Joetsu Aquarium Umigatari

Joetsu Aquarium Umigatari is a spacious and interestingly designed place to visit with your family and make some penguin friends.

Built in 2018, the building is quite modern and clean, and has a unique layout starting you up on the top floor with a view of the Joetsu coastline, and then working its way back down to the 1st floor.

Along the way, you'll see not only fish, dolphins, beluga whales, and jellyfish, but also a projection mapping of the four seasons, and the biggest population of Magellanic penguins in Japan.

Like most aquariums, there is a dolphin show, but I found it to be cramped in comparison to Marinepia's stadium area.  Instead, I'd recommend trying to catch the feeding time for the beluga whales, when you can see the staff doing some up close training with them.

The penguin enclosure is impressive, as you'll be walking among the birds (just be careful not to get too close), and there are several areas below their enclosure where you can watch them swim.  The penguin area, as well as the carp pond and the touch pool, are all outside, so your experience may depend on the weather.

Joetsu Aquarium Umigatari (limited English-language page)

Shirone Grape Garden

Japan has a lot of delicious fruit that can be eaten during its four seasons, and Shirone Grape Garden is a great place to find some of them.  There are separate areas for strawberries, kiwis, mikans, blueberries, grapes, cherries, peaches, and pears, and a few options for buying by weight or all-you-can-eat ("tabehodai" in Japanese).

In addition to the fruits, there is a large area for barbecuing plates of meat that can be purchased at the garden, and a gelato stand.  Finally, there are goats and rabbits in several areas for kids to pet and feed (lettuce and carrots are available for a small price).

The website does not have any English information, but there is useful chart that shows the annual timetable for each kind of fruit.

Shirone Grape Garden: http://www.kudamonogari.com/

Niigata Racecourse

We recently stopped by the Niigata Racecourse in the northern part of the city to check out their facilities for kids.  I was pleasantly surprised to find quite a few things for families to enjoy.

On weekends you can enjoy the playground, go-karts, a small train, a bouncy castle, and pony rides.  These are available during different times throughout the day, but while we were there around noon we were able to take advantage of almost all of them.  There is also a horse-drawn carriage that the whole family can ride.  The best part is that all of these are completely free!

It's probably best to visit the racecourse with your kids when there are no races taking place, so as to avoid crowds and a lot of cigarette smoke.  On these days, there is plenty of parking (also free), and lots of space on the grass around the track itself.  It's a great place to have a picnic and watch the races in other parts of Japan being broadcast on the giant screen in the middle of the track.

Information and hours for the kids' activities: http://jra.jp/facilities/race/niigata/news/fureai.html

Location of the Niigata Racecourse:

Children's Creative Learning Center and Ikutopia Shoku Hana Park

The Children's Creative Learning Center, in the Ikutopia Shoku Hana Park (close to Big Swan Stadium), is a beautiful new facility full of things to do and see with kids.  It's also free!

The first floor has an arts and crafts studio where you can draw, paint, and make all kinds of projects with the supplies and tools that the Center provides.  The second and third floors have books, toys, and several large play areas designated for various ages.  The big slide and the climbing wall (the wall is only available at specific hours) are especially popular.  The top floor has a large room with kid-size tables and chairs for lunch/snack time, and also outside spaces for enjoying nice weather.

The animal center, right next to the Learning Center, is also a lot of fun.  Kids can pet and (at certain times of the day) feed sheep, goats, and alpacas, as well as see dogs, cats, rabbits, and capybaras.

On the other side of the Learning Center is the food and flower center, which has some interesting exhibits about our food and where it comes from.  Kids are mostly interested in the balanced meal "game", in which you grab a tray and put some items from shelves full of realistic plastic food on it.  When the tray is placed in front of the screen, it analyzes your selection and gives feedback about your choices (in Japanese).

Ikutopia Shoku Hana Park also has a farmer's market, a garden supplies store, and very nice buffet restaurant, called Kira Kira Restaurant.  Parking by the Learning Center is free for the first 30 minutes, but if you park on the other side of Ikutopia (a very short walk to the Learning Center), by the market and restaurant, you can get 90 minutes for free.

Ikutopia Shoku Hana map: http://www.ikutopia.com/access/

Marinepia Nihonkai

Marinepia Nihonkai is the name of Niigata City's aquarium.  It's not as big or flashy as some of the other aquariums in Japan (Okinawa's Churaumi Aquarium is amazing!), but Marinepia is still a lot of fun for kids, especially on a rainy day (Niigata has a lot of those).

Their website has a good amount of information in English, as well as a number of other languages, and there are multilingual maps and guides available at the entrance.  In addition to the varieties of fish, seals, and penguins, there is a dolphin show several times a day, as well as an area for children to touch starfish, sea cucumbers, and hermit crabs.

The annual passport prices are very reasonable, especially for children, and passport-holders can get a 10% discount at the aquarium restaurant on the top floor.  If you'd prefer some non-Japanese food, Havan Dining, an excellent Indian vegetarian buffet, is right across the street.

Marinepia Nihonkai Aquarium: http://www.marinepia.or.jp/mlg/en