Each year I try and get away by myself for a mini break but as the years go by the time away seems to get less and less. 12 months ago I decided to head up to Niigata for a long weekend as I had never been to that prefecture before. The idea was to see a few places of interest but inevitably as the trip got closer more and more stuff was added to my itinerary meaning that it would be three very packed and busy days. You’ve gotta make the most of such limited time though!

Day 1 – Things got off to a bad start at Ikebukuro as delayed trains going north meant I couldn’t stop off at a place or two in Gunma as planned. Subsequently I had to bite the bullet and pay for the Shinkansen to take me Takasaki to Echigo-Yuzawa in Niigata.

There was a sight-of-sorts within the station as it is home to over 100 vending machines serving up sake. More details here

A short time after that I took a bus for 24 minutes to Kiyotsu Gorge where I then walked to see a place called Panorama Station which is something of a modern sight beloved of the Instagram generation. More details here

Back at Echigo-Yuzawa a few hours later I took the train north-west to Minami Takada via Muikamachi and Noetsu.

Day 2 – This was very much a day of travelling to interesting stations. Minami Takada station was a 20 minute walk from my accommodation. Takada-jo Castle and the more aesthetically pleasing Takada station were my main points of interest in that region before I moved on. More details here

Did I go to the next station for any other reason than its name? Nō, not really!!

As I had a fair bit of time to kill in the area though I looked at the map outside the station and saw that there was a scenic spot nearby so I went to check out this shrine by the ocean More details here

The dystopian underground station of Tsutsuishi was the very next stop along that line and I had it pretty much all to myself which certainly added to the eerieness of the place. More details here

One stop further on was the first of two stations I saw that day which are located right next to the sea. More details here

This UFO-like station was located in a quite remote location and took a fair amount of time in getting there and back. Distance-wise it wasn’t actually so far from the coast I was travelling along but trains were very limited in this rural part of Niigata prefecture. More details here

Omigawa was the second station by the sea that day and 42 kilometres east of the first one. More details here

Time for some non-station action now I took a detour on foot to see a coastal sight called Two Lovers Point which was followed by some crab cola! More details here 

Day 3 – Accommodation in Niigata city itself was too expensive on this weekend so I had to stay much further out but it all worked out quite well as my final day saw me leave Nagaoka (my home for the second night) and make my way towards the city but not before I had stopped off to visit a quirky looking dinosaur building. More details here

Once I’d finally made it to Niigata city I took a 20 minute walk north towards the Shianano River. The Befco Bakauke Observation Deck is located on the 31st floor of the Toki Messe Convention Center building which has a free observation deck where the panoramic views and city vistas looked very fine on this particular clear day. More details here

This trip included visits to see four stations with a platform zero. Shibata was the one to complete the set for me. More details here

Shibata was also where I was reunited with my former colleague Hamish for a few hours as we walked around the area and saw the castle and a couple of other places. More details here

Live J2 football at the Niigata Stadium brought an end to my whirlwind trip of Niigata. The trip was basically built around going to this stadium, which was used in the FIFA World Cup in 2002, so it was fitting that it was the last thing I did before taking the bullet train back to Omiya that night. More details here

Click here to read ‘Watching Football In Niigata At The Stadium Used In The 2002 FIFA World Cup’

Click here to ‘This Quirky-Looking Building Is A Sight For Saur Eyes!!’

Click here to read ‘#WeStopAtNothing! Visiting All The Platform Zero Stations In Niigata’

Click here to read ‘Cheap Alcohol Vending Machines Aplenty Inside A Train Station!’