Enjoy the charm of Niigata's rice and food! Eat, drink, and let the natural island beauty soothe you on the ultimate Niigata & Sado trip《Niigata Edition》

Barin and Borin await at this senbei rice cracker theme park!

This senbei (rice cracker) theme park is operated by Kuriyamabeika, which manufactures and sells the Bakauke brand of rice snacks. Here, you can explore the charms of senbei by learning about the history of senbei at the factory tour, making your own senbei in a hands-on experience, and more.

At the hands-on kitchen, we tried making a jumbo-sized senbei. The dough was 25 centimeters in diameter! Start off by choosing a round of heart-shaped piece, then lightly roast both sides one after the other. When baking it, the trick is to keep it from getting too close to the fire at first—you want to roast it from about the level of your chest first.

Once the dough has been slightly browned, use a brush and soy sauce to decorate it.

You can use the soy sauce to draw or write whatever you want. I wonder what she’s drawing?

After drawing our pictures, we roasted the senbei some more and our works of art appeared! The parts brushed with soy sauce come out in a darker color. You can take your personalized jumbo senbei back home with you in an adorable-looking package.

Original sweets and merchandise exclusive to the Senbei Okoku

Senbei and soft-serve ice cream with chocolate and kakinotane rice crackers (left), and senbei and soft-serve ice cream (right) are each 450 yen, and you can try them out at the shop adjoining the food and drink corner. The sweet taste of the soft-serve ice cream goes great with the salty taste of the senbei and the kakinotane rice crackers.

Senbei and soft-serve ice cream together in this double-team parfait. There are also meals on the menu, like Bakauke croquettes and curry breads made with rice flour.

The shop has a range of products that you can only buy here, like regional limited items as well as Senbei Okoku exclusives. The Bakauke squid and shichimi mayo flavor (450 yen) is a spicy treat that would be a great snack to go with a drink. Don’t miss out on the t-shirts, goodies, and other Bakauke merchandise.

The Bakauke Inari shrine stands at one corner of the site. There, the Bakauke mascots Barin and Borin stand watch over the small shrine, which is a branch of Otomo Inari.

Soba that originated in a textile production area, rich in flavor and luster

We sampled some of Niigata’s famous hegi-soba at Kojimaya Sohonten, a venerable restaurant that’s been in business for over 100 years. Hegi-soba is made using seaweed funori as a binding agent, and this gives it a springy texture while being easy to swallow. In fact, hegi-soba originates from the Uonuma textile production area of Tokamachi City in Niigata Prefecture, where funori was used to twist fibers when making textiles. The photo shows a single serving (968 yen).

You can also get various dishes (single items) to go with your hegi-soba. The classic option for local eaters is to have a crispy fried mini sauce katsudon (693 yen).

It turns out that the “hegi” in “hegi-soba” refers to the rectangular tray!

The restaurant recommends the tempura and hegi-soba (1,738 yen). This one comes with natural shrimp and vegetable tempura. The “hegi” in “hegi-soba” comes from the local dialect meaning “bark (hagu in standard Japanese, hegu in dialect)”, and refers to the wooden tray made by the barked wood. This tray is used to serve bundles of soba that are each sized for one mouthful.

The bundles of soba are lined up nicely on the tray, packed into bite-sized bundles using a twisting technique. Apparently, this very regular way of lining up the twists is meant to look like loops of textiles!

This restaurant is the birthplace of funori soba, a fusion of soba food culture and textile culture. Kojimaya directly manages eight restaurants in the prefecture, and each of them has a waterwheel as a landmark—so you’ll know them when you see them.

A 360-degree panorama where you can see all the way to the Sea of Japan!

This observatory room is located on the 31st floor of the Toki Messe convention center. Located 125 meters above ground, it’s one of the highest vantage points of the Sea of Japan, with a 360-degree panoramic view. On a clear day, you can see not only the nearby urban areas, but also the Sea of Japan and even Sado Island.

From the west side, you can see the historic downtown area of Niigata City, where you’ll find places like the Niigata City History Museum. And beyond the cityscape, you can see the horizon.

A kiosk in a corner of the observation space sells Bakauke-related products and other Niigata specialties. These are (mini) triangular daruma (495 yen each), a specialty of the prefecture. Based on the lucky charm in the shape of a tumble doll (okiagari-koboshi), they come in five colors, including red (to ward off evil) and gold (for luck with money).

Heading out to a popular spot for that perfect Instagram pic

Near the observatory room is the Bandaijima Multipurpose Plaza “Ookama,” where you’ll find an indoor facility with a large kamaboko-shaped roof, and a plaza equipped with an event space for city residents to relax. This is a popular place for events on weekends, and it’s a popular spot to take commemorative photos, too.

The letter “i” in the NiiGATA sign is shaped like a box, creating a great place to pose beneath the hearts that dot the i’s.

Walk and eat at this fish market caressed by the sea breeze

Pier Bandai is the largest fish market on this side of the Sea of Japan, where the port is located. There are 15 shops lined up on at the market, loaded up with Niigata delicacies like fresh seafood from the Sea of Japan, fresh vegetables, fruits, meats, and rice and famous sake from the region. There are also restaurants and cafes, making it a great place to walk and eat.

FoFo donut OWL the Bakery has more than 30 types of bread and about 30 types of donuts in-store. Left: cassis (280 yen), right: strawberry (320 yen). Great with Niigata Coffee Donya Bay Standard iced coffee!

The seasonal exclusive chocolate banana (380 yen) contains homemade banana cream (left), while the pistachio bombo (430 yen) has a fluffy dough that you’ll find hard to resist.

Broiled fish and oysters right where they were caught

Indoors, you’ll find fresh fish caught from the Sea of Japan as far as the eye can see. The market sells a wide range of seafoods, such as local fish, specially-made nama-sushi and sashimi, boiled crab, and salted salmon, all at very reasonable market prices.

We did a little shopping, asking a member of staff for tips about seasonal fish and how to prepare them. If you let them know what you want, they’ll even fillet the fish and prepare it for sushi or sashimi right there and then.

If the season’s right, you can also try the large Iwagaki oysters (sold at market value). And of course, there’s other options for walking-and-eating gourmets too, like hamayaki (fish grilled over charcoal fire) and grilled oysters.

A number of events take place at Pier Bandai, too, including an occasional morning market called Morning Marche and an evening market called Hoshizora Market. Why not become a takeout gourmet and try the products that the shops are so proud of?

A spectacular combination of architecture and gardening at a cultural heritage site from the Taisho period

This villa was built in 1918 by Kijuro Saito IV, a prominent Niigata merchant. The strolling garden that utilizes the sandy topography and the open, near-modern Japanese architecture shine a light on the prosperity of the port city of Niigata during the Taisho years.

The garden as seen from the large hall on the second floor. The entire garden can be viewed from the building, exemplifying the “teioku ichinyo” concept of the garden and building as complementary parts of a single unit.

Tasteful design right down to the window frames and handrails

Each room is decorated with precious wood, and one can see the carpenters’ skill in the transoms and fittings. The windows offer gorgeous views of the garden, and the craftsmanship of the window frames is sublime too.

The garden as seen from the large hall on the first floor. When you change your viewing angle, it almost seems like a different garden—how strange! The large hall is a great place to relax and pass the time gazing at the garden while enjoying matcha tea or coffee.

There are a number of historic buildings in the Nishiohata area (where the villa is located), including a long-established Japanese restaurant that dates back to the Edo period, and Western-style buildings filled with Taisho-era atmosphere. It really makes you want to walk down those stone-paved paths and explore the atmosphere of the port city of Niigata, where countless people have come and gone.

Sample some famous sake where all the breweries in Niigata gather together

Ponshukan seeks to convey the story of the Uonuma area through food and offers a variety of souvenirs from Niigata Prefecture, such as sweets and rice confectionery made with sake, Niigata’s specialty dried fish, and koshihikari rice from Minami-Uonuma. You needn’t go out of your way, as it’s conveniently located in the same building as the Ekinaka train station shopping center and the Hotel Mets Niigata. You’ll know it by the figurine (that’s had a bit too much sake) waiting at the entrance to greet you!

The great thing about Ponshukan is that they have the most famous brands of all the Echigo (Niigata) breweries, and you can even try them at the paid tasting corner, Kikizake Bansho. And if you can’t decide on a sake to try, you can check the provided tablet or AI sommelier for a suggestion on the one that’s right for you.

Sake-tasting machines with 111 kinds of Niigata sake

Pay the 500-yen fee at the reception, and you’ll receive a sake cup and five coins. Next, choose a sake that interests you from the rows of sake-tasting machines at Kikizake Bansho, and put in the designated number of coins. Press the button, and the machine will pour the sake into your cup!

Tasting is done standing up. You can have up to five cups’ worth of sake.

Original sake cups with cute designs. Once you’ve settled on a sake you like, you can buy it at the adjoining sales counter.

The store also has a great selection of snacks that go well with sake. It’s a great place to stop buy while you’re waiting for the train so that you can get something to enjoy on the Shinkansen.

There’s no limits on your Niigata adventure. Relax near the station at this hotel.

Situated in an ideal location, Hotel Mets Niigata is just a minute’s walk from JR Niigata Station’s west passage. There are 197 guest rooms in the hotel, and both standard and superior rooms have plenty of space to relax.

Being directly connected to the station, you needn’t worry about getting wet on rainy days. It’s very easy to carry your luggage, too.

Check-in is at the lobby lounge on the third floor. This spacious longue is furnished with sofas, and the decor conveys the charms of Niigata, with displays of traditional crafts and videos. The drink corner has a coffee service, so we started off with a quick breather there.

A guest room with a “Niigata, City of Water” theme (photo shows the superior twin room). The rooms are equipped with Simmons beds and feather pillows to aid comfortable sleep. Additionally, the superior rooms on the upper floors all have bathrooms with adjoining washing areas, so you can refresh yourself by soaking in a hot-water bath.

Plenty of local dishes that bring out the best of Uonuma’s koshihikari rice

Breakfast is served at Uonuma Kamagura on the first floor, where you can enjoy buffet-style dishes with a focus on Japanese cuisine, such as local Niigata dishes. And yes, they have tarekatsu and abura-age, two local specialties!

Hegi-soba and noppe stew make for great accompaniments to the fresh salad. The flavor of the local dishes, made with local seafood and vegetables, perfectly complements the koshihikari rice.

Located on the first floor is Niigata Food Campus SUZUVEL/TABI BAR & CAFÉ, a deli and market that uses seasonal Niigata ingredients, and on the third floor, you’ll find Ponshukan Niigata Main Store.

Following traditions to make sake for today

Established in 1767, this long-established brewery is located at a stone’s throw from Niigata Station. In 2006, Imayo Tsukasa started using natural water from Mt. Sugana to make their pure junmai sake. The brewery tour takes about 30 minutes, during which time you’ll be guided through the building while hearing about the history of sake breweries and stories about sake-brewing.

Inside the building, you’ll see signs from a bygone age, tools once used to brew sake, and more to give you a sense of its history.

We took a commemorative photo wearing brewer’s happi coats. Now we’re members of Imayo Tsukasa too!

Compare drinks at two tasting corners

There are two tasting corners. One is a free tasting corner, where there are 3 kinds of sake, including seasonal sake and non-alcoholic amazake.

The other is a premium tasting corner (1,000 yen per person), where you can enjoy more than 10 kinds of sake one by one. They also have the brewery-exclusive junmai sake Imayo Ichi, which you must try.

The direct-sales shop is located in a renovated Meiji-era building, where you can try sweets with a sake-brewery spin. The junmai daiginjo soft-serve ice cream (400 yen) is a rich soft-serve ice cream that treats your palate to the fragrance of daiginjo.

Meanwhile, the ukihoshi soft-serve ice cream (450 yen) consists of junmai daiginjo soft-serve ice cream topped with star-shaped ukihoshi. Ukihoshi are sweet and crunchy candies made by pouring sugar syrup on small glutinous rice crackers.

In the fish tank at the premium tasting corner, you can see Nishikigoi, a famous sake that won many awards for its design and quality. You’ll also see real nishikigoi carp swimming leisurely around the bottle!

Sake and goods with tasteful design by the brewery

The Koji, Moto, Tsukuri set (2,970 yen). This is a five-bottle set of junmai sake and non-alcoholic amazake that lets you experience the essentials of brewing sake: koji (rice malt), moto (starter culture), and tsukuri (fermentation).

The Hiemasu (660 yen) is a stylish masu cup made of acrylic that comes in several colors. Apparently, a lot of people buy them to match their favorite colors.

Brewery tours are held seven times a day (eight times a day on Saturdays, Sundays, and national holidays). It’s popular with visitors from abroad, too, and a tour with an English-speaking guide is held from 14:00 on weekdays.

Try Niigata’s famous super-rich miso soup!

Niigata is known for five distinctive local ramen varieties, and one of those is Niigata rich miso ramen. At this restaurant, they boil pork bones for more than half a day to create their super-rich soup made with Niigata miso and served with thick noodles. The special miso ramen (1,250 yen) shown in the photo has a large piece of char siu on top.

This is the standard Niigata rich miso ramen (900 yen). The extra thick noodles, made by combining rice flour and tapioca flour, go great with the soup. The vegetables are nice and crunchy, too.

A 6-piece set of special handmade gyoza (420 yen). These gyoza are packed with local vegetables and meaty gravy.

The photo shoot took place on a hot day—perfect weather for a rich soup! We couldn’t stop eating.

Add diluting soup and enjoy it to the end

If you find the soup a little too rich, you can add “diluting soup” to tone it down to your taste. This will make it milder, so you can enjoy the whole bowl.

This rich miso ramen has been a beloved Niigata soul food since its foundation in 1981. Toyoko is open until late at night, making it great for when you want to stop by for a drink.

A hands-on experience shop where you can see, make, and taste sasadango

Sasadango rice cakes have long been a local favorite of Niigata. In the past, they were made by families, and it was customary to give them to relatives to celebrate the end of the rice planting season on Tango-no-sekku in the old calendar of Japan. Here at Tanakaya Honten Minato Kobo, you can take a course on how to make your own sasadango.

Three sasadango courses are on offer: the A course, which covers sasadango from making the dough to wrapping the rice cake in bamboo leaves , the B course, which is for wrapping the rice cakes in bamboo leaves, and the C course, which is for listening to stories about sasadango. For this visit, we took the B course while listening to a talk by Ms. Tanaka, the manager.

During the B course, you’ll make five sasadango. They prepare bite-sized rice cakes, bamboo leaves, and rush grass for you to work with.

Here’s Ms. Tanaka showing us how to wrap the rice cakes by placing them onto two bamboo leaves layered on top of each other.

Next, wrap the rush grass around the bamboo leaves. It looks easy enough, but it’s actually surprisingly hard! Finishing up, the trick to getting it right is to go around the middle of the rice cake twice and tie it tightly enough to create a constriction.

I finally made one for myself after learning from Ms. Tanaka’s example! For the second and subsequent sasadango, I needed to think about what I’d learned for myself. Still, don’t be shy about asking questions if you get stuck.

Once the sasadango are all wrapped up, steam them for about 20 minutes. When they’re done, you’ll be amazed by the chewy, soft texture of the rice cakes beneath the bamboo leaves. Be careful, though, because the bean paste inside will still be hot! You can bring the leftover sasadango home as a souvenir.

Freshly made Japanese sweets at the attached shop

There’s a shop on the first floor that sells wagashi (Japanese sweets) made from select ingredients, such as Niigata rice and mugwort, and adzuki beans from Hokkaido. Front: shoyu dango (five for 702 yen), left: mameiri fukumochi (173 yen each), right: kusa shinko mochi (141 yen each).

Through the window next to the shop, you can see the incredible skills of the craftspeople hard at work. They’re so fast! Freshly-made sasadango with bean paste is sold as a set of five (972 yen). Why not buy some as a souvenir and compare them with the sasadango you made yourself?

Learn about the history of the nostalgic buildings

This history museum stands on the banks of the Shinano River. In addition to the main building of the museum, there are two other historic buildings on the site: the former Niigata Customs Office, and the former Dai-Shi Bank Sumiyoshi-cho branch.

Niigata was selected as a port-opening site alongside Kanagawa, Hakodate, Nagasaki, and Hyogo under the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the United States and Japan in 1858, and was opened in 1868. Once the customs office that served the opened port, the remains of the former Niigata Customs Office is now designated as a national cultural property.

We took a stroll through the grounds while taking in the view of an old river channel of the Shinano River! The building you can see on the far right is the former Dai-Shi Bank Sumiyoshi-cho branch, which was completed in 1927. The conference room and Japanese-style rooms have been restored to the way they were when the bank branch was in use.

Learning about the connection between the lives of Niigata people and the water

The main building of the museum looks like a castle, incorporating the design of Niigata’s second city hall. Inside, you’ll find a permanent exhibition room, a special exhibition room, a museum theater, and an experience hall, where you can enjoy learning about the history and culture of Niigata.

The theme of the permanent exhibition room is “the local history of water and people.” The past lives of the people of Niigata, who were nurtured by the sea and the river, are presented in an easy-to-understand way using images and dioramas to present its twin aspects of "port town" and "farming village."

There are old tools for growing rice, and information about the lives of the people of the Kanbara Plain. On the first floor, you’ll also find a plaza where you can experience what life was like long ago.
From sunset to 21:00, the buildings on the site are illuminated, giving them a different look to their daytime appearance. Enjoy the atmospheric night view, with the lights of the ships passing by the port.

We take a car ferry from Niigata Port and depart for Ryotsu Port on Sado Island!
See more beautiful places to visit in the 《Sado Edition》.