The town of Yuzawa in Niigata Prefecture was the setting of the acclaimed novel Snow Country (Yukiguni) by Nobel Prize-winning author Yasunari Kawabata. Surprisingly, Japan’s region of heaviest snowfall is not Hokkaido or Shiga, but in fact Niigata. In addition, koshihikari rice, Japan’s finest variety, is produced in Niigata. For the Japanese, Niigata conjures up images of deep snow and delicious rice.
However, when you actually visit Niigata you'll notice that its landscape is wonderful in all four seasons. The Shinano River, which is Japan’s longest, brings fertile blessings to rice fields and farmland. The Niigata Port is also famed for seafood taken from the waters of the Sea of Japan. Wise farmers have created beautiful rice terraces here. Traditional Japanese culture such as Noh theatre has been kept alive on Sado Island, the largest island in the Sea of Japan.
Surviving through harsh winters and heavy snowfall and the hard toil of rice production has given Niigata people a stubborn and conservative personality. However, the locals are also known for their generous hospitality to guests. Serving fresh-cooked rice balls and making toasts with delicious sake, Niigata locals take pride in the bounty of their homeland, and their hospitality is warm. It’s precisely because they know the harshness of winter that the people of this area are warm, in the truest sense of the word.