Niigata Prefecture
is located on
Honshu island on the coast of the
Sea of Japan. The capital is the city of
Niigata. The name Niigata literally means "New Lagoon".
Niigata prefecture was originally divided into
Echigo Province and
Sado Province until the
Meiji Restoration. During the
Sengoku period it was ruled by
Uesugi Kenshin.
Niigata-shi (the city) is the largest and most important among the cities which face the
Sea of Japan. It has been an important seaport since the opening of Japan by
Matthew Perry in the mid-1800s, especially for trade with
Russia and northern
Korea, and was the first port on the Sea of Japan to be opened to foreign trade.
The
Etsuzankai organization, led by prime minister
Tanaka Kakuei, was highly influential in bringing infrastructure improvements to Niigata in the 1960s and 1970s, including the
Joetsu Shinkansen high speed rail line and
Kanetsu Expressway to
Tokyo.
Today, Niigata is well-known for being visited by a freighter from
North Korea once a month: one of the few direct contacts between the
Free world and the communist country.
On
October 23,
2004, the
Chuetsu Earthquake struck Niigata Prefecture, causing shaking measured at
Shindo 6+ at
Ojiya.
On
January 9,
2006, a heavy
winter storm caused much trouble in the prefecture and its surroundings. At least 71 people died and over a thousand were injured.
|
Map of Niigata Prefecture. |
Niigata prefecture stretches about 240 km along the
Sea of Japan from southwest to north east, with a coastal plain between the mountains and the sea. It also includes
Sado Island.
Because of the shape, Niigata prefecture is often called small Honshuu-Main Island.
Depending on how you look at it, Niigata prefecture could be placed in either the
Hokuriku or
Koshinetsu regions, each considered part of the greater
Chubu region.
The prefecture is generally divided into four geographical areas: Joetsu (in the south), Chuetsu (in the center), Kaetsu (in the north), and
Sado Island.
Niigata prefecture is home to the mouth of the
Shinano River, the longest
river in
Japan.
Cities
20 cities are located in Niigata Prefecture.{|valign="top"|
*
Agano*
Gosen*
Itoigawa*
Joetsu*
Kamo*
Kashiwazaki*
Minamiuonuma
*Mitsuke
*Murakami
*Myoko (former Arai)
*Nagaoka
*Niigata (capital)
*Ojiya
*Sado |
*Sanjo
*Shibata
*Tainai
*Tokamachi
*Tsubame
*Uonuma | 
