Japan Niigata prefecture travel tourism guide - Enjoy Niigata

The trains of Niigata
Story and photos by Nicholas Klar
I must make a confession to begin this story. I love the train system in Japan. They are clean, punctual and you can get just about anywhere on them - or at least a substantial part of the way. Throughout Japan, and particularly in places like Niigata Prefecture, you can find old single lines that wind up over the mountains bearing ancient railcars made in the 1950’s and 1960’s. In most other countries these lines would’ve closed down years ago in a fit of government rationalization or handed over to dedicated volunteers to run tourist trains. After Japan Railways (JR) was flogged off years ago some lines were indeed shut down but the majority still fortunately exist. I think I can safely state here too that Japanese people are also in love with their train system, as epitomized by the tear-jerker movie ‘Poppoya’, starring the legendary Ken Takakura.

To the traveller in Japan the rail system is often a mystery to be unraveled, and so it was with me as I stared up at the timetables in Naoetsu eki (station) one early morning. At least they used roman numerals. In some smaller wayside stations they still use the old Chinese number characters. That was to be the case that afternoon when I was to get stuck somewhere outside of Niitsu whilst waiting for a train to transport me onward to Aizu Wakamatsu near Mount Bandai. Having little else to do, I spent what seemed like a few hours deciphering the timetable written in Chinese characters.
Given the high transport costs when traveling in Japan, one should always keep an eye out for special discounted rail fares. On this particular journey I was taking advantage of the free kippu, (a.k.a. Echigo Two Days Pass) on which one can travel nearly anywhere on local trains for one day in Niigata for ¥1,500 or two days for ¥2,500. Niigata is a huge rural prefecture and it would be impossible to cover all of the lines in one day by local train. I intended do a round train trip up through the mountains that would take in some parts of Nagano and Fukushima Prefectures, but if I didn’t make any stops along the way I figured my pass would probably still be valid, or only a minimum cost for the extra legs.
After checking my timetables I headed north with the intention of completing the trip all in one day. A couple of hours in, through my misreading of the timetable, I missed a connection by three minutes at Miyauchi. I stood outside the station getting a coffee from the vending machine and watched as my train rumbled off into the distance. Consulting the timetables again I thought I might be able to loop around in the other direction and set off toward Niitsu. Another four hours on, a connecting train I expected didn’t even turn up and left me waiting a further two hours in the previously mentioned small wayside station. Still, the journey on the old twin car train (with no air-conditioning on a hot summer’s day) from Niitsu had been amazingly scenic and would be regarded as a ‘tourist train’ ride in most other countries.

Eventually nearing dusk I came to Kitakata in Fukushima-ken. I had decided to get off there and inspect the multitude of old kura (warehouse) in the town, plus the nearby Kumano jinja (shrine). Kitakata is also famous throughout Japan for its ramen noodles - but I didn’t find that out till afterwards. The last bus had left for the shrine by the time I arrived so after a short walk around town I decided to head out to it by foot.
Darkness quickly set in by the time I had walked the seven or so kilometres there. Not being able to see much, I had to now decide what my next plan of action would be. It seemed illogical to be retrace my steps so I thought I’d try hoofing it to Aizubange instead, about twelve kilometres away, and see what I could find what I could there. Drizzle, narrow roads, strange noises from roadside bushes (not dissimilar from the growl of a bear anxious to attack unwitting passerby’s), along with a ‘7km to Aizubange’ sign discouraged me from this thought after about two hours of walking.
Fortunately I was able to hitch a lift after about twenty minutes and the kind English-speaking driver dropped me off in Aizubange. To my initial disappointment I found that the town had just finished celebrating its yearly matsuri (festival). As I walked down the brightly lit up main street festooned with streamers and lanterns I stumbled past a cluster of old men still celebrating on a corner. Catching sight of me they insisted I sit down then set about forcing me to consume copious amounts of Japanese sake. Not too difficult a job I guess after the day I had just had.

By midnight I decided that accommodation was not needed as sleep would hardly be a problem and, excusing myself from my new found friends, stumbled down to the eki where I slept until 5.00am on the waiting room bench. To my surprise at around 5.30am it seemed half the town was up and about to help clean up from the previous night’s festivities. Finally at 6am I was able to board the train that I had set out to travel on over eighteen hours prior.
From Aizubange it was excellent connections to Koide, Muikamachi, Naoetsu, and finally to Omi, the next stop on from Itoigawa – which is near the southern most point of Niigata Prefecture. I had lucked out. That night was their annual hanabi (fireworks) on the beach! The local taiko-drumming group was also going to be playing. So instead of an early night I forced myself, by now dirty and smelly, to stay late. There was also another fireworks display happening up the coast around Nou-machi at the same time so there was much speculation amongst the crowd about which towns was the best. After a tiring last journey northwards I was finally late back into my digs in Takada around midnight. What a long weekend! But sometimes adversity brings forth greater enjoyment - and tales like this one...
If you’re a train buff or just wanting to see some great scenery, then you’ll love Niigata Prefecture. The free kippu tickets can be purchased at just about all manned eki in Niigata Prefecture. For more details of these and many others see: http://desktoptetsu.at.infoseek.co.jp/freeticket.htm
If coming in on a short stay and intending to see much more of East Japan make sure to pick yourself up the excellent value Japan Rail East Pass at the airport when you arrive. Points of sale can be found via http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/eastpass/index.html.

© Nicholas Klar, 2010

Nicholas Klar is a former JET ALT in Niigata Prefecture and best known for the memoir of his stay “My Mother is a Tractor: A Life in Rural Japan” See http://klarbooks.com/mmiat for more details. He is also webmaster of the popular sites - “Explore the Heart of Japan” (http://myoko-nojiri.com), “Ski the Heart of Japan” (http://myokokogen.net) and “The Unofficial JET Programme Guide” (http://jet-programme.com)