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Historic Site: Sado Gold Mine
There is a 12.5kg solid gold bar at Sado Gold Mine Museum, but I couldn’t get it out with one hand! The Sado Gold Mine (officially named Aikawa Gold and Silver Mine) is the largest gold and silver mine in Japan, located on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture. It was mined for 388 years from its discovery in the Edo period (1601) to its closure in the Heisei period (1989). The total length of the tunnels is 400 km, of which about 300 m is open to the public as a sightseeing course at the “Historic Site: Sado Gold Mine”. At the “Historic Site: Sado Gold Mine,” visitors can see […]
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Summary of sightseeing spots on Sado Island, Niigata Prefecutre
Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture is 1.5 times the size of Tokyo’s 23 wards. It would be a bit too much to do on a day trip just to visit the popular tourist spots such as “Sado Gold Mine,” “Tarai Boat” and “Toki (Japanese crested ibis)”! Sado Island is an island in Niigata Prefecture located in the Sea of Japan. Its area is approximately 854 km². It is the second-largest island in Japan, after Okinawa Island, except for the four main islands such as Honshu and except for the Northern Territories. It is about 1.5 times the size of Tokyo’s 23 wards. Since there are few bus services and tourist […]
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the roots of folk song “Sado Okesa”
Is there anyone else who wants to know the roots of Japan’s representative folk song “Sado Okesa”? In Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture, there is Japan’s famous folk song called “Sado Okesa” that has been handed down since the Edo period (17th century to mid-19th century); however, it came to be called “Sado Okesa” since the end of the Taisho era (1920s). Kitamae-bune Cargo Ships west route map “Sado Okesa” is based on “Ushibuka Haiya Bushi” in Kumamoto Prefecture. In the Edo period, “Haiya Bushi” was sung in drinking bouts of sailors of Kitamae-Bune Cargo Ships that transported goods from Osaka to Hokkaido by stopping by the ports on the Sea […]
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Nishimikawa Placer Gold Mine (Gold Panning Experience)
Everyone who wants to be a billionaire gather! Why don’t you pick up gold dust on the oldest gold mine in Sado Island, Nishimikawa Placer Gold Mine? Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture is a very famous for Sado Gold Mine as it called “Gold Island”, but in fact, there are 55 gold and silver mines on Sado Island. Among them, there are 4 main mines, such as Nishimikawa Placer Gold Mine, Niibo Silver Mine, Tsurushi Silver Mine, and Aikawa Gold and Silver Mine (commonly called Sado Gold Mine). In July 2024, it was decided that the Nishimikawa Placer Gold Mine was registered as a World Heritage Site as one of the […]
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Sado Gold Mine and recommended sightseeing spots around the gold mine
Actually, there is no mine named Sado Gold Mine on Sado Island. In Sado island, Niigata Prefecture, there was a mine that was the largest in Japan and was worldly famous. This time, I’m introducing “Sado Gold Mine” which is known as “island of gold”.Japan used to be called “Japan, the country of gold”. The reason was there were numbers of mines of gold and silver all over Japan. Especially “Sado Gold Mine” was different in scale with 400kg of gold and 40t silver per year at its best. These gold and silver supported the finance of Tokugawa Edo government. Its history dates back a long time ago and after it […]
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Noh Play on Sado Island
In fact, Sado Island has one-third of all Noh stages in Japan. Noh play is part of the lives of the islanders, so if you want to see a Noh play for the first time, Sado Island is the place to be…. Japanese unique entertainment “Noh play” which is also registered as a World Heritage is very popular in Sado Island of Niigata Prefecture. Noh play of Sado Island has been penetrated the islanders’ lives as an entertainment to be performed at village festival and celebrations, so there used to be more than 200 of Noh stages in Sado Island from Edo period to Meiji era. Even now there are […]
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How to meet Japanese crested ibises on Sado Island
You can see critically endangered crested ibis on Sado island! With just 2cm of distance so you’ll be certainly excited! This time, I’m going to explain about crested ibis (Toki) who is critically endangered. Crested ibis (Toki) was present in all over east Asia from Japan, Russia, China and Korea until early 19th century. However, from the late 19th century to 20th century, many of them were hunted and most of their habitat were destroyed due to environmental degradation and they became critically endangered in the late 20th century. In Japan, in 1981, artificial breeding was attempted by capturing last 5 wild crested ibis on Sado Island, Niigata prefecture but […]
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Sado Island is called the island of exiles. Are the people who now live on Sado descended from those who were exiled to the island?
Ruzai is a punishment (exile) in which a criminal is banished from the capital to a remote place or island, especially when the exile is to an island called “Shima-Nagashi.” Ruzai is the second most serious punishment after capital punishment. Under the ancient Japanese Ritsuryo system, penalties were divided into three ranks according to distance from the capital: Konru (near), Churu (middle), and Onru (far), with the more serious the crime, the farther the exile. Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture was designated as an “Onru” place in the Nara period (in 724). (In addition to Sado, there were six other places of Onru: Izu, Oki, Awa, Tosa, and Hitachi.) […]
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The Senkaku Bay on Sado Island
The Senkaku Bay on Sado Island was the holy place of the movie “Your Name”!? I went to Senkaku Bay because I’ve seen a wonderful view that is similar to the Scandinavian fjords on a travel magazines. There is “Senkaku Bay” on the southernmost part of Sotokaifu Coast, located northwest of Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture. Senkaku Bay is a fjord and is general term for 5 small bays, and the total length is about 3 kilometers. In ancient times, when the highest peak of Sado Island, Mt Kinpoku-san, erupted, lava flowed into the coastal terrace, and it was eroded by the winter winds and the rough waves of the Sea […]
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Kitamae-bune (Sadokoku Ogi MInzoku Museum)
After rowing a Tarai boat and watching the triangle house of Shukunegi in Sado Island, let’s go to “Sadokoku Ogi Minzoku Muzeum” where exhibits “Sengokubune” a large junk with loading capacity for 1,000 koku and has nostalgic atmosphere! * ”Koku” is a traditional Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is about 278.3 liters. A small village located the southern tip of Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, Shukunegi is called as “The village of Sengokubune”. From the Middle Ages, a lot of people work for shipping and shipbuilding industries lived at there. From Edo period to Meiji era, it became a port of call of Kitamae-bune and flourished as a base […]
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Ondeko, a traditional performing art of Sado Island
Ondeko (The durum of demon) is a drum & dance unit performs in Sado Island from the Edo era. The performers dance with a scary demon mask or a dubious old man’s mask and make the audience happy. The drum of demon comes down to Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture is called “Ondeko” and this is the Shinto ritual performing art to pray for huge harvest, well-being of family, state of perfect health, prosperous business etc. and Ondeko go around the village houses one by one to keep off evil (to exorcise evil spirit).The origin of Ondeko is unknown, but it is said that Ondeko was influenced by Nogaku (Noh […]
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Shukuneki Village on Sado Island
The look of “Shukunegi” village in Sado Island which a famous actress, Sayuri Yoshinaga was also taken back in the time. With a taste of slipping through time, I took walks on this amazing village. At Shukunegi located in the southern tip of Sado Island, Niigata prefecture, is a small village developed as a port of Kitamae-Bune from the middle of Edo era to Meiji era. At that time, ship-owners, shipwrights and other people who engaged in shipping and shipbuilding industries were lived there. Even today, this village remarkably retains the atmosphere and the buildings of those years. Building using vertical wooden plates are created by materials of the bulk […]