Niigata Prefecture sits in the heart of Japan’s snow country, the central region on the Sea of Japan renowned for legendary snowfall, which draws skiers from around the world. Next year, well before the snow arrives, the world’s largest outdoor art festival takes over some 200 villages across Niigata. The 10th year of the Echigo Tsumari Art Triennale, held from July through November, includes a series of site-specific art installations themed around reuse, which will take over abandoned schools, terraced rice fields, and even tunnels burrowing through mountains, serving as a model for both architectural reuse and rural revitalization. The lineup is still being finalized but will include international heavyweights such as British sculptor Antony Gormley, whose piece will strip the interior of an old timber farmhouse that’s been crushed by years of snowfall, as well as French conceptual artist Annette Messager and Japanese sculptor Tadashi Kawamata.
*Source: The Best Places in the World to Travel to in 2027