Early Summer Trip to Niigata 🍶Rare Japanese Houses You Won’t Find in Tokyo or Osaka| JAPAN TRAVEL

Early Summer Trip to Niigata 🍶Rare Japanese Houses You Won’t Find in Tokyo or Osaka| JAPAN TRAVEL

Kon’nichiwa! I’m Mari from Japan☺️ In my last video, Niigata Part1, we visited a beautiful winery. Now in Part 2, we’ll visit an amazing mansion,
a 2,400-year-old Shinto shrine, a hot spring, and breweries. Northern Culture Museum The museum can be accessed by bus or taxi from central Niigata. So beautiful! This place is so well cared for. This was the Ito(伊藤) family’s mansion. Now it’s a museum. The Ito family started as farmers in the mid-1700s, Over 8 generations, the family grew
from farmers into wealthy merchants and landowners. a traditional Japanese hearth I love old Japanese-style wooden homes like this. But many were lost or replaced. This mansion has stood here for over 130 years—since 1887. So I’m really happy just to be here.☺️ a shelf for tea utensils After World War II, land reforms took place all over Japan. Big landowners, including the Ito family, had to give up most of their land. So the 7th head of the Ito family—on the right—
built this museum to preserve Japanese culture with strong support from the American man on the left, by donating all of his family’s property. It means something like, “Joy is found in leaving some things incomplete.” People in Japan learned a lot from old China, like kanji and ways of thinking☺️ a household Shinto altar Even today, some homes and offices have a kamidana. I want a kamidana too, but I don’t think I can keep it clean every day😆 The ceiling beam above is incredibly long! This white thing is called shoh ji. It’s made of paper to let light through. What a tranquil and harmonious atmosphere! Absolutely breathtaking! Japanese gardens are best enjoyed while sitting, but I’m too excited to sit down or stay still. It’s late May. Everything feels peaceful and perfectly pleasant. a special alcove for displaying art or flowers Let’s take a seat for a moment. Some say this room inspired a scene in Demon Slayer. So fans visit here as a kind of anime pilgrimage. The calligraphy on the right roughly means
a virtuous person lives with balance and harmony—not too extreme or biased. There are small gaps between rooms to let air and light flow through. In Japan, it’s good manners to wear socks in homes and temples like this☺️. Look at how many beams! Such an intricate ceiling ― this shows how prosperous the Ito family once was. What a beautiful kura!! In this large museum, you’ll also find restaurants, a cafe, and a souvenir shop. There are even older houses that were moved here. This house is about 400 years old! It’s unbelievably well preserved—despite all the snow and wind! I felt the Ito family’s love and passion for passing down Japanese culture. I imagine it’s not easy to maintain these wooden houses in this Niigata. I really enjoyed watching them and I’m truly grateful to the Ito family and the staff☺️ What an amazing place! Totally worth visiting! So glad I came☺️ Now let’s go to the next spot! Shrine legend says this shrine was founded 2,400 years ago. There was a must-see red bridge for the gods around here—but we missed it😂 I love how Shinto shrines always stand in the woods. The air 氣 feels so fresh, calm and soothing. But that freshness comes from people too They clean and purify here every single day, with respect and prayer. Shinto began as nature worship —honoring sacred places like mountains, giant trees, and great rocks. So I feel like Shinto shrines show how nature and people live together in harmony. A serene and sacred place where people come to pray We clap our hands before we pray at a Shinto shrine. It’s a way to show thanks, invite the gods, and clear bad energy. These are sacred houses where the kami(like gods) are honored. The shrine is in a quiet residential area, so we’ll walk quietly too☺️ What a big tree! They say this zelkova, keyaki in Japanese, is about 1,000 years old. So many birds live here! People see this tree as sacred—it’s been worshipped for generations. so we don’t touch it, lean it or step on it—out of respect. Just watching quietly, feeling something deep—with a calm, quiet heart♡ It’s hot today—time for some gelato☺️ These dango, sweet mochi dumplings, are so cute and creative! Back at Yahiko Shrine! This path looks so nice—let’s walk through it! This path is so beautifully maintained—it’s amazing. I can really tell how much people love and care about this place So grateful just to be able to walk through here. Let’s fast forward a bit! They even put a bench here—how thoughtful is that!☺️ Let’s fast forward again! So refreshed! We’re back at the first bridge. Let’s go to the next! Wow! A great garden! What a view! I love this rice field view—it feels so Niigata(this prefecture)! Everything is surprisingly gorgeous —like a big museum! I rented a yellow yukata（a light cotton kimono for summer)． I love to grill the meat myself—so fun! I love to grill the meat myself—so fun! Next time I stay, I’d love to try the gourmet kaiseki plan too☺️ Good morning! Let’s go for a morning walk! I love this refreshing air♡ What I loved most about this ryokan was the onsen( hot spring spa)☺️ The sulfur turns the hot spring water emerald green —sometimes even dark, depending on the light, time and other things. My skin feels amazing after that onsen—so smooth! Niigata is known for sake brewing. A sake brewery tour is a must-try! This brewery makes only pure rice sake—no added alcohol at all. So everything tasted so pure and good! This sake was brewed in traditional cedar barrels. A 90-year-old man tried it for the first time and loved it so much, he called this brewery to say how much he regretted not knowing about it sooner. We stopped by Nuttari Brewery. I love this place! It’s like being invited into the owner’s own home —so warm and personal. The beer tasted amazing too☺️ Extra info.☺️ This snack is called kaki no tane. It’s a popular souvenir from Niigata! The name literally means ‘persimmon seed’
—because of the shape! Apparently, it’s made with rice powder
—leftovers from polishing sake rice. This one’s wasabi flavor… so spicy! We often eat this when drinking beer. And this is a traditional Niigata’s sweet called sasadango. It’s a rice dumpling with sweet red bean paste,
wrapped in bamboo leaves. I love it! Try one if you get the chance—it’s sweet and chewy! It goes well with Japanese green tea☺️ Thank you for watching!
I hope this video brought you a little joy
in discovering Japan and its culture.
And if you visit Japan,
I hope your time here will be truly wonderful!
See you again in my next video♡
With a lot of love♡
Mari from Japan

🌍️Kon’nichiwa! I’m Mari, born and raised in Japan.
I had no idea such beautiful, traditional Japanese-style houses still remain in Niigata. To me, this is truly a hidden gem in Japan. I hope you enjoy the video☺️

⏰️Time Stamps
00:00 Intro
00:59 Northern Culture Museum 北方文化博物館
10:47 Yahiko Shinto Shrine 彌彦神社
13:04 Kamisuwa Shinto Shrine 上諏訪神社
14:32 Yahiko Sweets 弥彦スイーツ
16:18 Tsukioka Onsen(hot spring) Kaho 月岡温泉 白玉の湯 華凰
19:10 Imayo-tukasa Sake Brewery Tour & Tasting 今代司酒造
19:52 Nuttari Beer Brewery 沼垂ビール
20:10 Souvenir Kakinotane & Sasadango 柿の種、笹団子

🗺️This map shows the places we visited in this video and the last one:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1PxlJyHKap5_4SoD5FEi5jkYfwlf08pc&usp=sharing

🗺️This map shows all the places I’ve featured in my videos so far.
Click on a location to watch the corresponding video:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1GtOjDKotUubWTWIMNIF5x3KYDn-ixFg&usp=sharing

☺️If you liked this video, please consider subscribing to my channel✨️
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXOMW6afu_UAVFtY9155lbg

📝I’m learning English and Chinese, and I’m trying my best to write English subtitles. I hope they make sense to you♡
If you’re learning Japanese, try writing something in Japanese in the comments—I’d love to read it!

🖊️Feel free to share any thoughts or feedback in the comments. I’d really appreciate it.

Thank you for your warm messages and support ♡
With lots of love,
Arigato from Mari

#japantravel #japanvlog #ruraljapan #damonslayer #niigata #4k