Recommended 2-day, 1-night trip to Niigata, enjoying natural radium hot springs and touring town houses

Ai Nishimura

Administrator of the blog "My Diary," which began in 2004. A writer who has traveled to all 47 prefectures and loves local culture and history.
Author of Shimane's "Geography, Place Names, and Maps" Mysteries (Jitsugyo no Nihonsha), My Town is the "Number One in Japan" Dictionary (PHP Institute), and Prefectures Explained in Neko Neko Japanese History (Jitsugyo no Nihonsha). Official blogger for Suntory Gourmet Guide, official top user for Retty, and official platinum blogger for Excite.

9:00 Arrive at Niigata Station. Rent a bicycle and head to Bandai Bridge.

For a half-day tour of Niigata City, rent a bicycle. Rent a bicycle at Ishimiya Bicycle Parking Lot, a few minutes' walk from the Bandai Exit of Niigata Station. Head to Hakusan Shrine via Bandai Bridge over the Shinano River. Bandai Bridge is the third bridge built in the early Showa period. At the foot of the bridge, there are various signs and monuments explaining the construction method and history.

9:30 Arrive at Hakusan Shrine. Calm your mind and pray for a safe and happy journey.

Hakusan Shrine is a historic shrine located in Hakusan Park in Niigata City's Chuo Ward, and is one of the most famous shrines in Niigata Prefecture. Many people visit the shrine hoping to receive various blessings, such as business success, financial luck, fertility, and safe childbirth.

The main deity, Kukurihime-no-Okami, has the power to make connections between people. She is the god who makes all kinds of connections, including health, work, family, and friendship. Many people also visit the shrine to pray for love success and marital bliss, hoping to be the go-between for men and women.

A cute family of rabbits was looking in the direction of us from above the Ema Hanging Area, where heart-shaped votive plaques praying for love are displayed.

10:00 Stroll around Hakusan Park

Hakusan Park, where Hakusan Shrine is located, was one of the first parks in Japan established and built by the government in the early Meiji period. Niigata was given permission to build one there under an edict that called for it to be built in a "populous, scenic spot where many people gather," and so the national park "Hakusan Park" was born.

Enkikan, part of the mansion of the Saito family, wealthy merchants who prospered through Kitamae-bune shipping, was relocated within the park and is open to the public free of charge.

The park is full of nature and has many attractions, such as the statue of Masataka Kusumoto, who developed Hakusan Park, the statue of Tama-kun, the loyal dog who saved his owner twice, a plum grove, a fountain, and a pond with a bridge. It is a park where anyone who visits can relax.

11:00 Lunch of soup and bread at the cafe "Palm" in Furumachi

Furumachi in Niigata is an area lined with shopping streets and many restaurants. In some cases, the area also includes Hakusan Shrine.
As I was cycling through the shopping district, a small sign caught my eye. Beyond the sign was a narrow alleyway, and the shop was on the second floor, up some stairs.

The name of this shop is "Palm". It is a coffee shop owned by a lovely lady who has been operating here for 45 years. The warm lighting creates a warm space, and the amber leather chairs and spacious tables create a high-quality atmosphere.
There are two types of blended coffee: sour and bitter. For lunch, there are soup and sandwich sets and curry.

The interior of the shop has a nostalgic atmosphere that makes you feel like it has been there since the 70's, and you can be sure that everyone will have a relaxing time here. It is sure to be an irresistible space for those who love traditional coffee shops and retro stores.

13:30 Board the free shuttle bus to Gozu Onsen Village and Murasugi Onsen. Stop by Lake Hyoko to watch the swans.

The lodging for the night was Murasugi Onsen in Gozu Onsenkyo. Choseikan, where I stayed, offers free shuttle service from Niigata Station. For example, it's nice not to have to drive on unfamiliar snowy roads, even in the snowy season. What's more, there is a service where the shuttle bus will stop by Lake Hyoko, which you pass on the way, during the season when swans fly there. Choseikan is about 60 minutes from Niigata Station, including the stopover, so it is a hot spring close to the city.

The Echigo Plain in Niigata Prefecture boasts the highest number of swans in Japan. Swans are birds that land on vast plains (rice fields), lakes, and swamps to avoid being targeted by predators. Lake Hyoko is a comfortable place for swans to live.

Lake Hyoko is a Ramsar Convention registered wetland, a designated natural monument and a wildlife sanctuary, and is a national conservation area for wild birds. It is a natural and safe place for wild birds to sleep.

The swans that come here to spend the winter stay here until late March, when they return to Siberia. Lake Hyoko is the first lake in Japan where wild swans were successfully fed, and the sight of the swans being fed is often featured in the news and has become a seasonal feature.

The swans floating on the lake are very cute and are used to people. There are also over a dozen species of ducks, as well as seagulls, herons and other wild birds floating on the lake, creating a spectacular sight.

Wild birds aren't the only attraction at Lake Hyoko. In spring, forsythia and rows of cherry blossoms bloom, and from early summer to summer, irises and lotus flowers bloom, coloring the lakeside one after another, making it a lake you can enjoy all year round.

14:30 Rent a bicycle to "Yasuda Kawara Road" and "Yasuda Yogurt"

When we arrived at Choseikan, we left our luggage and immediately went out for a walk around the neighborhood.

A five-minute walk from the inn is "Gozusanroku Urara no Mori," a facility with a local product shop, restaurant, and tourist information center. I was captivated by the white, smooth-skinned green onions and perfectly shaped Chinese cabbages being sold at low prices... I rented a bicycle here and headed for the spot that caught my eye.

This course takes you to the Yasuda area, where the headquarters factory and shop of Yasuda Yogurt, popular for its thick yogurt, are located, and then back.

Yasuda district has long been a town that developed as a tile production area, and was once lined with dozens of tile factories. However, as time has passed and tiles are no longer used for houses, the number of workshops that make art pieces and accessories for daily use while keeping the same tile manufacturing methods is on the rise. Yasuda Tile Road is a place where such tile art is displayed on the side of the road and in various other spots.

There are various objects on display that have been created using a variety of ingenious techniques, such as tiles mixed into plaster to create patterns, or tiles stacked on top of each other.
What particularly caught my eye was a cute cat sculpture placed on the wall. It is a work that captures the cat's movements as if it were alive. In fact, the rabbit family at Hakusan Shrine that I visited in the morning was also a work of Murahide Onigawara Koubou. As the name suggests, Murahide Onigawara Koubou is a company that manufactures Yasuda tile "demon tiles". The tile sculptures of little demons and animals are made using the same onigawara manufacturing method, and are apparently very popular products.

Yasuda Kawara Road is also home to a tile monument, a bus stop made entirely of tiles, and a rest area called the Kawara Terrace, making it a fun road where you can see and casually come into contact with tiles while cycling.

And finally we arrive at the Yasuda Yogurt headquarters factory. The Yasuda area is the birthplace of dairy farming in Niigata Prefecture.

Yasuda Yogurt is a company that uses raw milk from dairy cows raised in rich nature and clean water, and through extensive research into product development, creates delicious dairy products with a unique richness. If you make a reservation, you can also take a tour of the factory, and shop at the shop next to the factory, which sells a variety of products made with dairy products.

This charming shop is filled with sweets that can only be found in Niigata Prefecture and has an eat-in area where you can eat the sweets on the spot. They also offer local delivery of gifts.

16:45 Enjoy hot springs and a meal at Murasugi Onsen Choseikan

The spring quality of Murasugi Onsen, where this inn is located, is "radioactive spring." It is a "natural radium hot spring" that contains "radon," which is said to be effective against all diseases. It has been reported that by bathing in the hot spring and inhaling the steam containing radon or absorbing it through the skin, the organs in the body are activated and it becomes easier to regulate the body.

The spacious grounds are used to make the most of the 23 rooms and two annex buildings. The entrance and lobby are spacious, and the rooms are also spacious enough.

From the lounge, you can see and stroll through the beautiful garden where Nishikigoi carp swim. All the guest rooms have a view of the garden, which is the pride of the inn. I decided to spend the morning strolling through the garden, and enjoy dinner and a bath that day.

The evening meal was a Japanese kaiseki course meal. The head chef had trained at a famous restaurant in Tokyo, and the dishes were carefully prepared. We enjoyed a variety of local delicacies, including blackthroat seaperch, Echizen crab, and Niigata black wagyu beef.