because hanging them normally or with clips can stretch out the necklines or waistbands. Also, generally, try not to hang anything by the elastic sections. I noticed my socks were a little loose after a few washes, so now I hang them by the toes rather than the stretchier ankle side. Of course, anything particularly stretchy, like bras or certain sweaters, are best left on an available surface to dry to keep the shape intact. 

I’ve also had to learn to do smaller, more frequent loads of laundry since coming to Japan. In America, I would usually do two loads (lights and darks) at the end of the week, but when you have to hang everything to dry, suddenly one big laundry day doesn’t work. If you hang clothes too close together, they won’t dry well since there needs to be space for air to move. So, sometimes laundry day has to become laundry days to give one load enough time to dry before hanging up the next one. This becomes especially true in winter when you have to use the limited space in the bathroom.

Luckily, though changing your laundry routine might be a hassle, buying laundry supplies is not. You can find laundry supplies at most stores, including 100 yen stores. My local 100 yen store has everything from hangers to clips to laundry baskets, as well as a laundry list of other laundry products. That’s where I got my clothes rod, recommended instead of a clothesline by another ALT, for 500 yen (cause some products are still a little extra). It’s been nice to use hangers instead of clips because I feel like it gives me more space and stretches my clothes less. 100 yen stores even sell laundry detergent, but it will likely be less product and not as good as what you can buy elsewhere. One of my best 100 yen store laundry purchases has been a bunch of cheap laundry bags because my washer seemed a little rough on my clothes, especially anything with buttons, which is definitely something to watch for since the washers shuffle your clothes around.

While I’ve mostly been using laundry pods because I still haven’t totally figured out my washer, one new Japanese word I’ve had to look out for is 漂白剤 (ひょうはくざい) or bleach. Given how clothing in Japan fit me, I definitely didn’t want to accidentally bleach a load of laundry in Japan. However, what can be more confusing is that I’ve found some products that say they contain bleach while also advertising being okay for use with colors. I guess I always associated bleach with whitening, but so far the oxyclean powder I found that seems to have bleach in it has yet to turn all my clothes white, so I think I’m good.

I recently learned some interesting new ways to travel in Niigata. Not only is there the JR East Nagano, Niigata area pass that also includes Nagano and Tokyo as well, but there is also the Echigo One-Day Pass and Echigo Two-Day Pass. These two passes both have more limitations than the JR East Niigata area pass, but they’re also much cheaper, making them worth it if you just need a couple of days of unlimited local train rides. It’s nice to know there are so many options for getting around Niigata!

The Echigo One-Day Pass (えちごワンデーパス) can be purchased any day of the year for a full day of use. You can buy it at the ticket machines or the window for 1,570 yen, which is certainly worth it if you’re planning on taking even one or two long train rides. It does have a pretty limited area, though, only including Niigata city and the immediate surrounding area. That’s more than enough space to cover in a day, but you won’t be able to go much further in any direction than Nagaoka, Aga, or Murakami. It also only works on trains–not buses–and both the shinkansen and limited express trains are extra since you have to get a limited express ticket, too. Still, it’s a good pass for if you plan to travel in Niigata, but want to stay close to the city.

Another option is the Echigo Two-Day Pass (えちごツーデーパス). The Echigo Two-Day Pass is 2,740 yen and includes a lot more of Niigata. In fact, it includes most of Niigata prefecture as well as a couple of stops in Fukuoka on certain train lines. However, as with the One-Day Pass, you can’t use it for buses and the shinkansen and limited express are extra. It also can only be purchased for weekends and holidays right now, which includes uses for Friday-Saturday and Saturday-Sunday. This pass works best if you want to travel in Niigata for a weekend and stop at a lot of places, especially if you’re planning to stay somewhere along the way. Since the local trains are slower, it can take a while to go to and from somewhere in one day.

Find more in Japanese here: https://www.jreast.co.jp/niigata/echigo-1day2daypass/

Find more about which trains you can ride in Japanese here: https://www.jreast.co.jp/tickets/info.aspx?GoodsCd=2654

Additionally, there’s also the JR East Nagano, Niigata area pass. This is like the regular JR East pass, but a little cheaper in exchange for the more limited area. While it is a lot more expensive at 18,000 yen, it comes with the widest area (including Nagano and Tokyo!), unlimited shinkansen rides, and 5-days worth of usage. It’s a good investment if you’ll be visiting for a while and want to make your way around the prefecture or just want to pop down to Tokyo for a few days. This pass is actually less than one round trip from Niigata city to Tokyo on the shinkansen, so even using it for one day saves you money. You can even get reserved seats for no extra cost. Just hit “Reserved Seat” then “Reserve seat with a discount ticket” on the machine, put your JR pass in, and pick your seat. The best thing (for me at least) is that, unlike the JR West pass, even foreign residents can buy JR East passes with their passports.

Find more here: https://www.jreast.co.jp/multi/en/pass/eastpass_n.html

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to take a trip to Tsubame-Sanjo, two cities just south of Niigata City. It’s only 20 minutes by Shinkansen or about an hour by local train if you want to take the really cheap route. But don’t let Google Maps trick you: the Shinkansen is only 1,600 yen from Niigata City if you get a non-reserved seat, almost half of the reserved seat price they show. Whatever route you choose, though, a trip to Tsubame-Sanjo is definitely worth it as there’s plenty to do.

Tsubame and Sanjo are known for their metalwork. Flooding in the area made farming difficult, so residents took to making nails to compensate. This work eventually led to more of the crafts we got a chance to see, the first of which was tsuiki copperware at Gyokusendo. After finding copper in nearby Mount Yahiko, Tsubame artisans started crafting copperware. At Gyokusendo, we got a tour of the workshop where they still make pots today as well as a special chance to make a copper plate. Unfortunately, while the tours are open to anyone, the crafting experience isn’t–at least, not yet. For now, it’s only for special events, but it might one day become something you can add on.

However, just the tour itself was fascinating, as you can learn about the history of Gyokusendo and the artisans’ process for making pots. If you’re interested in knowing more, I have an article on the Edge of Niigata website that talks more about copper making, its history, and its present. (https://edge-of-niigata.com/blog/3493/)

After all that hammering, next on the schedule was lunch. At Kamameshi Shogetsu, we were treated to the traditional dish of their name, kamameshi (literally, “kettle rice”). As the translation suggests, the central dish typically includes rice and seafood cooked in a kettle. Cooking it this way burns the bottom of the rice a little, which adds a crispy texture to the dish. This type of meal used to be eaten by groups out of the same pot, but at Kamameshi Shogetsu, you get a serving all to yourself, which is good because you might not want to share. On top of that, it comes with sides ranging from the more typical miso soup to egg custard and some very good sashimi.

The next two stops on our trip to Tsubame-Sanjo had us taking a look at iron metalwork. While Tsubame is known for copperware, Sanjo leans more towards ironwork. Our first stop, the Tojiro Knife Factory, was still in Tsubame, but it was a good introduction. We talked to their main blacksmith while he worked before checking out parts of the factory. In the end, the blacksmith showed us some engraving, the hardest part of knife-making at Tojiro since one mistake could ruin the product. He even made us each a souvenir metal keychain with our names. The only downside was parts of the factory were closed and not many people were working because it was the weekend, so definitely go on a weekday if you can. 

After that, we finally made our way across the tracks to Kaji Dojo in Sanjo where we made a letter opener from a nail. Kaji Dojo has several different forging experiences, of which paper knife making is the most expensive, but that's not saying much since it’s only 1,000 yen. While we were a little short on time and the forgers didn’t speak much English, they were very helpful and made sure we all got a nice final product.

Our day ended with another copper experience, this time including some engraving. the instructor had us practice with scrap copper before moving on to the real thing: a leaf chopstick holder. We each got a small flat copper leaf that we first engraved with a chisel to make veins, then used a rubber hammer to bend it just so to make it stand. Surprisingly, I found the engraving to be one of the hardest things we did that day. It took me nearly all of my practice pieces to somewhat get it down, and even then the first few lines on my leaf were shaky. However, I did manage to hammer mine so it wasn’t too wobbly without much help, though the instructor still made a few adjustments. The final step included bending the stem and tip of the leaf up slightly so that your chopsticks don’t go rolling off.

My trip to Tsubame-Sanjo was an unforgettable one. Not only did we get to experience the rich history of metalwork in the two cities through tours and firsthand experience, but by the end of the day, I had a nice collection of souvenirs to take home too. I still don’t know what to do with them all, but I’m happy to have them to simply decorate my new home. And the best part of all these places is that they’re mostly along the Yahiko line, so they’re not too hard to get to.

My souvenirs:

If you’re thinking about a trip to Tsubame-Sanjo, here are links to all the places mentioned:

Gyokusendo- https://www.gyokusendo.com/en/ 

Kamameshi Shogetsu- https://goo.gl/maps/y6k3tDoq5uTv2LQ1A

Tojiro Knife Factory- https://www.tojiro-japan.com/open-factory/ 

Kaji Dojo- https://kajidojo.com/