Izumozaki is worth a day in Niigata because the Ryokan Memorial Museum, Tenryo Izumozaki Jidaikan, the Kitamaebune town house and the Hokkoku Kaido Tsumairi Kaikan all stand in one town, and the bus from JR Izumozaki Station reaches the Ryokan-do-mae stop in about eight minutes. Below are the way in from the railway, what each museum charges and when it opens, the two museums that shut in November, where to eat and shop, and the festival dates that repeat every year.
Ryokan Memorial Museum and Ryokan-do
Two names recur through this guide: the Ryokan Memorial Museum, which has its own ticket scale and a year-end break, and Ryokan-do, the hall from which the Izumozaki Taisen portable shrine procession sets out. Both share the town with Tenryo Izumozaki Jidaikan and the two townhouse buildings, so museum, townhouses and lunch fit into a single day.
| Visitor | Admission |
|---|---|
| Adults | 400 yen |
| High school students | 200 yen |
| Elementary and junior high school students | 100 yen |
The Ryokan Memorial Museum keeps opening hours from nine in the morning to five in the afternoon. It is closed from December twenty-ninth to January third for the year-end and New Year holidays. A special exhibition runs from October eleventh to December twenty-eighth. Yuhi-an, a lunch place near the museum, appears in the eating section further down.
Museums, Townhouses and What Is Closing in November
The town also has Tenryo Izumozaki Jidaikan, the Petroleum Memorial Museum, the Izumozaki Retro Museum and two townhouse buildings that receive visitors. Tenryo Izumozaki Jidaikan and the Petroleum Memorial Museum are closed from November fourth to December second for air-conditioning and electrical equipment repairs. Both are scheduled to reopen on December third with winter opening hours.
| Place | Hours and admission |
|---|---|
| Tenryo Izumozaki Jidaikan | open 9:00-17:00 |
| Tenryo Izumozaki Jidaikan | admission adults 500 yen, elementary and junior high school students 400 yen |
| The Hokkoku Kaido Tsumairi Kaikan | open 9:00-17:00 |
| The Kitamaebune town house | open 10:00-16:00 |
| The Izumozaki Retro Museum | admission adults (high school students and older) 600 yen |
| The Izumozaki Retro Museum | admission children (junior high school students and younger) 400 yen |
The Furusato Katarube guides are the town's volunteer guides, and they offer two set walking courses, the longer Machinami Tokoton and its shorter version, Machinami Sanpo. Each course is charged per guide with insurance included, and the amount differs by course, as the second table shows.
| Course | Fee |
|---|---|
| Machinami Tokoton (about 3 hours) | 3,500 yen per guide, insurance included |
| Machinami Sanpo (about 2 hours) | 2,500 yen per guide, insurance included |
Where to stay
Places to stay near Izumozaki, Niigata, Japan →
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Where to Eat and Shop
For lunch, this guide lists four places: Jinya, SHI-ON, Hamakatsu and Yuhi-an, the last of these near the Ryokan Memorial Museum, while the shop at Tenryo no Sato sells local goods. Each kitchen keeps its own lunch window and stops taking orders before mid-afternoon, so read the times before you fix the order of the day.
| Place | Hours and prices |
|---|---|
| Jinya | 11:00-15:00 (last order 14:30) |
| SHI-ON | lunch 11:00-14:00 |
| SHI-ON | lunch items from 1,350 to 880 yen, coffee and dessert included, lunch only |
| Hamakatsu | 11:00-13:30 |
| Yuhi-an (near the Ryokan Memorial Museum) | 11:00-14:00 (last order 13:30) |
| The Tenryo no Sato shop | 9:00-17:00 from September (weekdays) to April |
| The Tenryo no Sato shop | from 9:00 until sunset, weather permitting, from May to August and on weekends and holidays in September |
The shop at the roadside station Echigo Izumozaki Tenryo no Sato follows two seasonal patterns, and from October its until-sunset opening ends and it closes at five in the afternoon. In September the shop keeps one pattern on weekdays and another on weekends and holidays, so match the row to the day you plan to come.
Getting There by Bus and Rail
Izumozaki sits on the JR Echigo Line, and the way into town from JR Izumozaki Station is the bus. Get off at the Ryokan-do-mae stop; from there the roadside station Echigo Izumozaki Tenryo no Sato is a walk of about ten minutes.
- From JR Izumozaki Station on the JR Echigo Line: about 8 minutes by bus to the Ryokan-do-mae stop, then about a 10-minute walk to the roadside station Tenryo no Sato
- JR Echigo Line from Niigata to JR Izumozaki Station: about 1 hour 40 minutes
- JR Echigo Line from Kashiwazaki to JR Izumozaki Station: about 40 minutes
- Joetsu Shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagaoka: about 1 hour 40 minutes
- Echigo Kotsu bus from the front of Nagaoka Station (Chuei line) to the Izumozaki depot: about 55 minutes
- Bus from the front of Kashiwazaki Station to Izumozaki: about 60 minutes
- By car from Niigata via Route 116: about 55 km, about 1 hour 15 minutes
- By car from the Hokuriku Expressway Nishiyama IC to Tenryo no Sato: 20 minutes
From Tokyo, the Joetsu Shinkansen to Nagaoka and then the Echigo Kotsu bus from the front of Nagaoka Station is one route. From Niigata or Kashiwazaki, the JR Echigo Line brings you to JR Izumozaki Station. Drivers have reference times from Niigata and from the Nishiyama interchange. Search Izumozaki Ryokan Memorial Museum on Google Maps to place the museum. To stay overnight, browse places to stay in Izumozaki.
Festival Dates That Return Every Year
Two festivals keep fixed dates every year. The Izumozaki Taisen festival is held every year on June seventeenth, and its portable shrine procession sets out from Ryokan-do, the hall named in the first section. The Izumozaki Funamatsuri and fireworks festival follows every year on August fifteenth, with the fireworks timed for the evening.
| Event | Date or time |
|---|---|
| The Izumozaki Taisen festival | held every year on June 17 |
| The Izumozaki Taisen portable shrine procession | starts from Ryokan-do at 14:00 |
| The Izumozaki Funamatsuri and fireworks festival | held every year on August 15 |
| The Izumozaki fireworks display | starts at 19:30, scheduled to end at 20:45 |
The procession has a published start time and the fireworks have a published start and end, both in the table. Neither date moves with the calendar, so a visit built around either festival can be fixed months ahead, and the next two chances are June and August of next year. If one of those dates anchors your trip, line up places to stay in Izumozaki for that night.