10 Must See Places In Niigata

Above, inside of a Niigata city tour bus. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Four years ago, I took an excursion to Niigata, Japan for a couple of days. I wanted to see the Sea of Japan (sorry, South Korea) side of Honshu.

My visit to Niigata was confined to the city. I visited Hakusan Park, an art gallery and visited their community center to see a photographic exhibit. I also took their bus tour of the city.

Tsunagu Japan has posted an article on "10 Must See Places In Niigata." Had I seen this or a similar article four years ago, I would have extended my stay and ventured out into other areas of the prefecture.

Maybe I'll return there in the future and check out the places listed.

The article begins with:

The long and narrow country of Japan is divided into what are called the 47 prefectures, but are actually 43 prefectures, 2 urban prefectures (Osaka and Kyoto), one territory (Hokkaido), and one metropolis (Tokyo). 

Each area has their own unique nature, with their own good characteristics and peculiarities. 

Of course, when you talk about sightseeing in Japan, places like Tokyo and Kyoto are famous, but other than that there are plenty of sightseeing areas to go to. 

Among those is Niigata prefecture. 

Niigata Prefecture is divided into 4 geographical areas, Joetsu, Chuetsu, Kaetsu and Sado region. Niigata prefecture is long and thin, and it has the third-largest area next after Nagano prefecture in Japan. 

This time, we would like to introduce the recommended 10 must see places which is surely mentioned in the sightseeing map in Niigata.

Since my visit, the city opened the Niigata Manga Animation Museum. That's one of the places I would like to see should I go back.

To see what Niigata prefecture has to offer, go here.