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Niigata

Leading ski getaway famous for rice and sake

About Niigata
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Upcoming Niigata Events

Tokamachi Kimono Festival 2025

Tokamachi Kimono Festival 2025

Saturday - May 3rd

The Tokamachi Kimono Festival is held on the 3rd of May each year. The region is known for their kimono production, and it's..

Free Entry
Tainai City Tulip Festival 2025

Tainai City Tulip Festival 2025

Apr 19th - May 4th

At the annual Tainai City Tulip Festival, around 800,000 tulips in 60 varieties are on display for visitors to enjoy. In addition,..

Free Entry
Spring Snow Festival at Yuzawa Kogen 2025

Spring Snow Festival at Yuzawa Kogen 2025

Apr 27th - May 6th

Niigata Prefecture is known for receiving significant amounts of winter snowfall, so much so that it's still visible in some..

¥3,000

Where to eat in Niigata

Sanpoutei in Koide

Sanpoutei in Koide

Rufus Starbuck

A gluttonous friend recently revealed to me that he makes a stop on his way back to his hometown, pulling off the expressway i..

Places to stay in Niigata

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About Niigata

niigata
Okinawa Nagasaki Fukuoka Saga Kumamoto Kagoshima Miyazaki Oita Ehime Kochi Tokushima Kagawa Yamaguchi Hiroshima Okayama Tottori Shimane Hyogo Kyoto Osaka Wakayama Nara Shiga Mie Fukui Ishikawa Toyama Gifu Aichi Nagano Shizuoka Niigata Yamanashi Kanagawa Tokyo Saitama Gunma Tochigi Chiba Ibaraki Fukushima Miyagi Yamagata Iwate Akita Aomori Hokkaido
Region Chubu
Island Honshu
Capital Niigata
Population 2,374,450
Area 12,584.10 km²

What’s the most important food in the everyday diets of Japanese people? The answer is rice, and no prefecture does it better than Niigata Prefecture (新潟県, Niigata-ken) and their Koshi Hikari brand when it comes to rice. And that also means you can find some of Japan’s top sake there too.

Niigata is also one of the top hot springs and winter sports destinations as well; the popular Naeba Ski Resort doubles as the host of the Fuji Rock Festival (Japan’s largest outdoor music event) in late July. The Nagaoka Festival almost immediately after it is one of the three biggest fireworks displays in Japan.

Niigata’s beaches are wildly underrated, often overlooked at the expense of those on the Pacific coast. The idyllic island of Sado is famous for being the breeding spot of the rare Japanese crested ibis and for its gold mine. 

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