A traditional performer from Sado Island in Niigata prefecture, Japan, shows off his moves in Tokyo’s Ginza district, Nov. 26, 2024. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)
Visitors to one of Tokyo’s fanciest shopping areas can plan a trip further afield at a prefectural information center in operation since summer.
The Niigata, a short walk from Ginza Station, opened in August and includes a restaurant and sake and craft shops and hosts events promoting tourism in the western Japanese prefecture.
The facility recently invited journalists to a get-together promoting Sado Island in the Sea of Japan, part of Niigata just off the coast of Japan’s main island of Honshu.
Gold mines on the island were mined by hand for hundreds of years and were recently registered as a World Heritage cultural site.
The South Korean and Japanese governments held separate ceremonies in November commemorating miners drafted to work there during World War II.
At the Ginza event, Rumiko Obata, manager of the Obata Sake Brewery on Sado, told visitors of the experiences they can have during a visit to the island, home to 50,000 people.
It takes under four hours to get there from Tokyo, riding a bullet train to Niigata city, followed by a ferry, Obata said.
Obata’s family has brewed Sake on Sado since 1892, she said.
Visitors can sample food from Niigata prefecture, Japan, in Tokyo’s Ginza district. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)
In 2014, her company converted an abandoned school on the island to a brewery that includes a cafe, accommodations and workspace.
Next at the Ginza event, Tadaaki Aida, a rice farmer on Sado, demonstrated onidaiko traditional Sado drumming that has been passed down for more than 400 years.
Meanwhile, a performer in a mask and costume leapt around the room in a type of performance done on the island to wish for good health, prosperity and bountiful harvests.
In addition to farming rice, Aida runs Sadoya Nippon, a company that promotes local culture on the island by planning festivals and making traditional costumes.
The Niigata, a short walk from Ginza Station, opened in August and includes a restaurant and sake and craft shops and hosts events promoting tourism in the western Japanese prefecture. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)
Journalists could taste some of Aida’s rice at the Ginza event and wash it down with sake brewed on the island.
They also got to sample a selection of food prepared by the information center’s restaurant – The Niigata Bit Ginza – using ingredients such as oyster, snapper and persimmon from Sado island.
On the QT
Directions: Sanwa Suzuran Bldg., 5-6-7 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo; a short walk from Ginza Station, exits A2/B5
Times: The gift shop is open daily, 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily; the sake shop is open daily, noon to 7:30 p.m.; restaurant hours vary.
Costs: It’s free to enter the center.
Food: Lunch at The Niigata Bit Ginza starts at 2,980 yen, just over $19; dinner starts at 5,478 yen.
Information: Online: the-niigata.jp
