Niigata Furusato Village

I've often thought that Niigata is a great place to live, with so many interesting places to see and things to do, but sometimes it's not easy to find out about these places and events.  Niigata Furusato Village brings all the information about the prefecture's history and culture to one place!

There are two buildings to explore, the first being the Bazaar Hall, where you can try all sorts of local Niigata delicacies (I recommend the sauce katsudon) and do some shopping for souvenirs like rice crackers, sake, or cutlery from Tsubame-Sanjo.

The second building is the Appeal Hall, which is a combination tourism center and history museum.  You can find posters and flyers here from all points of interest throughout Niigata prefecture.  If you take an elevator up to the top floor, there is a theater and a path that winds back down to the ground floor, taking you on historical tour of Niigata with photographs and hands-on exhibits.  There is one area where you can experience falling snow, which is a nice way to cool off in the summer.  Also, it's all free!

Attached to the Appeal Hall is a large playground, and right outside of that is a beautiful pond full of carp, which you can feed with a bag of pellets for 100 yen.  When the weather is nice, it's a perfect place to enjoy some Yasuda Dairy Farm ice cream.

If you want to make a day of it, I recommend the Shinanogawa Water Shuttle, which travels back and forth between Furusato Village and the Toki Messe building, with a few stops along the way.  The ride is scenic and very smooth, and the entire journey takes about 1 hour and costs 1000 yen each way (half price for small children).

Niigata Furusato Village (English website): http://furusatomura.pref.niigata.jp/eng/

Shinanogawa Water Shuttle website: http://www.watershuttle.co.jp/

Tabletop games for kids

We play a lot of games at home, especially when the weather is not good or when he have friends visiting us. Although I didn't play many tabletop games growing up, there has been something of a Renaissance in game design over the last several years, especially with games designed in Europe (particularly Germany).

Among the incredibly popular titles such as Settlers of Catan and Carcassonne there are a number of excellent card and board games that have been made with children in mind. Some of our favorites are Dixit, Labyrinth, Aufbruch ins Abenteuer, and Hey That's My Fish! One of the best points of these games is that they don't require any reading, so you can play them with very young children while using any language.

The difficulty lies in finding these games, as large toy and department stores in Niigata don't stock them, and ordering online can be quite expensive with shipping (many are only available shipped from overseas). Fortunately, there are two excellent shops which carry a wide variety of games, and both have opened copies that you can try out in the store, as well as friendly staff who will explain each game and show you how to play.

1) Atelier Tonton is a small shop located in a residential area in the Higashi-Ku part of Niigata.  In fact, the "shop" is actually the first floor of the owners' home! While it is primarily a workshop for teaching how to make jewelry, there is a large cabinet full of European games. The couple who own the shop are very friendly and more than happy to sit down and play any of the games with you. There is no parking available at the shop, but there is a large parking area at the nearby convenience store and Aming.

Atelier Tonton website: http://ateliertonton.com/gift/board-game.html



2) Krtek is another shop where you can find a lot of great tabletop games.  It is located in the downtown area of Niigata city, very close by the city hall.  In addition to a large selection of tabletop games, they also specialize in beautiful wooden toys, puzzles, and decorations (when we went they had many handmade Christmas items imported from Germany).  The shop can be a little cramped if there are more than 2 or 3 families, but the staff are very helpful and take time to explain the games.

Krtek website: http://www.krtek.ne.jp/