Certainly one of my favorite issues from my highway journey round Niigata was trying out the Echigo-Tsumari Artwork Area, an artwork pageant with many attention-grabbing up to date artworks that inform the historical past and tales of this rural agricultural space. Right here’s my Echigo Tsumari Artwork Triennale information on how you can get round ETAT, what key artworks to look out for if you go to and a few suggestions that can assist you higher discover this Niigata area.
Echigo Tsumari Artwork Triennale 2024 begins from 13 July to 10 November. Discover out extra on the ETAT web site. You can even try my article about ETAT on ST Life [paywall].
Concerning the Echigo-Tsumari Artwork Triennale
The Echigo-Tsumari Artwork Triennale (ETAT) is considered one of Japan’s largest arts festivals that takes place in southern Niigata throughout 6 areas – Echigo-Tsumari are literally previous names for Tokamachi and Tsunan respectively.
ETAT is definitely the predecessor of the Setouchi Triennale within the Seto Inland Sea space that I visited in 2016 – ETAT began in 2000 and was a approach to revitalise the agricultural Niigata area which had an growing older inhabitants and was shedding younger individuals to the cities.
Echigo-Tsumari Artwork Area Places
I spent 3 nights on this space and about 3 days exploring I primarily based myself in Tokamachi Metropolis and spent a good period of time exploring neighbouring Matsudai and Matsunoyama, in addition to heading out to Nakasato to see the Kiyotsu Gorge.
Right here’s a map detailing the place I went and what I noticed, in addition to some issues I want I had time for alongside the way in which. A observe that that is primarily based on my go to in 2023, there could also be new additions to take a look at with the newer editions of ETAT.
Tokamachi 十日町
Whereas Tokamachi refers back to the wider space that covers all of the cities I listing under, Tokamachi Metropolis might be the busiest district inside this space and the place I primarily based myself to discover the pageant. Tokamachi is among the simpler spots to get to as a result of it’s on the Hokuhoku practice line, and a lot of the major artworks are inside strolling distance of the downtown space as nicely, which makes it a really perfect base if you happen to don’t have a automotive.
Museum on Echigo-Tsumari / MonET (T025)
The Museum on Echigo-Tsumari (MonET) (entry charge/passport required) is the primary coronary heart of ETAT and a very good place to see a bunch of works and decide up data and maps to plan your route, and has probably the most complete merchandise retailer of all of the places.
There are too many works to listing comprehensively, however a number of the works I loved at MonET:
- LOST #6 (T230) by Kuwakubo Ryota – a bit practice goes round a mannequin of Tokamachi metropolis in a darkish room casting actually attention-grabbing shadows on the wall because it circles the tracks, utilizing these shifting shadows to inform a narrative of Tokamachi’s historical past
- SOIL LIBRARY/NIIGATA (T280) by Kouichi Kurita – this artist collected soil samples from throughout Niigata and organized them aesthetically – so fairly and an intriguing work
Try the MonET web site for extra.
IKOTE (T309)
Often known as the Tokamachi Business and Cratft Middle, We had considered one of our first meals in Tokamachi on the stunning igloo-shaped IKOTE not too distant from MonET – the architects Takaharu and Yui Tezuka additionally constructed the Kyororo constructing in Matsunoyama. The form of the home is because of the huge snowfall they get round these components.
Hachi and Seizo Tashima Museum of Image E-book Artwork (T173)
Hachi and Seizo Tashima Museum of Image E-book Artwork (entry charge/passport required) is a fantastical set up set in an previous disused college set a bit additional out from downtown Tokamachi.
Whereas it delves in to the difficulty of shedding the younger to the cities, this work has plenty of whimsy, wistfulness and nostalgia in it, fairly completely different from The Final Class in Mastunoyama (see under) which can be in regards to the lack of youth – it’s attention-grabbing to see how completely different artists sort out comparable themes in fully other ways throughout the pageant.
Home of Gentle (K005)
James Turrell’s Home of Gentle is technically in Kawanishi 川西 however it’s not far by automotive from Tokamachi Metropolis. A ravishing conventional type home on stilts up on high of the hill, you’ll be able to go to the work as a visitor for a really brief interval within the afternoon, however one of the simplest ways to expertise the Home of Gentle is to remain in a single day so you’ll be able to witness the sunshine altering segments at sundown and dawn.
Try my detailed overview of the Home of Gentle and what you’ll be able to anticipate if you happen to keep in a single day.
There are another artworks to see within the Kawanishi space if you happen to enterprise up in direction of the Fushiguro Fortress Ruins space, however these are largely smaller sculptures scattered across the space. Solely advisable if in case you have time and the climate is nice as a result of the highway main there’s a fairly slim mountainous stretch.
Different issues to do in Tokamachi
One of many spotlight meals to eat on this space is one thing referred to as hegisoba, a particular kind of soba created from buckwheat and funori seaweed. My guesthouse people advisable us the restaurant Nishino which was a brief stroll from the home and the practice station. We tried each hegisoba and hegiudon (the udon model) – they’re fairly filling so tempo your self, and usually ate quite a bit at this meal, so good!
When you want extra choices, one other hegisoba restaurant advisable to me is Echigo Tokamachi Kojimaya.
Nishino にし乃 [Google maps]. Open 1130am – 2pm, 530pm – 10pm. Closed on Tuesdays.
Tokamachi Koryukan is the guesthouse that I stayed at in Tokamachi for two nights and I extremely advocate it not only for its nice location (a brief 10 minute to Tokamachi Station and a fair shorter drive). This can be a cute conventional type guesthouse that’s additionally a restaurant generally through the day time.
The house owners are very nice and pleasant and converse fairly good English, and gave us glorious suggestions on issues to take a look at across the space. They even helped us prepare to ahead our baggage by way of Takkyubin and despatched us to the workplace to get it performed! They’ve many kimonos you’ll be able to attempt on within the hallway – that’s one other product that Tokamachi was as soon as well-known for!
Services sensible, they put together a superb conventional type Japanese breakfast – rice topped with a contemporary uncooked egg and a few fish and veg facet dishes. It’s a shared lavatory however a big onsen tub type one which has its personal cloakroom.
Tokamachi Fureai no Yado Koryukan 十日町ふれあいの宿 [Google maps]. Make a reservation by way of the Tokamachi Koryukan web site.
Matsudai 松代
Matsudai is positioned about 30-40 minutes’ drive west of Tokamachi Metropolis with a hub close to the practice station and a few fairly cool installations across the space.
Matsudai NOHBUTAI Area Museum (D053)
The Matsudai NOHBUTAI Area Museum (entry charge/passport required) is a cool trying constructing with a very good assortment of works each inside and across the constructing. This constructing is a brief stroll from the Matsudai Practice Station, once more one other handy hub for the non-drivers.
Matsudai Fortress can be close by however up a reasonably steep slope so that you do must drive to get there.
Extra on the Matsudai NOHBUTAI web site.
Matsudai Fortress
Matsudai Fortress (entry charge/passport required) is true subsequent door however positioned on high of a lofty 384m tall hill which you have to to drive to, after which slowly stroll up (15 minutes for regular individuals, 10mins if you happen to ran like I did).
We virtually ran up this hill as a result of we visited very near closing time and I solely had 8 minutes to see the whole lot! There are 3 works, every discovered on a unique stage, and another sculptures scattered alongside the hillside.
Views of Longing (D377) by Esther Stocker is the primary sight that greets you, an incongruously up to date visible of a large crushed up ball in what would have been the doorway corridor of this as soon as conventional constructing.
Going as much as the second stage is Laxudai (D378) by Toyofuku Ryo, a glitzy golden home in that sandwich stage between the bottom and high flooring. It’s like a hidden little world throughout the fortress.
Lastly on the highest flooring with the very best views of the encircling space is Shedding Time (D379) by Kurakake Junichi seems like a meditation room, the place the darkish partitions and spherical openings can help you actually deal with the sumptuous view of the encircling countryside.
Different issues to do in Matsudai
Rice is after all the primary function in Niigata, however in these hilly components, the Hoshitoge Rice Terraces are considered one of a number of tanada (rice terraces) that make for spectacular viewpoints. I visited in October which is fairly out of season – the very best occasions to go to shall be center of the 12 months when the terraces are stuffed with water, and can replicate the dawn/sundown mild.
We additionally visited the Matsudai Shibatouge Onsen: Unkai 峠温泉 雲海 which is a stunning scorching spring facility up on the mountain and views of the encircling valley from the new spring swimming pools. I couldn’t take pix of the view, however it’s a stunning place to soak in after an extended day of artwork looking! You can additionally keep in a single day right here and there’s an ETAT sculpture right here (I didn’t {photograph} it as a result of it was already darkish).
Matsunoyama 松之山
Matsunoyama is a famend scorching spring space and a favorite apres-ski spot through the winter season. The onsen water right here is meant to have very robust medicinal properties and be good for well being and wonder.
The Final Class (Y052)
The Final Class (entry charge/passport required) takes place within the deserted Higashikawa college and is basically atmospheric and haunting. You enter the dimly lit college corridor the place desk followers lazily blow round straw and hay on the ground. Additional in, the darkish hallways really feel like a horror film with the thumping of heartbeats echoing by the constructing – the French artist Christian Boltanski has a piece on Teshima in Setouchi Triennale that additionally makes use of heartbeats (in a much less scary manner).
Home Reminiscence (Y072)
Home Reminiscence (entry charge/passport required) by Shiota Chiharu takes a standard minka home and makes it appear like a human-sized spider took over it, with 44,000m of black yarn used to create webs all through the home. It’s a reasonably cool expertise strolling by this, particularly if you uncover the objects hidden within the webs which belonged to the villagers – gadgets they couldn’t convey themselves to discard though they weren’t wanted.
Different issues to do in Matsunoyama
Matsunoyama onsen is the primary motive individuals go to this space and most of those are positioned alongside the stretch of highway in what feels just like the valley of the world. I used to be advisable to take a look at Takanoyu however there are a number of choices round right here. The water is uncommon in that it’s apparently sea water trapped underground thousands and thousands of years in the past, so it’s salty and the mineral content material can be very excessive, making it one of many high medicinal scorching springs in Japan.
There’s a free public foot tub alongside this stretch of highway. The water is fairly scorching so you have to to run the chilly water for a bit if you wish to use it with out scalding your ft, however it has a pleasant view of the world and one of many ETAT artworks close by.
We had lunch in Matsunoyama in a restaurant referred to as Yama’ai or San’ai that’s well-known for his or her big parts of katsudon cooked within the scorching spring water right here. You’ll be able to see on this image under – that’s ONE portion consider it or not. We requested the girl boss to separate it into two for us and had been actually fairly positive that she had mistakenly served us two parts, however nope that’s one portion! Excellent katsudon.
Yama’ai/San’ai お食事処 山愛(さんあい) [Google maps] Open day by day 11am – 830pm.
One other good spot to go to is the Bijin Bayashi or Magnificence Forest 美人林. The timber right here had been chopped down within the early 1900s and left the mountain facet very naked. Across the late Nineteen Twenties, they replanted all the forest with Beech timber which is why all of the timber listed here are unusually uniform by way of peak and development. It was nonetheless very inexperienced once we visited in early October – November is when the autumn orange colouring actually exhibits up.
Subsequent to the Bijin Bayashi forest is one other ETAT work that I actually needed to see however for some motive closed that very day we visited. Kyororo (Y019) or the Echigo-Matsunoyama Pure Museum of Science (entry charge/passport required) has weather-proof structure meant to tolerate as much as 2000 tons of snowfall! The exhibitions right here deal with wildlife discovered round this space in addition to some ETAT artworks.
Extra on the Kyororo web site.
Nakasato 中里
Situated south of Tokamachi, the spotlight of Nakasato is Kiyotsu Gorge, one of many must-sees within the space whether or not you might be an artwork fan or not, because it is among the 3 largest gorges in Japan.
Tunnel of Gentle (N079)
Kiyotsu Gorge 清津峡 (entry charge/low cost with passport) has lengthy been well-known as one of many high 3 gorges in all of Japan, however in 2018, the 750m tunnel stroll by the mountain was remodeled into the Tunnel of Gentle (N079) with artworks and photograph worthy spots in opposition to a tremendous gorge view. There are additionally some bits sharing in regards to the historical past of this space throughout the tunnel – they’ve discovered fossil proof of prehistoric sharks round right here!
Extra on the Kiyotsu Gorge web site. Word that in ETAT season and peak months you need to make superior reservations to go to for crowd management.
The varied artworks that make up Tunnel of Gentle are supposed to characterize completely different parts.
Don’t miss the little constructing free footbath and ‘Periscope’ on the reward store close to the doorway and
The Isobe Yukihisa Memorial Echigo-Tsumari Kiyotsu SoKo Museum of Artwork (N072) or Kiyotsu Warehouse Museum is ready in a former college constructing and positioned en path to the gorge – sadly it was closed once I was there so I didn’t get an opportunity to go to.
Close by: Echigo Yuzawa
Nakasato is about half an hour by driving away from Echigo Yuzawa, a extremely popular ski space accessible from Tokyo by way of Shinkansen. The Echigo Yuzawa practice station can be house to the Ponshukan the place over 130 completely different sakes can be found to check drink and a sake scorching spring tub!
Learn extra over at my Niigata hidden gems submit.
Planning to go to Echigo-Tsumari Artwork Triennale
This sprawling artwork pageant within the rural areas of Japan wants a little bit of preplanning if you wish to maximise your time right here. Listed here are my options on getting round ETAT.
When to go to Echigo-Tsumari Artwork Triennale
I visited ETAT in October 2023, however the neat factor is that you could go to outdoors of the triennale years as there are over 200 everlasting works on show. 2024 is an efficient 12 months to go to as it’s a triennale 12 months so anticipate to see new works this season!
Once you’re planning on which days to go to the Echigo-Tsumari Artwork Triennale, a lot of the works shall be open on the weekend (Saturdays and Sundays), however it could even be much more crowded.
Keep away from visiting ETAT on Tuesdays and Wednesdays as a result of most issues are closed then for upkeep. In 2023 I visited on Thursday and Friday – it was usually not crowded, however solely half the works had been open then.
The climate in early October was the tail finish of summer season, so across the low 20ºCs within the day, dropping to the excessive 10ºCs within the night the place you would possibly want a lightweight jacket. Bushes basically had been nonetheless fairly inexperienced – that you must go to in November for autumn foliage.
How lengthy do you want for Echigo-Tsumari Artwork Triennale
I spent 3 nights in Niigata – 1 in Kawanishi staying in a single day on the James Turrell Home of Gentle, and a couple of nights at Koryukan Fureai in Tokamachi Metropolis (extra within the Tokmachi part), which felt like sufficient time to see the lots of the highlights, however you could need to allocate your self extra time if you wish to go deep and go sluggish.
Easy methods to get to Niigata
Southern Niigata is about 200km northwest of Tokyo. The simplest approach to get from Tokyo to Niigata is to:
- Take the Joetsu Shinkansen – Tokyo Station to Echigo Yuzawa – 1 Hr 20 minutes
- Join by Practice – Hokuhoku line from Echigo Yuzawa to Tokamachi/Matsudai (roughly 40 minutes)
- Join by Automotive – lease a automotive at Echigo Yuzawa and drive to Nakasato (30mins) or Tokamachi (40 minutes)
Greatest approach to get round Echigo-Tsumari Artwork Area
Self-driving by automotive is by far one of the simplest ways to get round these components as a result of it’s fairly rural and mountainous. Among the artworks particularly are primarily based in distant places and never the best to go to.
Tip: Decide up a big paper information map in the beginning of your journey – it has each an in depth map with numbers + information and a photograph gallery of ALL the ETAT works which was simpler to seek advice from within the automotive as in comparison with scrolling on the telephone.
Among the works require a little bit of effort to get to, however fairly actually not all of them are definitely worth the effort if you happen to’re brief on time so don’t really feel too pressured to cowl each single work. A lot of the outside works are sculptures – I targeted on the hubs and the bigger scale installations, and solely noticed sculptures in the event that they had been close by. Some works I simply randomly stumbled throughout with out even attempting!
My suggestion is to go to the works in clusters. Additionally, contemplate doing highway journey type the place you keep in a unique location each evening to maximise your visiting time and minimise having to make the drive again to your own home base.
Throughout the Triennale years, they do have shuttle buses and guided excursions (in Japanese) to ferry you across the space which can assist you discover the ETAT artwork discipline extra effectively.
Do you have to buy an ETAT admission passport
The outside installations of the Echigo-Tsumari Artwork Triennale are free to view, however a number of the works require an entry charge. Relying on if you go and the way a lot you need to see, it could make extra sense to purchase an Admission Passport (4,500 JPY for 2024 summer season season) that grants you entry to all of the works for one worth.
This passport is normally legitimate for a couple of months, however it could be worthwhile to purchase even in case you are solely going to be utilizing it for only a few days. I purchased the 2023 passport which was legitimate from April to November for two,500 yen and whereas I didn’t handle to see the whole lot, it could have price me 5,400 yen to pay for entrance charges for what we visited if we didn’t have the go.
The passports are largely legitimate for 1 go to per set up, however give 50% low cost for a revisit. I gave the go to a good friend primarily based in Japan after my journey in case she needed to utilize the installations that I didn’t have time to go to.
Have you ever been to the Echigo-Tsumari Artwork Triennale aka ETAT? Inform me what your favorite works are, I hope to return once more in a unique season to see new works! Within the meantime try my different posts for extra issues to do in Niigata.