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Niigata

Leading ski getaway famous for rice and sake

About Niigata
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Top Attractions in Niigata

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Murakami Machiya Doll Tour 2025

Murakami Machiya Doll Tour 2025

Mar 1st - Apr 3rd

The annual Murakami Machiya Doll Tour involves traditional hina dolls on display at equally historic venues–machiya are tradit..

Takada Castle Sakura Festival 2025

Takada Castle Sakura Festival 2025

Mar 28th - Apr 13th

Niigata's Takada Castle grounds are home to an annual sakura festival, where guests can enjoy over 2000 cherry trees in bloom...

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Where to eat in Niigata

Places to stay in Niigata

Latest Niigata Reports

JR Tadami Line

JR Tadami Line

Kim Bergström

The JR Tadami line is a scenic railway route that runs through the mountainous regions of Fukushima and Niigata prefectures. The..

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About 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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