Travel Information

This hot spring is located in the center of Tokamachi City. It is also convenient for those coming by train, about a 10-minute walk from Tokamachi Station. The Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET of is located in the same building, and next to it is the roadside station Cross10 Tokamachi, where you can enjoy viewing art, eating, and buying souvenirs.

The base facility of the "Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale". The architecture was designed by Hara Hiroshi + ATLIERΦ, who also designed the Kyoto Station Building. Fifteen permanent works by artists from Japan and abroad are on display throughout the year, with special exhibitions held seasonally and a museum shop. In 2021, the museum reopened with a major relocation of the permanent collection.

The Matsudai NOHBUTAI is a base facility designed by Dutch architect group MVRDV. Approximately 40 works of art are scattered in a 2-km area of satoyama from Matsudai NOHBUTAI to Matsudai Castle at the top of the mountain, and the entire area is called the "Matsudai NOHBUTAI Field Museum.

One of Echigo-Tsumari's representative sights, the Kiyotsukyo Valley Tunnel has been refurbished by fusing it with art works. A tunnel with a total length of 750m is likened to a submarine cut off from the outside world.
*Advance reservations are required during peak seasons (GW, consecutive holidays, Obon, and autumn foliage season).

※ The museum is closed during winter: from end of November to end of April
A walk-in picture book created by Seizo Tashima in 2009 in a former elementary school. The story behind this museum is based on the last three students of the school and visitors can physically experience the picture book as they walk through the museum. The space is filled with objects made of driftwood picked up in Izu Peninsula and from the Sea of Japan, reshaped to represent students, teachers, and even monsters.

A 10-minutes drive from Matsudai Station, Kyororo is a natural science museum that provides deep insights into the ecology of the local area and its characteristic natural landscape of terraced rice fields, beech forests, and thatched roof houses.

At the Echigo-Matsudai Satoyama Shokudo, we invite you to enjoy fresh vegetables, "sansai" (wild mountain plants), and locally-cultivated rice while overlooking terraced rice field landscapes. The restaurant serves a unique menu inspired by local traditional recipes passed down over generations - but with a modern twist.

Cafe and restaurant space located within the Hachi & Seizo Tashima Museum of Picture Book Art. The chairs and tables used in the cafe are remade of those once used at this former elementary school. The cafe serves food and original desserts only using produce from the Echigo-Tsumari region.

This old thatched-roof house is about 100 years old. Enjoy seasonal home-style dishes prepared by local mothers in dishes created by a leading Japanese ceramic artist.

Limited to tour participants!
Following the previous exhibition, Chef Yonezawa Fumio has created an original menu for TSUMARI KITCHEN.
The chef, who has frequently visited Echigo-Tsumari and is deeply involved in the culinary culture of the region, has created a course meal that can only be enjoyed by tour participants.

Open in July 2021 in conjunction with the renovation of MonET, the Museum on Echigo-Tsumari.

Katakuri House is an accommodation venue housed in a renovated former school from the 19th century. Located in the hidden scenic area of Akiyamago, the school was the educational hub for local children for 108 years before its closure in 1992. The local staff members at Katakuri House who are enchanted by the abundant nature and history of Akiyamago look forward to welcoming you with its comfortable rooms and delicious cuisine.

The House of Light is a work of art created by James Turrell, renowned globally as "an artist of light". At this experimental piece you can experience the artist's world of art, is an architectural structure unparalleled elsewhere in the world. It was conceived as a guest house for meditation, as Turrell found this concept in Junichiro Tanizaki's essay "In Praise of Shadows". He came up with the idea of incorporating his work on light into the intimate light of a traditional Japanese-style house.

Sansho House is a unique accommodation space, renovated from a 50-year old former wooden school building. We invite guests to sleep in hand-crafted wooden beds arranged in the former classrooms of the school. Local staff members eagerly await your visit to share their stories and thorough knowledge of the local region.

This former minka house built in 1924 is reborn as a museum of potteries. On the ground floor, distinguished Japanese potters have reimagined a traditional cooking stove, washbasin, and bathtub. Visitors are welcome to enjoy local cuisines and delicacies cooked by local women and served in plates and bowls created by these potters. Three tea rooms on the upper floor also serve as a gallery space.

An artwork by Marina Abramović which provides guests with a unique opportunity to reflect upon themselves by dreaming overnight. Guests are invited to "participate" in the artwork directly through wearing a special sleeping suit, sleeping in a unique bed, and keeping notes of their own dreams, which will be contributed to the house's "Dream Book".

Shedding House is a renovated 150-year old minka house. By carving every surface of this abandoned house, Junichi Kurakake and volunteers of Nihon University College of Art Sculpture Course opened up the enclosed space and helped it "shed" and turn into a work of art. We invite you to enjoy the special experience of staying in an artwork in this farming region.