- Hands-on Experiences
Sasazushi (Bamboo Sushi) Making Experience
Sasazushi (‘bamboo sushi’) holds a special place in the hearts of the people of Itoigawa. Rustic-yet-colorful, this simple dish of vinegar rice topped with pickled vegetables, nuts and other local produce served atop a bamboo le...
- Hands-on Experiences
Itoigawa Jade Bracelet Making
Itoigawa is perhaps most famous for its jade. Jade was first crafted into jewelry over 7000 years ago. Although the designs and methods have changed, the stone’s simple elegance and beauty remain as enchanting as ever. At the Gyokusu...
- Hands-on Experiences
Shiitake Farm Experience
Few ingredients are as quintessentially Japanese as the shiitake mushroom. It’s hard to imagine many traditional Japanese dishes without the shiitake’s hearty texture and rich earthy flavor. In Itoigawa’s scenic Hayakawa V...
- Places & Events
Fossa Magna Park
First opened as an “Itoigawa Geopark” in 1991, the Fossa Magna Park can be said to be the birthplace of the Itoigawa UNESCO Global Geopark. It features a 1 km long hillside walking trail, stretching from the entrance along Route...
- Places & Events
Fossa Magna Museum
Itoigawa UNESCO Global Geopark’s Information Center. Museum of Jade and the Fossa Magna. Opened in 1994 in Itoigawa’s beautiful Miyama Park, the Fossa Magna Museum tells the story of the birth of our planet and the Japanese Isla...
- Places & Events
- History & Culture
Chojagahara Archaeological Museum
At the Center of the World’s Oldest Jadeworking Culture The Chojagahara Archaeological Site was the site of a number of massive settlements over 5,000 to 3,500 years ago. The people who lived in these settlements collected jade from t...
- Places & Events
- Hands-on Experiences
Kubiki Cycling Road
The Kubiki Cycling Road is a 33 km built atop the remains of the Old Hokuriku Railroad, which was moved into the mountains in the 1960s. The road winds along the coast of the Sea of Japan passing through fishing communities and pastoral sce...
- Places & Events
- History & Culture
Tanimura Art Museum & Gyokusuien Gardens
Buddhist Artwork, Traditional Japanese Gardens & Modern Architecture The Gyokusuien Gardens opened in 1981. Designed by acclaimed landscape architect Kinsaku Nakane, the gardens use the natural background to evoke a scene of two rivers ...
- History & Culture
- Nature & Best Views
Cliffs of Oyashirazu & Oyashirazu Community Road
‘Tenka no Ken’ – ‘The Most Dangerous Crossing Under Heaven’ The Cliffs of Oyashirazu were once known as the most dangerous crossing of the Hokuriku Road. In ancient times, crossing these cliffs meant taking you...
- Places & Events
- History & Culture
Nou Hakusan Shrine
Maritime Shrine with 2000 Years of History While its exact date of founding is lost to history, shrine records state that Nou Hakusan Shrine was founded over 2000 years ago during the reign of Emperor Sujin, 10th emperor of Japan. The curr...