Sado Gold Mine – A Trip to Unearth This Golden UNESCO Treasure

Begin your journey at Kirarium Sado, an information center in the Aikawa area. Here, the island's rich mining history comes to life through stunning large-scale videos and captivating projection mapping.

For roughly 400 years, from the 17th century, when full-developemnt began, until its closure in the latter part of the 20th century, Sado was one of the largest producers in Japan, yielding an estimated 78 tons of gold and 2,330 tons of silver through the Aikawa Gold and Silver Mine alone. From the 16th to the mid-19th century, a period when mechanisation was advancing elsewhere in the world, Japan deepened and continued advanced manual mining and smelting techniques for over 250 years under an isolation policy that restricted access to foreign technology and information. This historical value was recognized and the “Sado Island Gold Mines” was inscribed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site.

The Sado Island Gold Mines consists of two main areas: the Nishimikawa Placer Gold Mine and the Aikawa-Tsurushi Gold and Silver Mine. The latter is further divided into the Tsurushi Silver Mine, discovered in 1542 and the foundation for the development of the Sado mines, and the Aikawa Gold and Silver Mine, which led to Aikawa becoming the center of development of the mines on the island after the discovery of major veins of gold and silver.

Kirarium Sado has a tourist information center where you can get maps and information on guide apps (available in English, Simplified/Traditional Chinese, and Korean) to help you explore the historic sites and surrounding towns. It’s the perfect place to begin your trip.

Kirarium Sado

• Address: 18-1, Aikawa Sanchome Hamamachi, Sado-shi, Niigata
• Access: An approx. 50-minute drive from Ryotsu Port Sado Kisen Terminal; a short walk from the "Kirarium Sado" bus stop (served by the Honsen Line, Nanaura Kaigansen Line, Kaifu Line).
• Phone: 0259-74-2215
• Hours: 8:30 am – 5:00 pm (Last entry to exhibition hall at 4:30 pm)
• Closed: Beginning and end of year holidays (December 29 – January 3)
• Price: Free entry (Exhibition rooms: Adults – 300 JPY, Elementary and middle school students – 150 JPY / Groups of 15 or more: Adults – 250 JPY, Elementary and middle school students – 100 JPY)
• Parking: 157 passenger car spaces, 3 large bus spaces

As mentioned above, the Aikawa Gold and Silver Mine was one of the largest in Japan. Over centuries of operation until the end of the 20th century, its network of tunnels grew to a total length of 400 kilometers, reaching 530 meters below sea level. The sheer volume of ore excavated amounted to roughly 15 million tons. Today, numerous relics from its past survive, including the tunnel sites, smelting faciity sites, mining settlements deep in the mountains, and the remains of the port used to ship the ore.

The Historic Site Sado Gold Mine invites visitors to journey through exploring the tunnels and mining sites. A portion of the tunnels is open to the public, allowing you to trace the evolution of mining technology firsthand. Walking courses guide you through two distinct tunnels and take about 60 to 90 minutes to complete. With English audio guides available, it's an immersive experience for everyone.

To step back in time, head into the Sodayu Tunnel Site, a tunnel excavated by hand during the early Edo period (1603 – 1868), where chisel marks on the walls and animated models offer a thrilling glimpse into the past. For a look at a more modern approach, the Doyu Tunnel Site, opened in 1899, is a wider, machine-excavated tunnel that showcases the modernization of mining with its remnants of trolley tracks for the transportation of ore and industrial equipment.

Emerging from the tunnel, you are met with the breathtaking sight of the Doyu-no-warito Opencut Site: a mountain peak dramatically split in two. This massive V-shape is the result of surface mining, where miners carved directly into the gold and silver veins exposed on the surface. This iconic landmark continues to be a silent testament to the sheer force of the mining operations of the past at the Sado Gold Mine.

The Historic Site Sado Gold Mine

• Address: 1305, Shimo-Aikawa, Sado-shi, Niigata
• Access: An approx. 50-minute drive from Ryotsu Port Sado Kisen Terminal. A short walk from the Sado Kinzanmae bus stop (served by the Honsen Line and Nanaura Kaigansen Line).
• Phone: 0259-74-2389
• Hours: 8:00 am – 5:30 pm (April – October), 8:30 am – 5:00 pm (November – March)
• Closed: Open year-round
• Price: Sado Kinzan Course (Sodayu and Doyu Tunnels): Adults – 1,500 JPY, Elementary school students - 750 JPY
• Parking: 500 passenger car spaces, 23 large bus spaces

In 1603, Sado Island came under the direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate, and the Sado Magistrate’s Office was established to oversee the island's administration, mine management, and public security. The complex included administrative offices, the magistrate’s residence, and a workshop called a “seriba” for dressing gold and silver.

Today, the buildings on the site have been meticulously reconstructed based on historical documents from the Edo period, using the same materials and techniques as the originals.

Sado Bugyosho

• Address: 1-1, Aikawa Hiromamachi, Sado-shi, Niigata
  
• Access: An approx. 50-minute drive from Ryotsu Port Sado Kisen Terminal. A 2-minute walk from the Sado Hangamura bus stop (served by the Honsen Line and Nanaura Kaigansen Line).
• Phone: 0259-74-2201
• Hours: 8:30 am – 5:00 pm (Last entry at 4:30 pm)
• Closed: Beginning and end of year holidays (December 29 – January 3)
• Price: Adults – 500 JPY, Elementary and middle school students – 200 JPY / Groups of 15 or more: Adults – 400 JPY, Students – 160 JPY
• Parking: 10 spaces

Kyomachi Street is the main street linking the Sado Magistrate’s Office Site with the Aikawa Gold and Silver Mine. During the Edo period, it bustled with the homes of officials and mine workers, alongside shops selling everything from kimono to food. It was so prosperous that some buildings stood three stories tall, a rarity for the time. The narrow side streets and systematic land allotment, as well as historic town names such as Daiku-machi and Komeya-machi that are still in use today, offer a fascinating glimpse into the urban planning of the past.

Every year in early June, the street comes alive at night for the Yoi-no-Mai festival, which features a parade of dancers clad in traditional clothing. The sound of melancholic folk songs and the glow of lanterns illuminating the town create a mesmerizing atmosphere where time itself seems to slow down.

Kyomachi Street

• Address: Aikawa (Kamikyomachi, Nakakyomachi, Shimokyomachi), Sado-shi, Niigata
• Access: An approx. 50-minute drive from Ryotsu Port Sado Kisen Terminal.
• Parking: None

Yoi-no-Mai Festival

• Venue: The festival route runs from Daiku-machi to Kyomachi Street, in front of the Sado Hangamura Museum, and within the Sado Bugyosho grounds.
• Address: Fureai Hall, 7, Aikawa Shimokyomachi, Sado-shi, Niigata
• Date: First Friday and Saturday of June annually, from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm

The Kitazawa Flotation Plant is a fascinating site of the early 20th century, a time when mining on Sado was modernized. Once known as one of the largest ore processing facilities in East Asia, this plant pioneered using flotation technology for gold and silver extraction, using chemicals to attach gold and silver particles to foam for easier separation. As a result of plans for large-scale increases in production during the war, it processed over 50,000 tons of ore every month, boasting some of the highest output in Japan. Today, only the plant's concrete foundation of the building remains, now overgrown with moss and vegetation, giving it an ethereal, almost magical atmosphere. Visit between April and January to see the ruins illuminated by colorful lights at night, creating a romantic scene that’s a world away from its daytime appearance.

Kitazawa Flotation Plant

• Address: 3-2, Aikawa Kitazawamachi, Sado-shi, Niigata
• Access: An approx. 50-minute drive from Ryotsu Port Sado Kisen Terminal. A 2-minute walk from the Aikawa Hakubutsukanmae bus stop (served by the Honsen Line and Nanaura Kaigansen Line).
• Parking: 30 passenger car spaces, 3 large bus spaces

Believed to have started full-scale operations around 1460, the Nishimikawa Placer Gold Mine is Sado's oldest placer gold mine. The area around the Sasagawa Settlement, where the miners lived, is dotted with relics of its prosperous past, including the ruins of waterways built to wash awaythe gold-bearing earth and the management facility of the mine.

The mining technique used here was a powerful method called “onagashi,” where the mountain slopes containing placer gold were scraped, and unwanted stones and dirt were washed away with the force of water channeled from distant sources through waterways to collect placer gold with panning boards. Scenery reminiscent of this period can still be seen in the surrounding landscape, from the remains of waterways and reservoirs to the residence of mining village head responsible for miners, an administrative office, a shrine, and even a Noh stage, all painting a vivid picture of the community that once thrived here. The scraped slope of nearby the Toramaru-yama Site stands as a lasting proof of this mining technique and a symbol of the Nishimikawa Placer Gold Mine.

Today, you can enjoy your own treasure hunting adventure at the nearby the Sado Nishimikawa Gold Park located west of the settlement, where you can try panning for gold yourself!

Sado Nishimikawa Gold Park

• Address: 835-1, Nishimikawa, Sado-shi, Niigata
• Access: An approx. 20-minute drive from Ogi Port Sado Kisen Terminal
• Phone: 0259-58-2021
• Hours: 8:30 am – 5:00 pm (March – April, September – November), 8:30 am – 5:30 pm (May – August), 9:00 am – 4:30 pm (December – February)
*Last entry is 30 minutes before closing.
• Closed: Open year-round (Some closing days in January and February. Check the official website for details).
• Price: Adults – 1,500 JPY, Children - 1,200 JPY (Includes gold panning experience)
• Parking: 150 passenger car spaces, 10 large bus spaces

Mumyoi ware is a distinctive type of pottery crafted from the reddish-brown, iron-rich clay sourced from the Sado Gold Mine. The term "mumyoi" refers to the ferric oxide found in the mine's quartzite deposits, originally used as a medicinal remedy for purposes such as stopping bleeding. The craft's origins trace back to 1819 with an artisan named Jinbei Ito, whose trade was making ceramic nozzles for the tuyeres used in gold and silver refining. He is said to have been the first to fire the local mumyoi clay to create Raku ware (a soft, glazed earthenware shaped by hand and spatula without a potter's wheel), marking the birth of this now-famous Sado craft.

The finished pottery has a deep, earthy red color and is known for becoming more lustrous with continuous use, illustrating the flow of time. At the Aikawa Gino Densho Tenjikan (Aikawa Traditional Skills Museum), located near the Kitazawa Flotation Plant, you can learn about the history and characteristics of this unique craft and even try making your own cup on a potter's wheel. Why not create a one-of-a-kind souvenir to remember your trip?

Aikawa Gino Densho Tenjikan (Aikawa Traditional Skills Museum)

• Address: 2, Aikawa Kitazawamachi, Sado-shi, Niigata
• Access: An approx. 50-minute drive from Ryotsu Port Sado Kisen Terminal.
• Phone: 0259-74-4313
• Hours: 8:30 am – 5:00 pm (Last entry at 4:30 pm)
• Price: Mumyoi pottery experience: From 1,530 JPY
• Parking: 50 passenger car spaces, 20 large bus spaces

The World Heritage site the“Sado Island Gold Mines” is more than just a mine. It is a historic site that tells the story of Japan’s technology, governance, and way of life. Come follow the footsteps of gold and silver miners and uncover the heritage and wisdom that continue to define this remarkable island!