Museum / Science Museum Spots in Niigata Area

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Category

Travel / Tourism

History / Culture / Tour

Museum / Science Museum

Northern Culture Museum

4.0

102 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nigata Pref. Nigatashi Kounan-ku Soumi 2-15-25

The Northern Culture Museum utilizes a residence of the Ito family, which was a large scale farming family in Echigo, and its construction was completed in 1889 after some eight years. The large residence has 65 rooms in a property of 8,800 tsubo (29,040 square meters). There are many sightseeing areas such as the Sanrakutei which has a large hall with 100 tatami mats facing a beautiful garden, a tea room, which was also used an office, and a two-storey earthen gate storehouse built around 1885. In the residence, there are displays of artistic crafts and archaeological documents as well. It is also a well-known place for wisteria, and the beautiful wisteria flowers in the courtyard bloom around late April to early May.

This a Great place to learn about the history and lifestyle of the people of Niigata.I was fascinated by the ethnobotany and how the people of this area utilized the plants not only for aesthetics...
Niigata City History Museum (Minatopia)

4.0

93 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nigata Pref. Nigatashi Chuou-ku Yanagishimachou 2-10

At this history museum in Chuo Ward, Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture, you’ll find materials illuminating the history and folk culture of Niigata, which developed along with the sea. The main building adopts a modern Western design used by the second-generation Niigata city hall. Inside, you’ll find a permanent exhibit with the theme “The local sea and locals’ lives,” along with a theater, planned exhibitions, and more. Onsite, there’s also the Former Niigata Customhouse building in the Meiji period, a National Treasure, and the Former Daishi Bank Sumiyoshi-cho Branch, which was completed in 1927. Visitors are allowed entry.

The buildings are beautiful! Kind of a colonial European vibe, and (for me) they’re especially pretty in the evening. If I remember rightly, the entry fee was ¥300, which is perfectly reasonable...
Fossa Magna Museum

4.0

75 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Itoigawa City Niigata Prefecture Ichinomiya 1313

The Fossa Magna Museum opened 1994 is a museum about rocks for learning about our natural environment and resources, as provided by the Earth across ages and geological eras. In the six-room exhibition area, you can see fossils and beautiful ores (jade) of Itoigawa River. Approximately 10 minutes by car via Itoigawa Interchange on the Hokuriku Expressway.

Excellent presentation of the nature and formation of jade, with a number of interactive exhibits that you could turn wheels to see things happen. Great educational value. Highlight was the AV...
Iyoboya Hall

4.0

85 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nigata Pref. Murakamishi Shiomachi 13-34

In this museum in Murakami City, Niigata Prefecture, themed material regarding Murakami’s specialty product salmon, is on display. In the Murakami dialect, “Iyoboya” means salmon. Visitors can see how the salmon were fished in the Miomote River as well as an introduction to Murakami’s history and culture etc. in the museum. Visitors can also see under water from the observation window made in the distributary of the Miomote River. According to the season, you may encounter the scene of salmon swimming upstream or eggs hatching.

村上の三面川沿いにあります。会館の前には車は停められず、普通車はちょっと離れた所に駐車場があるので、冬は辛いです。ここは鮭の博物館。江戸時代、ここを鮭の名産地にした、青砥武平治が顕彰されています。他にも、人工孵化をしている鮭の稚魚や、三面川の分流である「種川」をガラス越しで観察できたり、600円の価値がある博物館だと思います。鮭の他にも、サケ科のニジマスなども展示されていました。
Sado History and Folklore Museum

4.0

59 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nigata Pref. Sadoshi Mano 655

This museum houses life-sized robots which tell 800 years of Sado's history. The museum is located adjacent to the south side of Mano Park on Sado Island. Visitors can experience the legends of Sado Island with the diorama robots, as if travelling back in time. The robots act out 12 programs in total. The stories of Emperor Juntoku's first princess and Emperor Juntoku, who was sent into exile on Sado Island, the founder of the Nichiren sect and Zeami are acted outhere. In the establishment's restaurant, Yuzuru, visitors can enjoy a meal while looking out at the Japanese gardens. The restaurant also offers dishes cooked with Sado's specialty foods such as Mekabu soba.

佐渡へ流された人について（歴史）であった。ここで会えるのは順徳天皇・日蓮聖人・世阿弥である。ただし人形であるが。他に佐渡関連？の伝説のストーリーが演じられていた。佐渡の歴史かもしれないがイメージは違った。子供は楽しめるのかな？
Niigata Science Museum

4.0

24 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nigata Pref. Nigatashi Chuou-ku Meikeminami 3-1-1

This large-scale science museum is located in Chuo Ward, Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture. Many of the exhibits encourage direct interaction, allowing visitors to have fun as they learn about the natural sciences. The exhibitions from the first through third floors are divided into the four sections with different themes: Niigata Prefecture’s transformation over time, the natural sciences, science in our lives, and the “mystery plaza.” There’s also a moving dinosaur full-scale model, the largest planetarium on the Japan Sea coast, an outdoors exhibition area where you can experience riding in solar cars, and more, providing plenty for visitors of all ages to enjoy.

A really awesome science museum. Although it is really more common for younger children to be at science museums, I feel that this one offers a lot of interactive displays, even for the older ones...
Tokamachi City Museum

4.5

28 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nigata Pref. Tokamachishi Nishimotochou 1-382-1

This museum in Tokamachi City, Niigata Prefecture, houses and displays historical and cultural artifacts from Tokamachi based on the theme of “snow, textiles and the Shinano River”. There are a lot of models, dioramas, and archaeological finds etc. displayed in the museum which introduce in chronological order the history of the Jomon period through to modern times. You can also see artifacts relating to Tokamachi textiles which show the tools that were used and resourcefulness of the people in their daily lives in this region of heavy snow. The flame-style pottery, excavated from the Sasayama site in Tokamachi City, Niigata Prefecture, are the most outstanding items exhibited in the museum and have been designated as National Treasures.

十日町市まできて国宝の「火焔型土器」を見ない手はないと、大地の芸術祭アート鑑賞の合間を縫って訪ねた。2020年に新博物館として開館したという白い建物は、縄文土器や雪の結晶をグラフィック化した外壁が目をひく。エントランスを進むと「縄文時代と火焔型土器のクニ」という展示コーナーがあり、その一角に国宝展示室がある。「火焔型土器」は縄文時代中期に新潟県エリアで栄えた土器様式で、燃え上がる炎を象ったかのよう...
Sado Island’s Ogi Folk Museum, Sengokubune Exhibition Hall

3.5

26 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nigata Pref. Sadoshi Shukunegi 270-2

This museum is located in a wooden schoolhouse built in 1920 that has been preserved as-is. Inside the building which still bears the vestiges of its days as a schoolhouse are displays for a collection of over 30,000 folk materials that have been designated as important tangible folk-cultural properties, including tools and equipment for shipbuilders. During the Hakusan Maru Matsuri festival held every summer, the Hakusan Maru, Japan’s first fully-restored sengokubune (wooden freight ship) that is on display in the museum, is pulled out under human power and an impressive large white sail that is 155 tatami mats in size is raised.

There is a video here you can watch in English that describes how the shipping history of Sado made this island such a melting pot of culture from around Japan. You can go inside the boat and see...
Echigo-Matsunoyama Museum of Natural Science “Mori no Gakko” Kyororo

3.5

24 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nigata Pref. Tokamachishi Matsunoyamamatsuguchi 1712-2

This is a natural science museum built in nature-rich satoyama (village-vicinity mountain) in Tokamachi City, Niigata Prefecture. It introduces many displays related to the heavy snows of the satoyama as well as exhibits made in cooperation with local residents. The permanent exhibition includes the “Forrest Aquarium,” a display of aquatic life in the rice terraced area, an area introducing the lifestyle of the town in the snow, the local resident’s ‘treasures’ as well as an area for creative works. There is also a variety of experience programs such as a nature observation tour, rice making experience, and a woodworking experience using natural wood.

越後妻有「大地の芸術祭」の折、ボルタンスキーの遺作といわれる「森の精」やその他のアート作品を鑑賞するために立ち寄った。アート作品はともかく、驚くのはその外観。キョロロの建物外壁は鋼鉄の板、つまり鋼板で全面サビで覆われている。雪深い里山の生物多様性に関連した展示や体験プログラムで里山を学べる体験型の自然科学博物館で、様々な混入標本もあり昆虫好きには嬉しい施設だ。塔に設えたイルミネーションや巨大昆虫ビ...
Northern Culture Museum Niigata Branch

3.5

22 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Niigata Niigata-shi Chuo-ku Minamihama Dori 2-562

This building was acquired at the end of the Edo period by the seventh head of the Ito family, the wealthiest landowners in Echigo, to serve as the family’s Niigata villa. Niigata-born poet and calligrapher Aizu Yaichi also famously spent his last years here. Today, the compound is used as a museum which displays works by Yaichi and other artists, and here visitors can view Yaichi’s poems and calligraphic pieces along with a view of a traditional Japanese garden. The Zabo and Seigyoan tearooms on the first floor can be used to host tea ceremony and other events. An elegant time can be spent in the sanjo-daime-style tearooms.

１８９５年の建造された建物で、大正時代に七代伊藤文吉が別邸として購入したそうです。新潟分館は主屋と洋館からなっており、戦後、夕刊ニイガタの社長となった會津八一が洋館で晩年を過ごしました。會津八一の書や資料などが展示されています。
Joetsu-shi Maizo Bunkazai Center

4.0

18 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nigata Pref. Jouetsushi Kasugayamamachi 1-2-8

This museum located at the bottom of the former site of Kasugayama Castle is a 20-minute walk from Kasugayama Station on the Echigo Tokimeki Railway. The mud-colored building, built in the style of Japanese-style homes, is a place where Jomon Period artifacts unearthed in Joetsu City are researched, stored, and exhibited. Guests can watch the museum's staff catalog and restore artifacts or try their hand at a number of activities including making magatama (an ancient style of curved beads). Due to its location close to Kasugayama Castle, the castle of the famous warring states period warlord Uesugi Kenshin, it is also the headquarters of the Uesugi Omotenashi Bushotai, a group of historical reenactors.

日本百名城巡りの一環として初めて行きました。遺跡の発掘をしている事務所とおもっていたら、春日山城の展示をやっていました。上杉謙信について立派な展示があり、年表やイラストを交え分かりやすかったです。しかも入場無料なのがすごいですね
Kashiwazaki City Museum

3.0

8 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nigata Pref. Kashiwazakishi Midorichou 8-35

Kashiwazaki City Museum is located a 20-minute walk from Kashiwazaki Station on the JR Shinetsu Main Line in the city of Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture. It displays materials related to an extinct Naumann elephant that was unearthed in the city. In the Nature Display Room, visitors can see a permanent display that features actual specimens of insects, plants, and other life forms that live in the area. They can also watch videos about these plants and animals. Another permanent exhibit is found in the Humanities Room, where visitors can learn about local history and folk culture. Another room contains a model of Mt. Yoneyama and its beech forests. There is even a planetarium with programs that shows the stars that are visible from Kashiwazaki on that day, with a theme of healing and solace.

プラネタリウムが観れます。手動のリクライニングで、子どもが座っても、ぷかぷか動いたりしないで、ゆっくり観れます。リーズナブルな値段設定で、楽しめます
Sado Museum

3.0

5 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nigata Pref. Sadoshi Yahata 2041

The Sado Museum is located on National Route 350 in the Yahata district of Sado City (on Sado Island). There are displays about the development of the gold and silver mine on Sado Island, as well as a “Nature, Archeology, History and Folk Traditions Display Gallery,” an “Arts and Handicrafts Display Gallery,” etc., enabling visitors to get a comprehensive overview of Sado Island’s culture (including its Noh drama tradition), its history, and its natural wonders, etc. Also well worth seeing are the display of sketches by Bakusen Tsuchida (a painter in the Nihonga style who was born on Sado Island), and the rock garden and the former Asashima family residence, a traditional thatch-roofed house, that are located in the Museum grounds.

佐渡の地理・文化の展示施設。あんまり目玉というものがなかった。時間がない場合はわざわざ訪れることもないだろう。
Niigata Prefectural Museum of History

Leisure / Hobbies

Nigata Pref. Nagaokashi Sekiharamachi 1 Authority 2247-2

This large museum, about 10,000 square meters in area, is located in Sekiharamachi, Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture. The permanent exhibitions focus on the Jomon period and introduce the folk culture and history of Niigata. The “Jomonjin no Sekai Corner” teaches about the hunter-gatherer lifestyle of the Jomon settlers throughout the seasons. You’ll also find excavation reports and archaeological studies on Jomon culture, models of the covered walkways of Gangi-dori in the snowy Takada region, an explanation of the history of rice-making, and more.
House of Insect, Tainai City

4.0

1 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Niigata Tainai Natsui 1204-1

A museum dedicated to looking, learning, and having fun. The museum is filled with insect specimens from around the world and informational panels, videos, and games which make it easy to understand the ecology of insects. Fun for adults and children alike, the museum holds a variety of events such as bug watching classes using microscopes, insect sample making, and watching as butterflies emerge from pupae. There museum’s areas where visitors can hold native Japanese rhinoceros beetlesand stag beetles, and feed swallowtail butterflies, are also popular.

北陸エリアでは、かなり珍しい昆虫に特化したミュージアムです。一般展示室では、新潟県内で生息する虫や、国内で見られる昆虫の数々を展示しています。家族づれの方々が、多いです。
Agano Togo Yoshida Memorial Museum

Leisure / Hobbies

Niigata Agano Yasuda 1725-1

This museum was established to honor the achievements of pioneering Japanese historical geographer Togo Yoshida. Standing on the site where Yoshida was born, this so-called “open museum” may be freely used by local residents as a learning space. Yoshida spent 13 years in self-study compiling his “Dai Nihon Chimei Jisho” (“A Dictionary of Japanese Place Names”). The museum is a fascinating destination not only for students of geography but also those engaged in local development projects. The only museum in the country focusing on understanding and compiling the achievements of Yoshida, whose influence continues to reverberate today, the facility serves as a source of information and a place where one can learn more about local areas.
Aikawa Folk Museum

Leisure / Hobbies

Niigata Sado-shi Aikawasakashitamachi 20

A museum where visitors can learn about the Aikawa Area, location of the Sado Gold Mine, a model mine which contributed to the modernization of Japanese industry. Opened in 1956, museum exhibits include minerals from the mine and information on local Sado folk customs. The museum’s elegant building was once used as the Sado branch of the Bureau of Imperial Estates, which managed imperial assets under the Meiji Constitution. Look for the imperial chrysanthemum crests found everywhere on the structure. The museum displays archeological materials concerning the mine and the Sado magistrate’s office, implements used by Aikawa “yujo” ladies of the night as well as works of art featuring them, and folk custom materials from a town which developed along with the mine.
Hokkoku Kaido Tsumairi Kaikan

Leisure / Hobbies

Niigata Santo-gun Izumozakimachi Amaze 166

“Tsumairi” is a Japanese architectural style in which the entrance is placed on one of the sides, or “tsuma.” During the Edo period, buildings were taxed based on the width of their frontage, resulting in large numbers of these long, narrow tsumairi houses standing side by side. Echigo once boasted the highest population density in the country, and Izumozaki flourished as a post station town on the old Hokkoku Highway. This facility, standing on a piece of flat ground sandwiched between a small hill and the Sea of Japan, reproduces the traditional layout of a tsumairi home and serves as a rest area for tourists and as a community gathering space. Inside, visitors can learn more about traditional architecture and its historical background, as well as tourist destinations in Izumozaki. Many tourists stop here to take a break in between exploring the town.
Tenryo Izumozaki Jidaikan

Leisure / Hobbies

Niigata Santo-gun Izumozaki Machi Amaze 6-57

A cultural facility adjoining Roadside Station Echigo-Izumozaki Tenryo-no-Sato. Inside, the facility contains a recreation of a townscape consisting of homes and businesses designed in the distinctive “tsumairi” style of Izumozaki, enabling visitors to go back in time and experience what the area looked like when it was a brilliant and bustling “tenryo” town under the direct control of the shogunate government. Through lighting and audio; and recreations of a magistrate’s ship and office, kitamaebune cargo ship, and Edo period townscape, visitors can immerse themselves in the majesty and atmosphere of the Edo period. Visitors can also decorate and create their own original paper balloon by pasting colored paper to a blank paper balloon, see a recreation of the birth home of the priest and poet Ryokan, and learn about the many writers and artists who visited and depicted Izumozaki.
Niigata Prefecture Archaeological Research Center

Leisure / Hobbies

Niigata Niigata-shi Akiha-ku Kanazu 93-1

Filled with an abundance of natural beauty, Niigata Prefecture also encompasses over 13,000 archeological sites, making it of high scholarly value as well. Located in Kanazu, an area dotted with ancient burial mounds, botanical gardens, and art museums, here in this museum and research facility, visitors can come in contact with real history. The facility studies and researches archeological artefacts, provides professional training, and holds archeology classes and engages in other public education activities. Inside, the facility is filled with excavated artefacts on display, enabling visitors to experience their history up close. The center’s outdoor training yard is used to host ancient magatama comma-shaped stone jewel making and traditional fire starting activities for school fieldtrips.

Niigata

Murakami / Shibata Niigata / Aga Yahiko / Sanjo Nagaoka Yuzawa / Uonuma Myoko / Joetsu Sado

Travel / Tourism History / Culture / Tour Museum / Science Museum

Niigata Areas

Found along the northwestern coast of Japan, Niigata prefecture is celebrated for its high-quality rice and breathtaking nature, most notably its spectacular mountains, whose white peaks draw in snow sports lovers from far and wide over the winter months. Hit the slopes at Yuzawa, pick out your favourite modern artist at Echigo Tsumari, or take a ferry over to Sado Island for an extra adventure.