Welcome back to another installment in my Japan Adventure series! Last time we
said goodbye to
Kanazawa
and sailed overnight to reach Niigata. This was a completely packed day with
no time for a self-guided exploration of the city. In this post I'll share the
first half of our day: the included guided excursion entitled
Introduction to Niigata.
Wednesday 22 March 2023 - Daytime in Niigata
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Another beautiful sunrise on the sea 🥰
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Upon disembarking, I was greeted by Niigata's manga-anime promotion
mascots:
Hanano Komachi and Sasa Dangorou
😍 In researching them for this post, I discovered a 4-episode anime
featuring the characters, free to
view on YouTube
with English subtitles 🍿
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On the observation deck, there were maps marking points of interest in each of the cardinal
directions...
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...which helped us spot an upcoming part of the tour from miles away!
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We could also see our ship, the Silver Muse!!
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A selfie showing how high up we were! 🏙️
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We were about one month too early to see this magnificent, 150-year old
wisteria arbor in bloom.
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The log beam running across this hall is a single piece, 30-meters long,
from a towering Japanese cedar.
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Google Photos helpfully stitched together this panorama of the exquisite
stroll garden. The garden was meticulously designed to have impeccable
views from every angle.
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This unique image of Buddha Mahavairocana was made as an offering after
this red pine died.
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Our final, brief stop was
MinatoPia, a large site with multiple buildings which tell the story of
Niigata's history as a port town. The stop was brief because nothing was
open during our visit!
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We still got lots of photos with the exteriors of these interesting
historical buildings.
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And I played paparazzi for this cute pigeon 🤩📸
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After returning to the Silver Muse, I photographed one of the souvenirs
I picked up during the tour: a
tenugui
depicting the wisteria arbor in full bloom!
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Soaking up the scenery on our balcony before our next outing 😎
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It was nice to have a rest between all the activity of the three-stop guided
excursion and our next adventure: a geisha dinner! I hope you'll look forward
to learning about it in my next Japan Adventure post 👘 Until then, please
stay happy, healthy, and safe~!
