[July 18 (Sat) – 20 (Mon, Holiday)] Echigo-Tsumari Forest School 2026 (2 nights, 3 days)
Open
Come experience three unforgettable days of fun and learning.
<TOUR Highlights>
・This tour is exclusively for elementary and middle school students. Whether you come with friends or siblings, or even on your own, you’re more than welcome. By the time you leave, everyone will be friends!
・Packed with activities that let you fully immerse yourself in the natural beauty of the rural countryside.
・Enjoy an exclusive overnight stay at “The House of Light.” Take part in special light shows reserved just for overnight guests.
<TOUR Highlights>
・This tour is exclusively for elementary and middle school students. Whether you come with friends or siblings, or even on your own, you’re more than welcome. By the time you leave, everyone will be friends!
・Packed with activities that let you fully immerse yourself in the natural beauty of the rural countryside.
・Enjoy an exclusive overnight stay at “The House of Light.” Take part in special light shows reserved just for overnight guests.
8:03–9:33
[Day 1] <FOR guests on the Shinkansen ticket package> Take the Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Echigo-Yuzawa Station (Guides will meet you at the ticket gates at Tokyo Station)
9:40
Meet in front of the ticket gates at Echigo-Yuzawa Station
Checking in at an accommodation in a repurposed school building
Sansho House
A former school in Matsunoyama that was converted into a lodging facility following the 2006 Echigo-Tsumari Art Field. You’ll spend three days in this wooden school building perched on a hill overlooking the village.
Let's enjoy the flavors of the season!
[Lunch] Echigo Matsudai Satoyama Shokudo
A lunch buffet featuring an abundance of locally sourced ingredients. Let’s all enjoy the flavors of the season while savoring a colorful array of dishes.
Participated in the Rice Fields Bank Weeding Event (Wildlife Observation Session)
Matsudai NOHBUTAI Field Museum
Join a local wildlife expert to discover and observe the creatures that live within the Matsudai NOHBUTAI Field Museum.
Let's soak in one of Japan's three great medicinal hot springs!
[Bathing] Nast View Yuyama
Let’s take a dip at the day-trip hot spring facility in Matsunoyama Onsen, one of Japan’s three great medicinal hot springs.
9:00 PM
[Bedtime] Sansho House
Let's go to bed early so we're ready for tomorrow.
[Day 2] After breakfast, we headed to Echigo-Matsunoyama Museum of Natural Science “Kyororo.”
"Grove School" Kyoro-ro Workshop
At Kyoro-ro, a natural science museum with a unique, slender design, you can enjoy exhibits focused on the biodiversity of satoyama landscapes, as well as artworks both inside and outside the building. Come and discover all the wonderful creatures that live here.
[Lunch] Matsudai NOHBUTAI
After enjoying the workshop, let’s dig in and have a hearty meal.
*Photo for illustrative purposes only.
*Photo for illustrative purposes only.
Let’s experience the changing colors and light with our whole bodies!
Check-in at "House of Light"
An artwork exploring light and shadow, inspired by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki’s *In Praise of Shadows*. Visitors from around the world come to catch a glimpse of the light show, which is exclusively for guests staying at the property. This time, we’ll be staying in the entire building.
Experience the nighttime light show
We’ll watch the light show at sunset. Let’s enjoy our last night together.
[Day 3] After breakfast, let's go see the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale artwork!
[Art Tour] Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET
Visit the art museum, a key venue of the Echigo-Tsumari Art Field, and discover your favorite artworks. We hope you enjoy our summer Special Exhibition as well.
[Lunch] Restaurant Kamigo Clove Theatre
Come experience the flavors of the region and interact with local residents at this performance restaurant, where a group of local women cheerfully and playfully serve dishes made with seasonal ingredients from Tsunan town in a theatrical style.
[Site Visit] Echigo-Tsumari Kamigo Clove Theatre, Hong Kong House
Located in the Echigo-Tsumari region, this facility is a newly renovated former school building—the former Kamigo Junior High School—that has been transformed into a multifunctional complex. In addition to a temporary theater created by renovating the school gymnasium, it now features artwork exhibitions, a restaurant, and artist-in-residence spaces. Next door is “Hong Kong House,” a facility serving as a hub for cultural exchange with Hong Kong.
2:10 PM
Arrival at Echigo-Yuzawa Station
3:12 PM–4:28 PM
<FOR guests on the Shinkansen ticket package> Take the Shinkansen from Echigo-Yuzawa Station to Tokyo Station (guides will accompany you to the ticket gates at Tokyo Station)
Notice
Please be sure to read this before applying.
≫ Important Notes for Participants in the “Echigo-Tsumari Forest School 2026”
Summary
| Dates | July 18 (Sat) – July 20 (Mon, Holiday), 2026 |
|---|---|
| Admission | Tour Price: Junior High School Students 65,000 yen, Elementary School Students 55,000 yen (includes bus fare, meals, lodging, hot spring admission, program participation fees, artwork exhibition admission, and consumption tax) [Plan with Shinkansen Tickets] Includes round-trip Shinkansen tickets from and to Tokyo Station: Junior High School Students 79,000 yen, Elementary School Students 62,000 yen (includes round-trip Shinkansen tickets, bus fare, meals, lodging, hot spring admission, program participation fees, artwork exhibition admission, and consumption tax) |
| Deadline | Bookings for the 【Shinkansen Ticket Package】 close 4 days before the departure date or once capacity is reached (by midnight on Thursday, July 9). |
| Origin / Destination | Echigo-Yuzawa Station East Exit Bus Terminal *For guests on the 【Shinkansen Ticket Included Plan】, guides will meet you in front of the ticket gates at Tokyo Station and escort you to Echigo-Yuzawa Station. |
| Transportation | Chartered Bus (Minami-Echigo Kanko Bus) |
| Capacity | 20 people (minimum number of participants: 10) *We will notify those who have registered whether the event will take place by Friday, July 3. |
| Host | Travel Planning and Operation: Registered Travel Agency (Niigata Prefecture) No. 2-440; NPO Echigo-Tsumari Satoyama Collaborative Organization; 3743-1 Matsudai, Tokamachi city, Niigata Prefecture; Full Member of the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA); 025-761-7749 / officialtour@tsumari-artfield.com |
| Note |
・Guides will accompany the group; no tour conductor will accompany the group. NPO Echigo-Tsumari Satoyama Collaborative Organization Standard Travel Agency Terms and Conditions [Inquiries] |
Official Tours / Itineraries
Contact us for consultation on group tours or travel agency original plans.
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