Page 279 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide: Japan

NOR THERN HONSHU  277

is a kura-lined walking lane.
Along the way, the Sake-
Brewing Museum offers
informative tours, with tastings
of Yama togawa sake. Kitakata is
also known for its ramen noodles
and oki-agari dolls, which roll
upright when knocked over.
E Kai Honke
Tel (0241) 22-0001. Open variable. Lake on the Bandai-Asahi plateau
Closed New Year’s holiday. & ragweaving, and the local
7 Sado Island
P Sake-Brewing Museum red-clay pottery.
Tel (0241) 22-2233. Open daily Sado Island The Kodo drum mers have put
(reserve ahead). Sado on the international map.
Niigata prefecture. * 63,000. g The group, based in Ogi, in the
ferry or hydrofoil from Niigata (city)
Environs to Ryotsu. n Ryotsu port (025) 927- southwest, should be contacted
Seven km (5 miles) south of the 5000. _ frequently, spring to fall. directly for further information.
station is the unusual Kumano Nearby Shukunegi, with
Jinja, an 11th-century shrine Though it receives more than a outlying rice paddies, is one of
restored in the 1970s without million visitors a year, Sado Island the island’s loveliest villages.
walls, just wooden columns still feels remote. This mellow
supporting a thatched roof. little island, 60 km (37 miles) off P Sado Kinzan Gold Mine
Honshu’s northwest coast, offers @ to Aikawa Eigayosho.
a chance to enjoy fresh seafood Tel (0259) 74-2389. Open daily. &
6 Bandai-Asahi and meet friendly people. For P Aikawa Museum
National Park centuries, Sado was home to @ to Aikawa Hakubutsukan-Mae.
political exiles, including the
Tel (0259) 74-4312. Open daily.
emperor Juntoku in 1221, Closed Dec 29–Jan 3; Dec–Feb: Sat,
the priest Nichiren in 1271, and Sun & public hols. &
Yamagata, Niigata, and Fukushima
prefectures. £ to Fukushima, Zeami, the Noh actor and play- P Kodo
Koriyama, or Inawashiro. n at wright, in 1433. Of the 88 Noh Kodo Village, 148-1 Kaneta
Yamagata and Aizu-Wakamatsu theaters once here, about 35 Shinden, Sado, Niigata 952-0611.
stns. _ Bandai Matsuri (last are left. In 1601 the discovery Tel (0259) 86-3630. ∑ kodo.or.jp
weekend in Jul, Inawashiro). of gold in Aikawa brought an
influx of convicts who were
On July 15, 1888, Mount forced to work in the mines.
Bandai erupted, killing 477 Buses connect the island’s
people. Dammed streams small towns, and tour buses
formed hundreds of lakes stop at major attractions. In the
and marshes, creating the lush main port of Ryotsu in the east,
natural beauty of the Bandai- outdoor Noh perfor mances are
Asahi National Park. Criss- held at the Honma Noh Stage.
crossed by five scenic toll In Aikawa, on the west coast,
roads, including the Bandai- the touristy Sado Kinzan Gold
Azuma Skyline (open April Mine has mechanical dolls
22–November 5), the park is recreating the harsh mining
studded with hot springs and conditions. Aikawa Museum Clear seas and jagged rocks off the coast
camping grounds. The best has exhibits on gold mining, of Sado Island
way to explore is by car or bus.
Goshikinuma (five-colored The Kodo Drumming Group
marshes) is a popular 4-km
(2-mile) trail starting at the Kodo, one of the most famous and dynamic
Bandai-kogen or Goshikinuma taiko drumming groups, formed in 1981, is
bus stops. In Inawashiro the known for perfor mances of drum, flute, song,
Aizu Minzokukan folk and dance. Kodo means both “children of the
museum has over 24,000 drum” and “heartbeat”. The throbbing heart of
items, and a garden of phallic Kodo is the o-daiko, a convex wooden drum
rocks associated with fertility. used in Japanese folk festivals. Kodo spends
much of the year performing in Japan and
P Aizu Minzokukan world wide, and hosts an annual three-day
@ from JR Inawashiro stn. Tel (0242) A Kodo drummer beating Earth Celebration, when international
65-2600. Open Apr 1–Nov 15: daily; a huge o-daiko drum musicians come to Sado to perform.
Nov 16–Mar 31: Fri–Wed. &

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