A wide-angle view of Yahiko Shrine in Niigata, Japan, featuring ornate wooden buildings with curved roofs trimmed in gold, set against tall evergreens and a clear blue sky.

Niigata, Japan

Cruises to Niigata, Japan

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Things to do in Niigata

In a country where every port feels like a living museum of food, craft and culture, Niigata still manages to surprise. Tucked up on the west coast of Honshu, this city has a rice reputation worth writing home about (and yes, that means sake too). Add in sea-to-table seafood, mountain views and samurai lore, and you’ve got a destination that’s deeply local, quietly legendary and totally feast-worthy. Discover a city shaped by trade, craftsmanship, spirituality and cuisine, all set against the backdrop of the Sea of Japan.

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  • Close-up of assorted sushi pieces on a slate board with chopsticks resting beside them, while clear sake is being poured from a ceramic flask into a small matching cup in the foreground.

    Sample regional flavors with ultra-fresh sushi and local sake made from Niigata’s famous rice.

  • Aerial view of Niigata, Japan, showing dense clusters of high-rise buildings, residential streets and riverside bridges with the Sea of Japan and distant mountains on the horizon.

    Take in panoramic views from the Bakauke observation floor — on clear days you can see as far as Sado Island.

  • Interior view from a tatami room looking out onto a Japanese garden filled with vibrant fall foliage, including red and orange maple trees, manicured shrubs and moss-covered stones.

    Step back in time at the Northern Culture Museum, a former landowner’s villa turned building-sized time capsule.

  • Interior view of a traditional Japanese tatami room with open sliding panels revealing a vibrant garden filled with red, orange and green autumn foliage, stone lanterns and carefully shaped shrubs.

    Explore traditional craftsmanship in metalworking, lacquerware and cutlery at local studios and markets

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Shore excursions to explore in Niigata

Each shore excursion peels back a layer of Niigata’s identity, revealing the rituals and rhythms that define this port. Whether you're into shrines, gardens, markets or geisha games, there’s an itinerary that delivers just the right dose of culture, cuisine and scenery.

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  • High-angle view of the Shinano River in Niigata, Japan, with multiple bridges, waterfront roads, high-rise buildings and distant mountains under a clear sky.

    Best of Niigata

    Start high with a visit to the top of the Bandaijima Building for 360-degree views of the Shinanogawa River, Sado Island and the Gozu mountain range. Your guide then takes you deep into Niigata’s 500-year story at the City History Museum before treating you to a comforting soba lunch. After exploring local products at the Pavilion of Charm and Bazaar Pavilion, you’ll wrap the day at the Northern Culture Museum — a villa so fancy it could humble a daimyo.

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  • Close-up of hands sharpening a knife on a wet whetstone, with water rippling around the blade and droplets highlighting the motion.

    Tsubamesanjo, the City of Craftmanship

    This one’s for the tool nerds and design junkies. Head to Sanjo, where blades are made the old-school way: by people who definitely know the difference between sharpened and sharp. At the Suwada Open Factory, watch masters forge everything from bonsai scissors to nail clippers. Then shop locally made kitchenware at the Roadside Station: TSUBAMESANJO. After lunch, wind down with a visit to Yahiko Shrine.

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  • A colorful display of skewered seafood at Teradomari Fish Market in Niigata, Japan, featuring trays of grilled scallops, squid and other skewers labeled with handwritten price signs, with a vendor’s hand reaching in the background.

    Yahiko Shrine & Teradomari Fish Market

    Follow your guide through a towering torii gate into Yahiko Shrine, a serene pocket of cypress and stone. After that spiritual breather, it’s beach time at Teradomari. Across the road? The seafood-stacked stalls of Fish Market Street, where the grilled-skewer smell should be listed as a national treasure. Your final ascent takes you up Yahiko Skyline to Panorama Tower, a rotating lookout view that are more than worth a little vertigo.

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  • A traditional wooden gate stands at the end of a gravel path surrounded by lush green plants, moss and small maple trees in Shimizu Garden, Niigata, Japan.

    Shibata Castle Ruin & Japanese Garden

    Begin with Shimizu Garden, a Kyoto-style hideaway complete with peaceful ponds and foot soldier barracks. Then make your way to Shibata Castle Ruins (originally built in 1598 and now tastefully restored, turrets and all). The tour finishes at Gokaibishi Sake Brewery, where local rice and 200+ years of brewing tradition combine in a bottle of Niigata-style deliciousness.

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  • A geigi performer in a pale blue kimono dances on stage while holding a red and white fan, set against a backdrop painted with green pine branches.

    Geisha Show & Japanese Lunch

    In Furumachi, geisha are still very much a thing. Here they’re called ‘geigi,’ and their performances are a graceful blur of shamisen strums, elegant dance and Edo-era charm. After touring the Niigata Saito Villa (a seaside stunner designed to feel like a mountain retreat), you’ll sip green tea, savor a Japanese lunch and enjoy a geigi performance. Expect dances, music and a centuries-old game called taruken. Bonus: you’ll get a commemorative photo too.

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  • Close-up of a person pouring sake from a brown bottle into a small white paper cup at a tasting counter, with blurred bottles and people in the background.

    Local Connections: Japanese Garden & Breweries of Sake and Japanese Seasonings in Best Rice Producing Region

    This tour is for anyone who believes food is culture. At DHC Sake Brewery, taste award-winning Koshino-Umesato sake and learn what makes Niigata’s rice so elite. Next, visit Yamada Brewery, known for crafting miso, soy sauce and miso-zuke pickles since 1891. Cap it all off with lunch at the Northern Culture Museum, where rice is cooked over fire in traditional hagama pots.

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Explore itineraries with cruises to Niigata

Step off the ship and straight into a local food paradise. The Pia Bandai market is just minutes from the dock, putting you within arm’s reach of seasonal produce, sizzling seafood and the kind of snacks that make you forget what time it is. You can explore traditional sake breweries like Imayo Tsukasa or enjoy a feast for your other senses at local shrines, hotsprings and artisans. Niigata cruises are ideal for digging into culture at your own pace, with Japan cruise itineraries that keep things seamless and stress-free.

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Mount Fuji

9-Day Circle Japan

 

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14-Day Grand Circle Japan with Fall Foliage

14-Day Grand Circle Japan with Fall Foliage

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Busan - Past & Present

17-Day Grand Circle Japan

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Discover Niigata  on your next cruise

Niigata brings it all together: sacred shrines, serious chefs, ancient castles and workshops full of world-class cutlery. It’s a port that rewards curiosity, surprises foodies and challenges your suitcase space with souvenirs you’ll actually want to keep. Cruising with Princess means you get the best of both worlds — immersive shore time and the kind of shipboard comforts that make the trip feel seamless. Culture meets convenience, one perfect pour of sake at a time.

Cruises to Niigata
A stone pathway lined with tall cedar trees leading to Yahiko Shrine in Niigata, Japan, with sunlight filtering through the forest canopy and green mountains rising in the background.

Step into calm as towering cedar trees guide you toward Yahiko Shrine’s sacred entrance.

Close-up of assorted nigiri sushi arranged on a ceramic plate, featuring pieces of salmon, tuna, squid and shrimp with bright colors and glossy textures.

Savor pristine flavors with every delicate bite of Niigata sushi.

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A couple stands together on the wooden deck of a Princess® cruise ship, gazing out at the open sea beneath a bright blue sky dotted with clouds.

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Step aboard any Princess® ship and discover your new favorite way to travel. Each vessel is a floating playground of flavor, comfort and top-deck experiences. Enjoy freshly prepared local dishes, Broadway-caliber entertainment, oceanview fitness and wellness studios, family programming and beds so comfortable they’ve won awards. 


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Cruises to Niigata FAQs

*The port location is subject to change. Please check itinerary details after you book for more information.

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