Things to do and see:

Shogun-sugi: A big tree, located in Mikawa. I’ve met people from out of town who have visited this tree multiple times. While I fear for their sanity, I have to admit that I’ve taken everyone who has visited me to see the tree. It’s big. There are also rumours that the sap is alcoholic.

The Train of Wonder (Ban-etsu Monogatari): This is a steam engine that passes through Aga-machi every weekend, attracting crowds of train fanatics from near and far.

The Mikawa Ski Park : While this humble ski park won’t impress professional skiers or snowboarders, it’s the place to be for locals in winter. It’s small, but swell.

The Fudou Waterfall : Located in Kanose, this waterfall is a quiet achiever as far as tourist attractions in Aga-machi go. It’s quite a way out of Kanose, past the dam, the apple orchard and the electricity museum, but a nice spot, especially in Autumn. Fear for your life, however, if you attempt to visit it during the rainy season.

Mt. Kirin: Aga-machi is surrounded by mountains. It’s beautiful here, and there are many walks and hikes on offer that prove it beyond a doubt. The short hike up Kirin-zan, starting from either Tsugawa or Kanose, is one of the most dangerous, and one of the best.

Agano-sato: Located on the outskirts of Mikawa, this complex is home to many traditional Japanese souvenir shops and food stalls; strange, outdated arcade games; and has been known to feature a live performer or two. From here, you can also take the Agano River Cruise.Be prepared for the tour guide to spontaneously burst into song.

The Aka-yu Onsen: Famous among onsen afficianados, the water in this Kanose onsen is so hot it’s red. If you can’t live your life without having some idea of what it feels like to be boiled alive, you should visit this onsen at least once.

From Mark T.: Also check out the iron-filled onsen overlooking the river at Tsunogami Hotel (1000yen, indoor/outdoor bath, open to non-guests until 5pm) and the Kirin-zan onsen at Fukusen Ryokan (700 yen, scenic rotenburo, only open till 3 for non-guests). Tsunogami was practically empty when I went in March, and they provide towels, free coffee afterward.

The Mikawa Mushroom Farm: This is less a farm and more a restaurant with a mushroom patch. Still, you can pick your own mushrooms if you feel the urge, and the restaurant is a good one.

Mukou-no-Shima Park: This is a spacious, scenic park in Kamikawa, situated alongside a river. It’s rarely crowded, making it the perfect place to have a barbeque, hang out with friends on a nice day, or dispose of a body.

Shopping:

Apart from Aga-no-sato, the only shopping options in Aga-machi essentially come down to the grocery store, the department store, or a choice of three convenience stores. Most of these are in Tsugawa. The good news is that Family Mart opened at the end of 2006, proving that Aga-machi is a fast developing town that will soon be a thriving metropolis…

Restaurants:

Minagawa-ya: The Minagawa-ya is an izakaya in Tsugawa with undeniable rustic charm. The owner is one of the best English speakers in town, and has been a friend to every ALT to come to Aga-machi for time immemorial. That, along with the fact that she will serve you beer and food for low, low, prices makes for a winning combination.

Ogawa-no-sho: Having no menu, this Tsugawan izakaya is a wondrous anomaly. If you’re in the mood to eat, the master will whip up something according to his whim and whatever is in the kitchen that day. The food is always delicious. A short trip to the back room finds you in the Ogawa-no-sho karaoke bar. If you’re lucky, the master himself will sing. It’s a rare honour, and he has the voice of an angel. That is, if angels have voices like Pavarotti if he smoked five packs a day.

Tori-hiro : This is another izakaya in Tsugawa, and the only local provider of raw horse. According to many, Tsugawa raw horse is good raw horse. So, if you’re going to try it anywhere, try it here. It comes recommended.

Katsu-maru : This restaurant in Tsugawa is the place to go to if you want to steer away from the more challenging elements of Japanese cuisine. Specialising in fried and battered food, it also offers curry, salads, udon and soba.

Cultural Events:

The Fox Bride Festival: Held on May 3rd, this is the most famous festival in Aga-machi. Many come from miles around to see a couple dress up, put on fox makeup, take part in a procession down the main street of Tsugawa, and then exchange nuptials. If you’re not the romantic type and don’t particularly like weddings, you can instead spend your time browsing a wide variety of stalls offering food, drinks and more. Sometimes, you can even buy steak directly from the person who raised and killed the cow himself.

Hidden Jewels:

Aga-machi boasts a population of around 13,000 people. It is also home to around 20 different hairdressers. This may be one of the highest population to barber ratios in Japan. The many onsens around offer a similar ratio. If you appreciate living in a place that offers the peace of mind of knowing that you can visit a public bath or get your haircut with ease at anytime, Aga-machi is where it’s at.

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Things to do and see:

Ask the locals what there is to do in Agano City and they will quickly give you an answer. “Hiking! and… eehto… Hiking!” Agano City is a very agricultural city. There are rice paddies as far as the eye can see, then some mountains, then… well more rice paddies. However, it is close enough to Niigata City so if you ever need some modern salvation, it is only an hour drive / train away.

Lake Hyoko - this is a pit stop or a breeding ground or a home for swans. Either way this is where a lot of swans gather and Suibara is really famous for it. Makes for some good pictures.

Tenchoyama Park - in according to the swan theme, there is a really nice park in Suibara that has a huge swan-like playground set. My students always talk about this place.

Karaoke - the Japanese love Ka-ra-o-ke. So there are lots of karaoke bars here and there.

Hiking - Hiking is what most of the locals talk about. It’s best if you go with a friend that knows what he/she is doing! Try to see if you can climb most of the famous (among the locals) mountains around here.

Mountain mushroom, herb, plant picking - During the Spring and Fall, if you make friends with some of the older generation people, they may take you mushroom picking!

Shopping:

Popyaki - long pieces of brown sugary dough that they make only in the northern region of Niigata. Easy to make, but a festival favorite.

Sasa-dango - This is a Niigata speciality rather than an Agano. Either way it’s really good! It’s a green (yomogi, or mugwort flavor) mochi bundled into a shape of a candy (filled with red bean!).

Triangular Abura-age - fried tofu

Yasuda yogurt!!!! ? Stuff of dreams… I hope I don’t sound like I’m advertising. It reminds me of YOP back home. There is a shop in Yasuda (of course…) near the Yasuda Yogurt factory (of course) that sells soft cream or frozen yogurt in flavors like sesame, raspberry, rice, orange, kiwi, etc.

Restaurants:

There is Gomaya : a Ramen shop that most people either hate or like. Mainly those that don't like it say the soup is too weak but it’s actually my favorite shop. The ramen ranges from 500 to 700 yen. It is located in Yasuda near Windy.

Then there is Yorokobu (that’s the Kanji on the shop, but it’s actually has another name) -- another Ramen shop (is there any other!?) that serves awesome Chinese food and ramen of course. Prices are 500 to 700. Located on route 49 in Yasuda.

There is a chain sushi bar near Suibara Junior High school. The sushi is pretty good for its price. Ranges from 100 to 300 yen for a plate of sushi.

New ramen shop, Sanpo (I think), on route 49. It another chain ramen shop which serves awesome ebi miso ramen from time to time. Prices 600-1100.

Niwayama : Serves a variety of food ranging from soba, udon, ramen, donburi, tempura. The summer cold ramen noodles is really good there. Prices 600 ? 1200.

“Charcoal Nabe” shop : Yes, I do eat other foods apart from ramen… This shop (I’m not too sure of it’s name) specializes in nabe mono and you can get some really good “teishoku” there. I recommend the unabi-don and karaage-don. Prices from 600-1100.

A Yakitori shop : in Suibara. Serves Okinawa food. I’ve only been there with my supervisor and the teachers for an enkai but after that I don't remember much …

Senori : a izayaka in Yasuda near the “Windy area” that serves awesome “motsu”. A bit pricey but really good. Forgot the prices.

There is always a ramen shop near you wherever you go, so don’t worry too much about starving if you get lost!

Cultural Events:

Hadaka festival : the Yasuda naked festival. Well they aren’t really naked, but the guys only have these white sumo tongs on and they run through Yasuda while shouting the Japanese word for “fighter!” as the crowd cheers them on. Then near the temple they are drenched with cold water via a hose and then jump in a healthy pool of freezing water. They pray, take some pictures, drink some sake, and then get onto a platform where they start throwing mochi and all sorts of okashi for the crowd underneath to fight over. The kids get really violent so be careful! Oh, and bring a bag for all the free mochi. Good memories. Happens near a temple in the “Windy area” and near the end of October. The “fighters” were lucky it didn’t snow this year!

Suibara festival : In the little town of Suibara, in August if memory serves me correctly, they have a firework festival. It’s not as big as the one in Niigata City, but as far as I know, they have this thing called a “starmine” where they explode like a whole boatload of fireworks all at once for like 20 seconds. Really cool compared to the fireworks back at home!

Yasuda matsuri : forgot when this was but it was nothing particularly special as far as I can remember. Just added it to inform you guys that it does exist if you’re interested. Popyaki is very popular at the vendors.

Hidden Jewels:

Good roads for driving: you can do this in many places in Japan, but nonetheless, the roads here are really good/fun.

There is a place to get free water near Sasakami. (It’s an actual place). It’s fresh from the mountains so you can just drink it like that - but boiling it first is recommended. Many of the older generations bring lots of plastic bottles to collect the water and sell it later in their shops!

Free foot onsen. I’ve only heard of this, but have yet to try it.

Things to do and see:

There are two nice Zen temples in Muramatsu. One is called Jikoji temple. It’s by the foot of Mount Hakusan, is eight hundred years old, and looks more like a castle than a temple. It has a room where you can meditate in (I’m not sure if you have to arrange that beforehand with the priest or not), a rather good soba restaurant and some spectacular cedars that line the road up to the temple - also 800 year old, I believe. The second Zen temple is in Kawachi village. It has some excellent statues and 500 year old uki-yo-e that show people being tortured.

Osawa-shonyudou is a cave in the hills between Muramatsu and Tagami. It’s rather basic as caves go, just a rusty staircase that leads down underground, no lights of course so bring a torch. It’s a gratifyingly long cave, more so because the going is slow (no lights and a bit of rock climbing). The cave is full of bats and a female ghost who is dressed in white and likes to sit next to you.

Hairdressing is a major industry in Muratmatsu. There are more than fifty barbers and beauticians here. For so small a town I don’t know how all they make a living.

In short, if you are interested in Buddhism and are in need of a haircut, Muramatsu will make a nice day trip.

Shopping:

Nothing special.

Restaurants:

Shanghai Restaurant - 1000 yen (if you don’t drink) good, cheap, healthy Chinese food with quality ingredients - near the town hall.

Oneone Pizza - Japanese pizza and pasta - the best pizza I’ve had in Japan - near Kawachi Village - 1500 yen.

Sakurando Onsen Koi Restaurant - never eaten here - meant to be good though.

Tamari Bar - strange that a bar like this should be in Muramatsu, ought to be in Shibuya really - nice Belgian beer, good food, pretty bar tenders.

Cultural Events:

The main matsuri is in September - the date changes each year. It’s your typical Japanese festival. The residents get out the portable shrines, parade them around town, jump up and down, then meet at the main Shinto shrine - Heija Jinja.