New tourism spot features Japanese gardens
NIIGATA, Japan: A widereaching tourist route has recently been developed featuring Japanese gardens and other attractions along National Highway Route 290, which runs through an inland area of Niigata Prefecture.
People who toured the route have given such positive feedback as “I was able to discover new attractions of Niigata.” The route could help unearth new tourism resources in the prefecture.
About 140 km long, National Highway Route 290 runs between Murakami and Uonuma, both in Niigata Prefecture, passing through Shibata, Sanjo and other cities on the way. The route, which is also called the Echigo Yamanami Line, threads its way between the Echigo Plain and mountainous areas.
The newly developed course, called the Niigata Teien Kaido (Niigata garden route), is a tourist route covering areas along the northern part of the national highway. It is about 150 km long and passes through five municipalities along the highway - Murakami, Sekikawa, Shibata, Agano and Gosen - as well as Seiro, Tagami and Niigata.
The route opened on May 1. It was devised by Shinji Kikkawa, 53, and other volunteers working on regional revitalisation, such as the renovation of traditional houses in Murakami. They formed a group and planned the tourist route in an attempt to use regional resources to appeal to the rest of the world.
The route covers 25 facilities along National Highway Route 290, including gardens, temples, shrines and old samurai residences. In addition to the Watanabe-Tei residence in Sekikawa and the Shimizuen garden in Shibata, the route also includes the Ashigaru Nagaya (dwellings for lower class vassals) in Shibata and Wakabayashi House in Murakami, which are both designated as national important cultural properties.
People travelling along the route can enjoy renowned
The best way to enjoy the scenery is to sit in the tea house and view the garden. – Tetsuro Fujii, 59, who holds classes on Japanese gardens
hot springs such as Tsukioka in Shibata and Murasugi in Agano when they visit various Japanese gardens.
On May 18, a tour was held for officials related to the tourism industry, with about 15 participants visiting eight locations. Starting with the Manpukuji temple in Murakami, they visited the Ijimino Ochaya tea house in Shibata, where they saw a garden featuring a path around a pond and an annex of the Mizoguchi family, once rulers of the Shibata domain.
Tetsuro Fujii, 59, who holds classes on Japanese gardens, gave advice to tour participants. “The best way to enjoy the scenery is to sit in the tea house and view the garden,” Fujii said. Participants of the tour enjoyed the garden and its vivid new green leaves.
The group plans to make more detailed sightseeing plans using the garden route and submit the plans to municipalities, ryokan inns and others along the route. “Niigata Prefecture is a ‘kingdom of gardens’ that we can be proud of,” Kikkawa said. “We want to promote the route to foreign tourists ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.” — The Japan News/Yomiuri