Nagaoka

Understand

Tourist information site The local tourist association has a multilingual guide site.

Getting there

By plane The nearest airport is at Niigata, which is a little over an hour away by car. By public transport, take a bus to Niigata station (25 min, ¥410), then take the train or bus (details below). Tokyo's two airports, Narita and Haneda, are both at least three hours away by train.

By train The main way into Nagaoka is on the Jōetsu Shinkansen. There is at least one Toki train per hour to Tokyo (about 1hr 40min, ¥8950) and Niigata (25 minutes, ¥3500). From Niigata, one can instead take a local train, which takes about 1hr 15mins and costs ¥1140, or one of the five Shirayuki Limited Express trains a day, which is more expensive (¥2640) but brings the travel time down to about 55 minutes. JR East offer some deals for travel within Niigata prefecture:

If you buy an Echigo One-Day Pass at ¥1540, you can save ¥740 on the price of a day trip to Niigata. The ticket is even better value if you use it to go as far as Shibata or Murakami. However, it does not cover the supplementary fare for Shinkansen or Limited Express trains; for this, consider buying the Echigo Ryōkin Kaisūken, which gives you four tickets for travel to or from Niigata on the Shinkansen or Limited Expresses, valid for a month, for ¥3920. (There is no child version of this ticket, but two children aged 6-11 can use one of these tickets). The Shinkansen Double Kippu gives you two tickets for the Shinkansen to and from Niigata, again valid for a month, for ¥4200 (¥2100 for children). From Kanazawa and Toyama there used to be a one-seat service to Nagaoka, but this has changed with the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen. The fastest way to travel between these areas is to take the Hokuriku Shinkansen's Hakutaka service to Jōetsu-myōkō, and change to the Shirayuki Limited Express which operates five times per day. The journey from Kanazawa using this route takes around 2 hr 20 min and costs ¥8840 each way; from Toyama, 2 hr and ¥7760. If you use a Japan Rail Pass, a small surcharge of ¥450 will have to be paid for the 10-km journey between Jōetsu-myōkō and Naoetsu which operates over non-JR tracks. Both the Japan Rail Pass and the JR East Pass (Nagano/Niigata area) fully cover the Shinkansen journey from Tokyo, travel to Narita and Haneda Airports via the Narita Express and Tokyo Monorail, and travel on most trains in Niigata prefecture, amongst other things.

By bus (Where fares are quoted as being 'up to' a price, they are cheaper outside peak periods.) The following highway buses serve Nagaoka station each day:

Eight buses to Kawagoe station, Nerima station, Ikebukuro station, and Shi

See

Echigo Hillside National Government Park (国営越後丘陵公園), 1921 Miyamoto Higashikata-machi, Nagaoka City (Buses run to Echigo-Kyūryō-Kōen from Stop 6 on the Ōteguchi side of Nagaoka station, taking 40 minutes and costing ¥440.). Apr-Jun Sep Oct: 09:30-17:00; Jul Aug: 09:30-19:00; Nov-Mar: 09:30-16:30. Echigo Hillside Park was opened in July 1998 on the Japan Sea coast.The park was built so people could pursue outdoor recreation or cultural activities. It is on the west side of Nagaoka city on hills ranging from 80-260 m above sea level. Adults ¥410, children ¥80. (updated Jun 2017) Niigata Prefectural Museum of History (新潟県立歴史博物館), 2247-2 Gongendo, 1 Sekiharamachi, Nagaoka City (buses run to Kenritsu-Rekishi-Hakubutsukan from Stop 7 on the Ōteguchi side of Nagaoka station, taking 40 minutes and costing ¥390). 09:30-17:00. The museum introduces Niigata's history and culture through the themes of rice, snow, and the Jomon period. Adults ¥510, children ¥200. (updated Jun 2017)

Do

Nagaoka is famous for fireworks. Nagaoka festival is held from 1–3 August yearly. On 1 August, an evening event is held, on 2 and 3, fireworks are launched. About 20,000 fireworks are launched around Shinano river side for two days. T-JOY Cinemas (T・ジョイ長岡). They have huge modern theaters that play 3-D movies too! ¥1000 admission during every first day of each month.

Sleep

Budget

Mid-range Hotel Route Inn Nagaoka Ekimae, 1-1-5, Jonai-cho, Nagaoka-city, ☏ +81 258-36-2331, fax: +81 258-36-2339. 2 minutes walk from Nagaoka Station on JR Shin-Etsu Main Line. Rooms from ¥5,950 single, ¥9,500 double, ¥10,000 twin.

Splurge Hotel New Otani Nagaoka, 2-8-35 Dai-machi, Nagaoka-city, ☏ +81 258-37-1212. From JR Nagaoka Station East Exit: 1 min on foot. From Kan-Etsu Expressway Nagaoka IC: (10 km). Rooms with private baths from ¥9,817 single, ¥17,902 double.

Go next

Niigata Tokamachi Uonuma Kashiwazaki Izumozaki Sanjo Ojiya Kawaguchi Joetsu