Niigata & Sado Island

by Brianin Japan, Niigataon Posted on

Jump Ahead:

Day 1 | Gala Yuzawa
Day 2 | New Years Eve in Niigata
Day 3 | New Years in Yahiko
Day 4 | Sado Island
Day 5 | Sado Island
Final Day 6 | Homeward Bound

Hello Everyone.  It’s been a while since I’ve posted, apologize for the delay. This past New Years was spent in Niigata! Been meaning to go for some time now since that’s supposed to be where my Dad’s side of the family came from, plus anywhere known for good rice/water/sake is fine by me!  This time I was accompanied by my girlfriend Marie so it made the experience all the more enjoyable.  Our first stop was at Gala Yuzawa for a day of skiing on the way to Niigata city.  We would then tour the city area and take a day trip down to Yahiko Shrine for New Years Day prayers (when in Japan…) and then finally over to Sado Island to finish up the trip.

Day 1 - Gala Yuzawa

I think my second time coming here and as mentioned before, Gala Yuzawa is probably the most convenient (but still quality) ski resort in Japan, simply because the shinkansen station is basically the resort itself.
Not so crowded early on
Gotta love the mountain views
For the kids
Aawwwww, of course
We stayed on the green hills for the most part since it was Marie's first time in a while but proud to say she was able to graduate to red by the end of the day
At the peak hours of the day
After a long cold day, back on the Shinkansen over to Niigata Station. Stayed at the Comfort Hotel chain near the station.
We found a restaurant specializing in soba and they were also very generous with the sake, I drank most of Marie's also hehe, can't remember the name of the place, just wanted to enjoy the picture hehe

Day 2 - Niigata

New Year's Eve we did a lot of walking in throughout the city. There isn't a whole lot to do but good to just observe the smaller things here and there.
Shinanogawa River
Performing Arts Center
Outside the Niigata Prefectural Civic Center
Hakusan Shrine
We saw several of these on the trip. Supposedly, people burn the previous years items in the fire pit for a fresh start to the new year.
Hakusan Park
Furumachi Dori Shopping Street
Nishiumayajima (Kotohira) Shrine
Then we walked over the Bandai Bridge to PIA Bandai - nice little fish and food market area
Niigata rice!
Had lunch at a small little cafeteria upstairs of the building next to the fish market.
Later that evening, we went to Ponshukan on the southern side of Niigata Station, popular for the numerous award winning sake tasting vending machines on the back side of the store.
Must have been over 100 different sake to sample
Drink tokens and cup
Salts, I believe to try between sake samples
They conveniently rank the sake by popularity
This was definitely my favorite... ended up buying a couple of bottles after from the main shop and wasn't expensive either! Most of the sake I tried in Japan and really liked actually weren't expensive at all.
The someone underwhelming Christmas light street
Miso, toasted or roasted?
I do eat a lot of natto now
Making your own senbei is actually pretty difficult! Need more practice
The aftermath

Day 3 - Yahiko

Hotel breakfast, no breakfast salad for me thank you!
Caught the train to Yahiko on New Years day to visit the shrine
Quite the line and wait
Finally see why
Very typical on New Years Day
Walked to the ropeway station near the shrine
Some very old entertainment but still fun for us to kill time
Still cold and frosty up here
From the hiking trail I believe
Clouds began clearing up to give us a nice view on the way down
Back down in town, what else to do but eat!
Walking into Yahiko Park
Just took random paths in the park
Looks to be the way to Yu Shrine
Back at Niigata Station, we couldn't figure out the meaning of this sign...
Still had some time when we got back so we went for a walk in the rain
Walked to Toki Messe and up to the observatory floor in Hotel Nikko Niigata
Wasn't much on the observatory floor if I remember correctly but was free so can't complain. Had a little dessert from the cafe and took in the night views
Looking back down the river
View towards Ferry Building

Day 4 - Sado Island

Finally our trip to Sado Island begins! The second half of our trip. Boarding the ferry.
Some snacks from the ferry building souvenir shop
Pretty nice ferry
Main hall
Looking at Sado Island
Made it! Interesting front of the ferry...
Back on land, looking back at the ferry building
Very small rental car company across the street from the ferry building, not much English spoken here and not a lot of options on the island to begin with... good thing Marie was there and could drive!
Off we go!
First things first, tarai-bune (tub boat) rides!
Little bit difficult finding the building in Ogi but got there eventually. Sado Island doesn't have too many roads hehe
Not a busy day, granted it was still New Years holiday period
The ride itself is not long but they did let us try paddling... Marie did pretty good, me not so... it's difficult I say but they make it look easy.
Then drove over to this supposedly very old, historical town of Shukunegi which was more creepy than anything... gives you that haunted feeling.
Next, drove over to Dairen-ji Temple
Toki no Mori park
Supposed to be THE bird of Japan but unfortunately there are really none left, now they come from China (like everything else????)
Most of the park was closed, birds had some kind of disease so couldn't go closer, and the museum wasn't that big or crowded at all. This place was actually not really worth the hype as we both left shrugging our shoulders more or less.
Checked in to our hotel on the hill, Sado Aokiya, not many options on the island and everything is pretty old. Very eerie feeling about the whole island so far on day 1.
Room View, Lake Kamo
Ended up eating dinner in another hotel. Apparently everything was closed very early or just for the holiday period. Not a bad meal but at least we could find something.

Day 5 - Sado Island

Morning View
Hotel view looking the other way
Rainy trip for the most part
Sado Island history museum
Again, wasn't crowded... Sado Island must not be much of a New Year destination hehe
Lot of animated robots moving and telling stories, again... a little creepy.
Even the little boy is fake
Meoto-iwa (Husband and Wife Rock)
Main event for the day were the gold mines
Old machine shop
Actually learning about the history of the gold mines and of the island only served to confirm my feelings about the place
Apparently the government used to round up homeless people in Tokyo (who had no identity) and sent them to Sado to work in the mines. Talk about sad stories.
Went for a drive the rest of the day, just taking in the coastal views
Bridge at Senkakuwan
Lake Kamo
Found a korean bbq place which really hit the spot this day. Still difficult finding places that were open but this was good!

Final Day 6 - Sado Island to Home

Last day of our trip, had breakfast at the hotel, nothing fancy
Drove back to the ferry building and returned the rental car
Hopped on the ferry
Saying bye to Sado and then back to Yokohama. Happy New Year!
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