Japanese Ponshukan – Sake Heaven Alena Eckelmann At the Ponshukan in Yuzawa, you can wait for your train while drinking vending-machine sake and bathing in an onsen where the hotspring..
Food Yairo Watermelon Festival 2025 Late Jul - Early Aug Wild about watermelon? The Yairo Watermelon Festival in Niigata offers all you can eat watermelon for the bargain price of 500 yen...
Food Uono River Ayu Festival 2025 Late Aug The Uono River is a popular spot for fishing, and the most notable catch is ayu, or sweet fish. The Uono River Ayu Festival serves..
Food Echigo Winery Grape Festival 2025 Early - Mid Sep The Echigo Winery is situated in the heart of Niigata's snow country, and holds an annual Grape Festival where you can enjoy..
7 Food Kanzuri in Myoko, Niigata Prefecture Nathan Eden Kanzuri is a fermented chilli paste (or hot sauce) made only in Myoko using chillies, yuzu and koji. Once per winter, chillies harvested..
Japanese Ikinari-ya, Niigata Tomoko Kamishima Ikinari-ya is a 300 year old Japanese high-class, traditional restaurant. The restaurant opened in the mid-Edo era, when stylish..
Food 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..
Japanese Yuzawa Town in Niigata Prefecture JD Duquette A tour in the heart of the Snow Country. Sushi and chawanmushi making followed by a sake brewery visit. Of course, we taste everything!..