Exploring Niigata Japan: Sake Tasting, Street Food & Local Secrets!
Hey guys, welcome back to the channel. It’s your boy, the American Travel Guy. And today we’re kicking off a brand new adventure here in Nigata, Japan. Known for its seafood, sake, and scenic beauty right along the Japan coast. We’ve got a packed day ahead. But first, we’re headed to one of the city’s hidden gems, Toyana Gata Park. It’s a peaceful lakeside spot, perfect for stretching your legs, soaking in nature, and getting a feel for the local Nigata life. Let’s dive in and see what this northern city has to offer. [Music] The front side right here just Oh yeah, that’s a great great spot. [Music] So once you get to Nigata station, you’ll need to identify which train station number that your bus arrives at. It was a little confusing. So there is an information disc and I just went there and showed the lady the route that I was trying to take. She looked at the time table and says, “You need to go to bus stop number 13.” There’s a Lawson. I grabbed a Picari sweat. And so, our bus should be arriving here in about 10 minutes. [Music] So, on my way to the park, I was dropped off at the bus stop and it just so happens that this is the stop for the Nigata Space and Science Museum. [Music] At 11:00, we’ll be going into the planetarium for a space video. Oh my gosh, you guys. It’s the original Roomba. You didn’t even know the Roomba started in Japan, huh? Ibo, a pet doggy. Doggy. Hello. Okay, I woke the dog up from sleeping. Now it just sneezed. No way. [Music] Well, that was an interesting video. Uh, kind of wild. It was not in English, so I didn’t really understand a whole bunch, but it was still cool to see a bunch of rockets and space stuff. If you’re coming down here to Nigata, you can swing by the Space and Science Museum, but I will say it’s not really a thrillseker’s paradise. [Laughter] All right, I need to head over to the original plan of going to the park with tulips because there’s a bunch of flowers there. And shoot, it’s almost lunchtime. So, I’m probably going to show you guys what I eat for lunch. [Music] It’s like 85 or 90° with 100% humidity. I’m out here in the middle of nowhere. It’s going to be all right. All right, so we’re about a half hour in. I’m going to consider this training for Fuji, but that stadium there and gosh, I don’t know if you can see it, but in the background there, there’s some mountains that are just lightly dowsted with snow still, even though it’s 100°, 100% humidity right here right now. [Music] I’ll tell you what, it smells delightful in this forest, but I probably should have checked if it was tulip season. Oh, if you get stranded, [Music] vending machine to the rescue. [Music] Couple wrong turns here. Couple wrong turns there. Well, I found the park, but I don’t think it’s the right time of year. I think I should probably come here in spring or fall. Hey, what do you say we cut the and go drink some saki? Let’s get out of here. Here is your flowers as promised. Trust me, we’re going to get saki. All over the internet, everybody’s been talking about these saki stations. So, let’s head to Nigata Station. Oh, and drink some saki. Holy moly. I think I might have found the biggest APA hotel in Japan. This thing is located right here in Nigata. And it is the Nigata Eame Odori APA Hotel or APA. [Music] Here we are in Nigara Station and I have found the Kikisaki Ban Show and behind me are all the different types of sakis that you can try. Let’s go check it out. Welcome to the Kikisaki Bon Show. So, I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing, but this one has five stars on the dryness, and so I’m going to start there. It’s got a three star on the richness and a four star on the aroma. This one is Myoko Brewery in Jetsu Hankako Kakuchi Ichigo Oaji. Okay, so let’s give it a try. I don’t know. I’m not really a saki drinker, but whatever. So, you get five coins to try five different sakis on the wall. And so far, we’ve had one and it’s delicious. Now, I’m going to go with like a one star. This was just recommended to me by a local. This is the Yohika Kawwami and it’s the number one saki apparently. [Music] Smells a little like black licorice. [Music] I just don’t think I’m a classy gent. I think it’s just sie to me, you know. But it tastes good. And if it gives me a buzz, that’s gonna set us up later for the brewery on the Bandai Bridge. [Music] All right, Nicholas. Bear, bear, bear, bear, bear. Better see it in the comments. This one’s for you. This is sake stored in a whiskey barrel. So, we’ll put our cup in and then Oh, no. Hold on. There we go. No. Oh no, it’s broken. Great. It’s not broken. This one requires two coins. So, I’ll use my two final coins here to get the saki that’s been stored in a whiskey barrel. Oh, this is a 20 center. 20% EBV. Fuko stored in the whiskey barrel. Two stars on the dryness, four stars on the richness, and a fivestar aroma. I would argue that it’s not a five star on the aroma. Let me send it down. Oh, crud. That’s certainly been stored in a whiskey barrel. Wow. All right, we’ve had our five shots. We need to go find some food. Along with all the sakis on the wall, they’ve got a ton of different salts and spices over here that you’ll go ahead and try to pair with the saki. So, you’ll take your spice, put it in the hand, and then put on your tongue. That’ll give you a better idea of what to pair food with with your sake. So, if you happen to be in Nigata, come out and try some sake. Cheers. Until next time. I just went in there and drank 10 sakis. I think you might have only been supposed to do five, but I was having fun trying all the different sakis. So, hey, let’s get out there and go find some dinner. All right, so after tasting all that saki, I went ahead and got myself 150 ml. But we did stop into a little restaurant here and we’re going to be trying some of the world famous nigata soba. This is going to be sourced locally from a local buckwheat that’s made right here in Nigata. [Music] But first, sake. It’s not like I already didn’t have enough sake. I bought the most expensive one on the menu. Oh, that’s freaking great. brand Dandi. Dandy. Here it is. This is the famous Nigata buckwheat soba. And then what you’ll do is you’ll pour your sauce into this. And then you’ll dip your soba and then move it on into your mouth. It also comes with a little bit of pork tonkatu. And you got this famous soba. All right. This is insane. the smokehouse flavor that they gave me. Let’s see if I can do this. Uhoh. Uhoh. There it is. All right. You take it and then you dip it in this sauce right here. Oh my god. Another surprisingly cool dish. That’s fantastic. Oh my gosh. If you’re in Niata, you got to try the famous Nigata soba. All right. So, I asked Chat GPT and it said, “As long as I drink saki, whiskey, then beer, I won’t have a hangover.” But I followed Chat GPT, too. Said there’s a brewery around here. Oh, look at that view. I came down here for the river walk. We’re going to have a couple cold ones. See what this place is all about. Watch the sunset. Have a good day. There’s the famous Bandai River. Bandai Bridge, not river, actually. So once you get down here to the river, there is a amazing place with parfets, floats, and cream sodas and a nice little chill area. We’re going to make our way down to the Yaser Guai Garden, which is the brewery. And then you can sit down here on the river. And mainly what we’ve come for is to watch the sunset. Oh, looks like they’ve got oysters. They’ve got beef, katsu, corn, edetamame, all kinds of good food. Wow. Oh my gosh. Is that fried chicken? Chicken. M oat. Dear ladies and gentlemen, we are here down on the river and we are having fried chicken with highball. Not much better than a freaking fried chicken and a highball. Look at that fried chicken right there. [Music] Dark meat. [Music] I think it’s something special about dark meat fried chicken. [Music] If there’s one thing you can’t miss, it’s going to probably be a sunset at the Bandai Bridge. [Music] If you’re here in Nigata, one place you’ll definitely want to go is the Bandai Food Hall. There’s a huge shopping mall. There’s tons of games and there’s all the food and drink that you could imagine. Top floor, bottom floor, left floor, right floor. But today, we’re going to be going to get some sushi. Let’s go. Conveyor belt sushi. One of my favorites. This place does not have any English, so I had to log into the McDonald’s Wi-Fi downstairs. And I’m using Google Translate in order to order through this thing. It’s pretty wild, but it’s delicious. Look at that yellow tail right there. We’ll move in to check out that shrimp. I think this is tuna. I don’t know what it is, to be honest. Then I’ve got my complimentary green tea and then my miso with clams. And I’m about to get into something else here as soon as I smash these nigg. All right, we’ll take one salmon. Boom. Yes, that means with wasabi, normalsized rice. So, [Music] just like that, it just comes right to you. I think I went a little overboard, but it’s going to be okay because this is only $6. I’m full, that’s for sure. That place was called Sedo Binki. I’m not going back. It something just was off with it. It wasn’t the premium five-star sush that I’m used to. And coming to Nigata, I guess it’s known for rice and saki, but I was hoping that the sush would be five stars, too. Am I getting cocky or am I getting too used to premium sush that I’m a sushi snob now? I don’t know. I hope not. It’s starting to rain. Let’s go back there to the gig. I don’t know how to say it. G. Giggle. Let’s go to the giggle right here. I’m going to go play some freaking games. Let me see if I can turn this camera around. There we go. Giggle. I bet you I can win one prize. I’m only limiting myself to 1,000 yen. I’m not really feeling too excited about any of these prizes, but I guess I’ll try this guy real quick. One, two, three, four, five. All right, I put 500 in. [Music] That GO place, it looks cool, but it’s rigged. All the machines are like perfectly set up. It just wasn’t a fun experience. I like the random game shops that you find this. I didn’t even like the toys in there, but I tried. I lost. I learned. On we go. Dear ladies and gentlemen, welcome to today’s episode. We are located here in Nagata, which is going to be a Emerald Coast gem of Japan. Today, we’re going to be going to the aquarium. In order to get to the aquarium, we’re going to have to take the city bus. What you can do here in Niagara is actually grab the city bus for only 500 yen for a 24-hour pass. So, we’re going to try to get on the bus with 500 yen. Should get us around all day, which is only going to be $3. What’s amazing about this aquarium is it’s located right here on the ocean. So, we’re getting a nice sea breeze. It is starting to rain a little bit. It’s just starting to rain. We’re expecting some storms from that typhoon up here in Nigata as it presses up and north. But on a rainy day, hey, let’s check out this aquarium. See what it’s all about. They’ve got a dolphin show. Dolphin. How do you make a dolphin noise? Admission to the aquarium is 1,500 yen or $9. [Music] I’m down. [Music] [Music] Is that [Music] Wait, [Music] [Music] wait. Excuse me, sir. Do you have time for the Lord? Are you a stinker? Stinky. Stinky. There is food and drink for purchase. I have ordered a chicken and pork yaki soba with a Coca-Cola classic. All right, I’m going to give this yaki soba a try real quick. Looks pretty good. I don’t know if you guys can see it. Looks like a nice little leaf. It is a little more spendy here at the aquarium though. It was 950 yen for a cola and a yakasabi yakis. So um but that’s okay. I’m I’m happy to contribute to the local aquarium. Now let’s get this yaki soba in our mouth. Okay. A little heavy on the ginger. A little dry. Could use some takayyaki sauce. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] So [Music] [Applause] coming Okay. [Music] Aha. Aha. That was really cool. I don’t care how old you are, it’s never not cool to watch dolphins do tricks. If you’re out here in Natada and it’s a rainy day or even if it’s a sunny day, come on out to the aquarium, enjoy a good lunch, and watch the dolphins splish splash. I was splitty splash. Here we are at the Nigata coastline, also known as Japan’s Emerald Coast, mainly in the summer. It’s refreshing and beautiful. The breeze is excellent, and on an overcast day, it’s a nice walk along the ocean. Well, thanks for tuning in to this week’s episode of Niagata Japan. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope there’s some local gems that you’ll be able to explore when you visit. Until next time, safe travels.
Join me as I explore Niigata, Japan — a hidden gem known for its world-famous sake, buckwheat soba noodles, and stunning natural beauty. From sake tasting at Ponshukan, to slurping local soba and walking through peaceful parks, this is your full guide to what to eat, drink, and do in Niigata.
📍 Highlights:
Ponshukan Sake Tasting Experience
Famous Niigata Soba
Toyanogata Park Walk
APA Hotel Tour (Japan’s Largest!)
🇯🇵 Travel Japan beyond Tokyo and Kyoto — Niigata has it all.
#Niigata #JapanTravel #SakeTasting #JapaneseFood #HiddenJapan #NiigataVlog #TheAmericanTravelGuy
新潟県でグルメ・お酒・文化を満喫する旅へようこそ！🍶
今回は新潟駅のぽんしゅ館での利き酒体験から、地元の名物そば、静かな鳥屋野潟公園の散歩、そして日本一のAPAホテルまで、たっぷりご紹介します。
✅ 新潟のおすすめ観光スポット
✅ 外国人視点の新潟体験
✅ 新潟グルメ・地酒の魅力
日本の隠れた名所、新潟の魅力を一緒に発見しましょう！
#新潟旅行 #ぽんしゅ館 #そば #日本酒 #新潟観光 #外国人旅行者 #新潟グルメ
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