Information as of 26 August 2026
This page is a relocation summary written by an advanced AI
It is not a personal opinion piece written by a human. An AI gathered official information published on the internet — municipal and national statistics, the Japan Meteorological Agency, railway companies, property portals — and rebuilt it into a form that someone considering a move can read and act on. Every figure carries a source link and the date it was checked, so please confirm anything that matters to you against the original document. Rules and prices change. Always check the latest information yourself before you sign anything.
Moving to Niigata
Niigata City was the first designated city on the Sea of Japan side of Honshu. It has a population of 759,618 and an area of 726.01 square kilometres, and is divided into 8 wards: Kita, Higashi, Chuo, Konan, Akiha, Minami, Nishi and Nishikan. Tokyo is 1 hour 31 minutes away on the Joetsu Shinkansen for ¥10,980, with no transfers. 🔴 The single most striking thing about this city is how flat it is. We looked up the elevation of each of the 725 pre-owned detached houses on the market one by one: the highest house stands at 44.0 metres and the median is 2.1 metres. The city's Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Department writes that this is “one of Japan's leading agricultural cities, with the largest area of paddy field of any municipality in the country”, and 45.0% of the city's area is farmland. That flatness brings two things at once: days without hills, and the need to check the water and the ground properly before you buy. There are 725 pre-owned detached houses for sale, from ¥500,000 to ¥120,000,000, with a median of ¥18,990,000 — the lowest figure among the designated cities this site has surveyed in full.
Population
759,618 people
Reiwa 7 Census preliminary figures, 8 wards / area 726.01 square kilometres
Population over 5 years
△29,657 people
-3.8%, down in all 8 wards / households up 3,791 to 335,063, the highest ever
Homes for sale
725 listings
¥500,000– / median ¥18,990,000
To Tokyo
1 hr 31 min
Joetsu Shinkansen, ¥10,980, no transfers
Medical costs for children
To the end of high school
¥530 per outpatient day, ¥1,200 per inpatient day, prescriptions free
Elevation of listings
median 2.1 m
-2.2 to 44.0 m / the highest house is at 44 metres
Summer (August daily high)
30.8℃
Niigata observatory; 0.5C lower than Tokyo
Winter (January daily low)
0.1℃
Niigata observatory; 1.1C lower than Tokyo
Roadside stations: Niigata Furusato Mura, Kamuri Niitsu, Toyosaka / National and quasi-national parks: Sado-Yahiko-Yoneyama Quasi-National Park / Hot springs and day bathing: Niitsu Onsen, Niigata City Katahigashi, Aqua Park Niigata, Komatsuyu, Gokurakuyu Meike, Sakaiyu, Meike, Gokurakuyu, Taho Onsen, Akiha Onsen, Homma Kenko Land, Cave d'Occi, Kosudo Onsen, Nakanokuchi Senior Welfare Centre, Maidaira Cleaning Centre rest house, Kameda Cleaning Centre Tabune no Sato, Fukujuon / RV parks: RV Park CARSLAND
Sources: roadside stations from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism list of roadside stations (checked 2026-08-26) / national and quasi-national parks judged from Ministry of the Environment boundary data and other sources (details in §17 of the text) (checked 2026-08-26) / hot springs and day bathing from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) (checked 2026-08-26) / RV parks from the Japan RV Association list of certified RV parks (checked 2026-08-26). 🔴 We only show what a town has — a town without a given item is not being marked down.
Last checked 26 August 2026
CHAPTER 01First, what kind of place Niigata is
It sits on the Sea of Japan side of Honshu, in the middle of the Echigo Plain. The city describes its own position like this: “Niigata City lies at almost the same latitude as San Francisco, Tianjin and Lisbon, about 250 kilometres north-north-west of Tokyo, roughly 2 hours away on the Joetsu Shinkansen.” Two of Japan's greatest rivers, the Shinano and the Agano, reach the Sea of Japan here. The city measures 42.5 kilometres east to west and 37.9 kilometres north to south. In a single phrase, the shape of this place is “wide, flat and full of water”. 45.0% of its 726.01 square kilometres is farmland, with 28,200 hectares of paddy field alone. Lagoons called kata — Fukushimagata, Toyanogata and Sakata — remain inside the city, and Sakata is a Ramsar Convention wetland. It is also a port town: in Ansei 5 (1858) it was named one of the “five open ports”, along with Hakodate, Yokohama, Kobe and Nagasaki.
“The first designated city on the Sea of Japan side”The city was incorporated in Meiji 22 (1889), became a core city in Heisei 8 (1996), merged with 13 neighbouring municipalities in Heisei 17 (2005), and became a designated city on 1 April Heisei 19 (2007). The city writes that it “combines features found in no other city: it is a transport hub with an international airport, harbours, the Shinkansen and an expressway network, and at the same time a great agricultural city with the largest area of paddy field in the country”.
The mergers were Kurosaki Town on 1 January Heisei 13, 12 municipalities on 21 March Heisei 17 (Niitsu City, Shirone City, Toyosaka City, Kosudo Town, Yokogoshi Town, Kameda Town, Iwamuro Village, Nishikawa Town, Ajikata Village, Katahigashi Village, Tsukigata Village and Nakanokuchi Village), and Maki Town on 10 October Heisei 17. The 8 wards of today are lines drawn after those mergers (§2).
The city crest is an anchor, the character for five, and snowHere is the city's own explanation, word for word: “The anchor, the mark of a port, together with the character for five at the centre, stands for the five ports named by the commercial treaty of the Ansei era, and the ring of snow above them stands for Niigata, one of those five ports.”
A port, the five open ports, and snow — those three are how the city sees itself. The city bird is the swan, adopted in October Heisei 26. The city writes that “it has the largest wintering population of Bewick's swans in Japan”, and in the Ministry of the Environment's survey of geese and ducks it is indeed the city where Bewick's swans and bean geese arrive in the greatest numbers most years (§15).
The city sets out 5 images of what it wants to becomeFrom the Outline of the City: “a decentralised, collaborative city growing with its communities”, “a garden-city hub growing with its land”, “a Sea of Japan city of exchange growing with the world”, “a city of comfortable living growing with a sense of security”, and “a city of education and culture where citizens grow together” — and it closes those 5 with “as a designated city unlike any before it, we will keep on developing”.
That “decentralised” and “garden-city” come first is characteristic of how this city writes about itself. The idea that each of the 8 ward offices has a face of its own (§2), and the fact that 45% of the city's area is farmland, are exactly what those images are made of.
45% of the city's area is field and paddyFrom the city's Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Department. 32,700 hectares of cultivated land (28,200 paddy, 4,470 field), 86.2% of it paddy, and 45.0% of the city's area under cultivation. 7,032 farm businesses, 9,675 farm households, 10,379 people whose main work is farming, and ¥53,480,000,000 of agricultural output — all first in Niigata Prefecture, accounting for 15 to 23% of the prefecture's totals.
This is not a case of “there are paddy fields outside the town”. As §2 shows, Nishikan Ward alone is 176.54 square kilometres, a quarter of the city, and Minami, Akiha and Kita Wards are each around 100 square kilometres. The countryside is inside the city.
How to reach Niigata from Tokyo, Osaka and Sendai
| Where to start | Shortest route | Time and fare |
|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | Joetsu Shinkansen Toki, 1 train | 1 hour 31 minutes / ¥10,980 (0 transfers) |
| Omiya | Joetsu Shinkansen Toki, 1 train | 1 hour 7 minutes / ¥10,550 (0 transfers) |
| Echigo-Yuzawa | Joetsu Shinkansen Toki, 1 train | 44 minutes / ¥5,590 (0 transfers) |
| Nagaoka | Joetsu Shinkansen Toki, 1 train | 20 minutes / ¥3,630 (0 transfers) |
| Sendai | Joetsu Shinkansen + change at Omiya to the Tohoku Shinkansen | 2 hours 26 minutes / ¥20,210 (1 transfer) |
| Kanazawa | Joetsu Shinkansen + limited express Shirayuki and others at Nagaoka | 4 hours 6 minutes / ¥19,670 (1 transfer) |
| Niigata Airport | Airport limousine bus from the south exit of Niigata Station, 1 bus (non-stop) | about 25 minutes / ¥470 (about every 20 minutes, no reservation needed) |
What kind of town is Niigata City?
It was the first designated city on the Sea of Japan side of Honshu. Population 759,618, area 726.01 square kilometres, divided into 8 wards: Kita, Higashi, Chuo, Konan, Akiha, Minami, Nishi and Nishikan. 🔴 Its most striking feature is how flat it is — the median elevation of the 725 houses on the market is 2.1 metres, and the highest house stands at 44.0 metres. 45.0% of the city's area is farmland, and Tokyo is 1 hour 31 minutes away on the Joetsu Shinkansen for ¥10,980, with no transfers.
CHAPTER 02Eight areas, and life in each
Niigata is a designated city, so the unit of the town is the ward. There are 8 of them. The character of each ward is set out, one ward at a time and in the city's own words, on its relocation and settlement site “HAPPY Turn”, so that is where the descriptions below come from. Population and households are from the resident register at the end of July Reiwa 8, areas from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, and listings from the 725 this page collected. The first thing that separates these 8 wards is density. People per square kilometre run 4,520 in Chuo Ward, 3,343 in Higashi Ward and 1,596 in Nishi Ward, against 408 in Minami Ward and 290 in Nishikan Ward — a spread of 15 times. And the median price of a house on the market runs from ¥27,400,000 in Chuo Ward down to ¥13,240,000 in Nishikan Ward. The denser the ward the dearer it is, and the more rural the ward the cheaper — line them up and it comes out exactly like that.
| Ward | Population, Area | How the city describes it | Homes for sale | Elevation (median) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chuo Ward | 171,022 people / 37.84km² 4,520 people/km² | “A town where history and culture live on, full of moisture and bustle”. The port town at the mouth of the Shinano River. Bandai, Furumachi and the area around Niigata Station are the commercial centre. The Bandai Bridge, an Important Cultural Property, plus Toki Messe, Ryutopia and Big Swan. “Trunk roads and public transport are well provided. It is also very convenient for commuting to work and school” | 114 ¥1,000,000–90,000,000 median ¥27,400,000 | 0.2m （-1.0〜15.2m） |
| Higashi Ward | 128,897 people / 38.56km² 3,343 people/km² | “The gateway by air and sea. A town of industry, full of energy”. It has Niigata Airport and Niigata West Port, and its manufacturing ranks first of the 8 wards in both establishments and employees. “The land form runs in dune ridges parallel to the shoreline from the coast inland, and the inland part is flat”. Bus tours of the factories lit up at night are popular | 151 ¥4,000,000–120,000,000 median ¥21,500,000 | 0.8m （-1.7〜15.2m） |
| Nishi Ward | 149,791 people / 93.87km² 1,596 people/km² | “A lively town, from a rich educational environment and the exchange it brings”. 7 stations on the Echigo Line and several universities. Lake Sakata and Lake Mitaraigata. Kurosaki chamame edamame, Niigata watermelon and Akatsuka daikon. “The coast is close to the housing”. The ward worst hit by liquefaction in the Noto Peninsula Earthquake (§5) | 204 (the most of the 8 wards) ¥2,200,000–50,000,000 median ¥17,000,000 | 4.9m （-2.2〜28.5m） |
| Kita Ward | 68,803 people / 107.48km² 640 people/km² | “People and goods meeting in a blessed natural setting”. Lake Fukushimagata has more than 220 species of wild bird and more than 270 species of plant. Tomatoes, shipped in greater quantity than anywhere else in the prefecture. The Kuzutsuka and Matsuhama markets, running for about 260 years. Niigata East Port, the only international strategic port on the Sea of Japan side. Niigata Racecourse | 53 ¥2,900,000–43,000,000 median ¥16,000,000 | 2.0m （0.7〜20.4m） |
| Konan Ward | 67,068 people / 75.42km² 889 people/km² | “A town of city and countryside together, ringed by water and greenery”. “The land is flat, and much of it lies at or below sea level”. The Hokuriku, Ban-etsu and Nihonkai-Tohoku Expressways, plus National Routes 49 and 403, all pass through, and there are many industrial estates and large shopping centres. The great farmer's mansion that is now the Northern Culture Museum | 51 ¥3,500,000–41,000,000 median ¥22,800,000 | 1.8m （-0.5〜5.3m） |
| Akiha Ward | 72,943 people / 95.38km² 765 people/km² | “The rich nature of the satoyama and comfortable city life, side by side”. The Akiha Hills, satoyama country, to the south. It was once a town of oil and railways (oil facilities that are a nationally designated historic site, and the Niitsu Railway Museum), and today it is a producer of flowers and flowering trees such as azalea and flowering quince. “About 30 minutes by car to the centre of the city”; “10 minutes by car from the centre of the town to the satoyama” | 51 ¥3,500,000–46,000,000 median ¥15,800,000 | 6.0m （2.5〜44.0m） |
| Minami Ward | 41,183 people / 100.91km² 408 people/km² | “A town of fruit, in a blessed natural setting”. “Fruit growing here is among the best in the prefecture” — strawberries, peaches, grapes, Japanese pears and Le Lectier. The Shirone Giant Kite Battle, with 300 years of history, the Kakubei-jishi lion dance, and the former Sasagawa Family Residence, an Important Cultural Property. “About 70% of the annual farm output by volume is rice” | 49 ¥6,900,000–57,800,000 median ¥16,500,000 | 1.0m （-0.2〜3.3m） |
| Nishikan Ward | 51,116 people / 176.54km² 290 people/km² | “Enjoying an unhurried life among beautiful farmland”. The largest of the 8 wards (24% of the city). The fine peaks of Mt. Kakuda and Mt. Taho are in Sado-Yahiko-Yoneyama Quasi-National Park. “The part of the city with the widest paddy fields”. Iwamuro Onsen, Uwasekigata Park, Echizenhama beach and the Straw Art Festival | 52 ¥500,000–56,160,000 median ¥13,240,000 | 3.9m （0.2〜19.8m） |
The cheapest ward is Nishikan, the dearest is ChuoLining up the median prices of houses on the market: Chuo Ward ¥27,400,000, Konan Ward ¥22,800,000, Higashi Ward ¥21,500,000, Nishi Ward ¥17,000,000, Minami Ward ¥16,500,000, Kita Ward ¥16,000,000, Akiha Ward ¥15,800,000 and Nishikan Ward ¥13,240,000. Between the dearest and the cheapest ward the gap is 2.1 times.
In exchange, the size of the plot runs the other way — the medians are 150 square metres (about 45 tsubo) in Chuo Ward, against 256 square metres (about 77 tsubo) in Nishikan Ward, 242 square metres in Minami Ward, 234 square metres in Akiha Ward and 218 square metres in Kita Ward. “The difference in price is also, exactly, the difference in the size of the land” — this is the biggest fork in the road when house-hunting in this city.
A quarter of the city is Nishikan Ward176.54 square kilometres is 4.7 times Chuo Ward (37.84) and 24% of the city. 51,116 people live there, so the density is 290 per square kilometre — one fifteenth of Chuo Ward.
The ward is made up of 5 districts: Maki, Nishikawa, Katahigashi, Iwamuro and Nakanokuchi (they became a single ward in Heisei 19). Of the 52 houses on the market, the nearest station is Maki for 20, Echigo-Sone for 13 and Iwamuro for 11 — you can see that they cluster around each station on the Echigo Line. The cheapest house of all, at ¥500,000 (Hataya, Nishikan Ward; built 1977; 699 square metres of land), is in this ward too (§4).
The highest ground is in Akiha Ward, the lowest in Chuo WardLining up the median elevation of the houses on the market: Akiha Ward 6.0 metres, Nishi Ward 4.9 metres, Nishikan Ward 3.9 metres, Kita Ward 2.0 metres, Konan Ward 1.8 metres, Minami Ward 1.0 metre, Higashi Ward 0.8 metres and Chuo Ward 0.2 metres.
In Chuo, Higashi, Minami and Konan Wards, half the houses stand below 2 metres. Only in Akiha Ward does the highest house reach 44.0 metres — because it has satoyama country called the Akiha Hills (in the ward’s own words, “the Akiha Hills, satoyama country, spread out to the south”). It is fair to assume that the only slopes in the city are in Akiha Ward and along the edge of the dunes in Nishi and Nishikan Wards.
Konan Ward has the newest housesBy median year of construction, Konan Ward at 2001 is the newest, followed by Akiha Ward 1994, Chuo Ward 1992, Kita Ward 1991, Nishikan Ward 1991, Nishi Ward 1990, Higashi Ward 1989 and Minami Ward 1989. The share built in 1981 or earlier (the old earthquake standard) runs Nishikan Ward 38%, Akiha Ward 33%, Minami Ward 31%, Nishi Ward 29%, Higashi Ward 25%, Kita Ward 23%, Konan Ward 20% and Chuo Ward 19%.
The city describes Konan Ward as a place where “the transport network is well provided, with main trunk roads, the JR Shin-etsu Main Line and buses, and development is making use of that convenience”, and 43 of the listings have Kameda as their nearest station. If your condition is “a newer house, close to town”, this is the first ward to look at.
How do the 8 wards differ?
🔴 Density is what separates them. People per square kilometre run 4,520 in Chuo Ward, 3,343 in Higashi Ward and 1,596 in Nishi Ward, against 408 in Minami Ward and 290 in Nishikan Ward. The median price of a house on the market also spreads from ¥27,400,000 in Chuo Ward to ¥13,240,000 in Nishikan Ward. Nishikan Ward is 176.54 square kilometres, 24% of the city, the largest of the 8 wards, while Chuo Ward is 37.84 square kilometres.
CHAPTER 03Trains and cars — how you get around
Four lines run out of Niigata Station. Besides the Joetsu Shinkansen, there are three conventional lines: the Hakushin Line (towards Shibata), the Echigo Line (towards Yoshida and Kashiwazaki) and the Shin-etsu Main Line (towards Niitsu and Nagaoka). Tokyo is a single Toki Shinkansen away, 1 hour 31 minutes and ¥10,980, with 29 trains a weekday (§1). And the airport is inside the city. Niigata Airport (Higashi Ward) is a hub airport managed by the national government, and the limousine bus from the south exit of Niigata Station runs non-stop in about 25 minutes for ¥470, about every 20 minutes. Three expressways — the Hokuriku, the Ban-etsu and the Nihonkai-Tohoku — meet inside the city, and there are 12 interchanges and junctions within its boundaries. Buses inside the city are run by Niigata Kotsu’s route services and by the city’s own “ward buses” and “community buses”.
Three expressways meet inside the cityCounting from the National Land Numerical Information, there are 12 interchanges and junctions inside the city — on the Hokuriku Expressway (Maki-Katahigashi, Niigata-Chuo JCT, Niigata-Kameda, Niigata-Higashi Smart IC, Niigata Airport, Niigata-Nishi and Kurosaki Smart IC), on the Tohoku-Odan Expressway (Iwaki-Niigata Route) (Niitsu, Niitsu-Nishi Smart IC and Niigata-Chuo), and on the Nihonkai-Engan-Tohoku Expressway (Toyosaka Smart IC and Toyosaka-Niigata-Higashiko).
The city writes that in Konan Ward “the Hokuriku, Ban-etsu and Nihonkai-Tohoku Expressways, National Routes 49 and 403, other main prefectural roads and the JR Shin-etsu Main Line all pass through, and development is making use of that convenience”. If you move by car, Konan Ward and Nishi Ward are the junctions.
“Ward buses” and “community buses” fill in beyond the route networkThe city runs a “ward bus” service in each of the 8 wards, and there are also “community buses” run by the districts themselves. Since March 2026 the ward buses and community buses have supported GTFS, so routes can be looked up on Google Maps. The city also publishes a ward-bus location service called “Bus Yoho”.
People aged 65 or over who have voluntarily surrendered their driving licence pay half fare on the ward buses (except the Nakanokoya route in Nishi Ward; you must show the certificate of driving history). Holders of a physical, intellectual or mental disability certificate also pay half. Routes and timetables differ from ward to ward, so check the page for the ward office where you plan to live.
The nearest stations divide cleanly by wardCounting the 725 listings of §4 by nearest station: in Nishi Ward, Kobari 59, Terao 43, Niigata-daigakumae 27 and Uchino 26 (all Echigo Line); in Higashi Ward, Niigata 46, Ogata 30, Higashi-Niigata 25 and Echigo-Ishiyama 24; in Chuo Ward, Niigata 34, Sekiya 20, Kamitokoro 18 and Hakusan 13; in Konan Ward, Kameda 43; in Kita Ward, Niizaki 21, Toyosaka 13 and Hayadori 12; in Akiha Ward, Niitsu 17, Ogikawa 9 and Yashiroda 8; in Nishikan Ward, Maki 20, Echigo-Sone 13 and Iwamuro 11.
Kamitokoro is a station that opened only on 15 March 2025. It is an unstaffed station on the Echigo Line between Hakusan and Niigata (about 1.5 kilometres from Niigata Station and about 1.6 kilometres from Hakusan Station), with 2 platforms serving 2 tracks, 125 metres long and able to take 6 cars, and lifts stopping at platform, ground and basement levels. The city and JR East signed the construction agreement on 28 March 2023 and began work that June. 18 houses on the market already have this station as their nearest.
You reach Sado by boatAs the Outline of the City puts it, Niigata is a place that “has bustled since the Edo period, making use of Niigata Port as a hub for the movement of goods”. There is a ferry route from Bandaijima in Chuo Ward to Sado (Ryotsu), and in its introduction to Chuo Ward the city writes: “By sea there is the Sado route, and on the Shinano River a water shuttle bus also runs.”
The inscription of the Sado Island Gold Mines as a World Heritage site has also been decided. The city writes that “thanks to the great efforts of everyone concerned, the inscription of the Sado Island Gold Mines as a World Heritage site has been decided”, and treats it as a tailwind for the city-centre development it calls “Niigata 2 km” (§12).
✈ Airports
Niigata Airport is inside this area (a hub airport, managed by the national government).
🛣 Expressway junctions
This area has 12 expressway entrances (interchanges and junctions).
Hokuriku Expressway: Maki-Katahigashi, Niigata-Chuo JCT, Niigata-Kameda, Niigata-Higashi Smart IC, Niigata Airport, Niigata-Nishi, Kurosaki Smart IC
Tohoku-Odan Expressway (Iwaki-Niigata Route): Niitsu, Niitsu-Nishi Smart IC, Niigata-Chuo
Nihonkai-Engan-Tohoku Expressway: Toyosaka Smart IC, Toyosaka-Niigata-Higashiko
What is getting around like?
Four lines run out of Niigata Station: the Joetsu Shinkansen, the Hakushin Line, the Echigo Line and the Shin-etsu Main Line. Tokyo is a single Toki Shinkansen away, 1 hour 31 minutes and ¥10,980 (29 trains a weekday). Niigata Airport is inside the city (Higashi Ward), about 25 minutes non-stop from the south exit of Niigata Station by limousine bus for ¥470, about every 20 minutes. There are 12 expressway interchanges and junctions inside the city, and within it run route buses plus the “ward buses” and “community buses”.
CHAPTER 04Homes actually on the market right now
There are 725 pre-owned detached houses for sale in Niigata City (the full SUUMO listings for all 8 wards were collected on 26 August 2026). Prices run from ¥500,000 to ¥120,000,000, with a median of ¥18,990,000. 95 are ¥10,000,000 or less (13%), 406 are ¥20,000,000 or less (56%), 604 are ¥30,000,000 or less (83%), 16 are above ¥50,000,000 and 1 is above ¥100,000,000. The median plot is 184 square metres (about 56 tsubo) and the median building 122 square metres (about 37 tsubo). The median year of construction is 1991, with 212 built in 2000 or later (29%) and 193 built in 1981 or earlier, to the old earthquake standard (27%).
"Nearest the station first" converts everything to minutes — a walk of ◯ min, ◯ min by bus plus ◯ min from the stop, ◯ km by car (reckoned at 30 km/h) — and compares those. Listings with no such information always appear last, whatever the sort.
Nishikan Ward Hataya¥500,000Nishikan Ward (Mt. Kakuda and Mt. Taho, Iwamuro Onsen and the dune fields of Maki)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 699 m² (211 tsubo) / Building 180 m² (54 tsubo) / built 1977 / Echigo-Sone Station 16 min walk3 photos →
Chuo Ward Furumachidori 13-bancho¥1,000,000Chuo Ward (Niigata Station, Furumachi and Bandai, the Bandai Bridge and the mouth of the Shinano River)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 46 m² (14 tsubo) / Building 56 m² (17 tsubo) / built 1954 / Niigata Station bus 20 min+7 min walk10 photos →
Nishikan Ward Makiko¥1,500,000Nishikan Ward (Mt. Kakuda and Mt. Taho, Iwamuro Onsen and the dune fields of Maki)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 124 m² (38 tsubo) / Building 207 m² (63 tsubo) / built 1978 / Maki Station 10 min walk10 photos →
Nishikan Ward Kawasaki¥2,000,000Nishikan Ward (Mt. Kakuda and Mt. Taho, Iwamuro Onsen and the dune fields of Maki)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 165 m² (50 tsubo) / Building 83 m² (25 tsubo) / built 1976 / Echigo-Sone Station 8 min walk9 photos →
Nishi Ward Teraonishi 4¥2,200,000Nishi Ward (housing and universities along the Echigo Line, and Lake Sakata)Elev. approx. 10 m / Land 91 m² (28 tsubo) / Building 90 m² (27 tsubo) / built 1969 / Terao Station 14 min walk9 photos →
Kita Ward Matsuhamahon-cho 3¥2,900,000Kita Ward (Lake Fukushimagata and Toyosaka, the gateway to the Nihonkai-Tohoku Expressway)Elev. approx. 20 m / Land 218 m² (66 tsubo) / Building 121 m² (37 tsubo) / built 1982 / Niizaki Station 49 min walk7 photos →
Chuo Ward Inari-machi¥3,200,000Chuo Ward (Niigata Station, Furumachi and Bandai, the Bandai Bridge and the mouth of the Shinano River)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 77 m² (23 tsubo) / Building 90 m² (27 tsubo) / built 1923 / Irifune-cho 2-chome 2 min walk6 photos →
Nishi Ward Kamishinei-cho 3¥3,300,000Nishi Ward (housing and universities along the Echigo Line, and Lake Sakata)Elev. approx. 10 m / Land 110 m² (33 tsubo) / Building 84 m² (25 tsubo) / built 1982 / Terao Station 20 min walk10 photos →
Konan Ward Sakaya-cho¥3,500,000Konan Ward (Kameda and Yokogoshi, farmland enclosed by three rivers)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 102 m² (31 tsubo) / Building 97 m² (29 tsubo) / built 1971 / Niigata Station bus 39 min+4 min walk10 photos →
Akiha Ward Akiba 3¥3,500,000Akiha Ward (the railways of Niitsu, the oil village and the town of flowering trees)Elev. approx. 40 m / Land 375 m² (113 tsubo) / Building 100 m² (30 tsubo) / built 1966 / Higashi-Niitsu Station 18 min walk9 photos →
Nishikan Ward Gonokami¥3,500,000Nishikan Ward (Mt. Kakuda and Mt. Taho, Iwamuro Onsen and the dune fields of Maki)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 881 m² (267 tsubo) / Building 120 m² (36 tsubo) / built 1978 / Echigo-Sone Station bus 20 min+23 min walk9 photos →
Nishi Ward Matsumigaoka 1¥3,900,000Nishi Ward (housing and universities along the Echigo Line, and Lake Sakata)Elev. approx. 10 m / Land 497 m² (150 tsubo) / Building 124 m² (38 tsubo) / built 1974 / Terao Station 16 min walk7 photos →
Higashi Ward Nakayama 2¥4,000,000Higashi Ward (Niigata Airport, Niigata West Port, the dune ridges and the Tsusen River)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 68 m² (20 tsubo) / Building 66 m² (20 tsubo) / built 1961 / Niigata Station 31 min walk10 photos →
Nishi Ward Masago 1¥4,000,000Nishi Ward (housing and universities along the Echigo Line, and Lake Sakata)Elev. approx. 20 m / Land 180 m² (55 tsubo) / Building 127 m² (38 tsubo) / built 1961 / Kobari Station 7 min walk10 photos →
Kita Ward Matsuhamahon-cho 2¥4,500,000Kita Ward (Lake Fukushimagata and Toyosaka, the gateway to the Nihonkai-Tohoku Expressway)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 709 m² (215 tsubo) / Building 392 m² (119 tsubo) / built 1966 / Hon-cho 2-chome 1 min walk3 photos →
Higashi Ward Momoyama-cho 1¥4,500,000Higashi Ward (Niigata Airport, Niigata West Port, the dune ridges and the Tsusen River)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 133 m² (40 tsubo) / Building 70 m² (21 tsubo) / built 1967 / Momoyama-cho 1-chome 2 min walk2 photos →
Nishi Ward Kobaridai¥4,500,000Nishi Ward (housing and universities along the Echigo Line, and Lake Sakata)Elev. approx. 10 m / Land 93 m² (28 tsubo) / Building 91 m² (28 tsubo) / built 1975 / Kobari Station 10 min walk9 photos →
Nishikan Ward Hataya¥4,500,000Nishikan Ward (Mt. Kakuda and Mt. Taho, Iwamuro Onsen and the dune fields of Maki)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 142 m² (43 tsubo) / Building 81 m² (24 tsubo) / built 1989 / Echigo-Sone Station 13 min walk9 photos →
Chuo Ward Motoshimoshima-cho¥4,800,000Chuo Ward (Niigata Station, Furumachi and Bandai, the Bandai Bridge and the mouth of the Shinano River)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 64 m² (19 tsubo) / Building 62 m² (19 tsubo) / built 1971 / Niigata Station to 3.0km8 photos →
Chuo Ward Yorii-cho¥4,800,000Chuo Ward (Niigata Station, Furumachi and Bandai, the Bandai Bridge and the mouth of the Shinano River)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 106 m² (32 tsubo) / Building 84 m² (26 tsubo) / built 1958 / Higashinakadori 3 min walk8 photos →
The photographs are the images carried on SUUMO. They disappear once a listing ends. Check the real condition of a property on site.
See all 725 listings on SUUMO →A median of ¥18,990,000 is the lowest figure among the designated cities on this siteSet beside the designated cities this site has so far surveyed in full: Niigata City ¥18,990,000, Okayama City ¥22,500,000, Kumamoto City ¥22,980,000, Sapporo City ¥27,800,000, Sendai City ¥29,500,000 and Fukuoka City ¥39,990,000. 83% are ¥30,000,000 or less.
The land has a median of 184 square metres (about 56 tsubo), with 307 listings at 200 square metres or more (42%) and 149 at 300 square metres or more. The median building of 122 square metres points the same way as the figure the city itself gives when comparing with the Tokyo area: “floor area per dwelling: Niigata 144.7 square metres / the 23 wards of Tokyo 109.2 square metres” (§7).
Look at the elevation and the ground before you buyWe attached the elevation of its own address to every one of the 725 listings. Across the city they run from minus 2.2 metres to 44.0 metres, with a median of 2.1 metres. 507 are below 5 metres (70%), 345 are below 2 metres and 100 are below 0 metres.
This is the most important number on the page. As §5 shows, at the point where the city hall stands the chance of shaking of intensity 6-lower or above in 30 years is 15.2%, and the surface ground is delta and coastal lowland with an AVS30 of 157 metres per second. And in the Reiwa 6 Noto Peninsula Earthquake, liquefaction was concentrated at the foot of the dunes and on filled land along former river courses. No hills, a city you can cross by bicycle, and roomy houses come from the same land form as the need to look at the ground maps.
The cheapest house comes with 699 square metres of land in Nishikan WardOf the 95 listings at ¥10,000,000 or less, 34 are in Nishi Ward, 15 in Nishikan Ward and 13 in Kita Ward. The cheapest is ¥500,000 in Hataya, Nishikan Ward (built 1977, 699.12 square metres of land, about 211 tsubo, 16 minutes' walk from Echigo-Sone on the JR Echigo Line, elevation 2.1 metres), then ¥1,000,000 in Furumachi-dori 13-bancho, Chuo Ward (built 1954, 45.71 square metres of land, elevation 2.3 metres) and ¥1,500,000 in Makiko, Nishikan Ward (built 1978, 124.36 square metres of land, 10 minutes' walk from Maki on the JR Echigo Line, elevation 4.1 metres).
Line them up and two kinds appear — “a country house with plenty of land, far from a station” and “an old house in town on a small plot”. The first kind is in Nishikan, Minami and Akiha Wards; the second is around Furumachi in Chuo Ward.
The dearest house is ¥120,000,000 in Higashi Ward16 listings are above ¥50,000,000 and only 1 is above ¥100,000,000. That one is ¥120,000,000 in Nakayama, Higashi Ward (built 2013, 587.53 square metres of land, about 178 tsubo, elevation 0.4 metres). Next come ¥90,000,000 in Sekiyakinei-cho, Chuo Ward (built 1995, 528.97 square metres of land) and ¥85,000,000 in Suido-cho, Chuo Ward (built 1995, 353.71 square metres of land, elevation 12.0 metres).
As §9 shows, Suido-cho is the most expensive residential land in the prefecture (¥172,000 per square metre in the Reiwa 8 published land prices). The dear houses appear along the Shinano River in Chuo Ward and on top of the dunes in Higashi Ward.
Niigata City runs a vacant-house bank in Nishikan Ward only.
The city says so itselfQuoted word for word from “For People Looking for a Vacant House”, published by the Housing Environment Policy Division: “Niigata City runs a vacant-house bank in Nishikan Ward only”, and “For advice on buying, selling or renting a vacant house in a ward other than Nishikan, please consult one of the real-estate bodies with which the city has a cooperation agreement, listed above”.
The two bodies with such an agreement are the Niigata Prefecture Real Estate Transaction Association (025-247-1177) and the All Japan Real Estate Association, Niigata Prefecture Headquarters (025-385-7719), and the city points people to the Hatomark Site and Rabbynet Real Estate (Niigata Prefecture Headquarters). In a city of nearly 800,000 people, the public vacant-house bank has an entrance in one ward only — that is worth knowing.
The Nishikan Ward vacant-house bank began in April Reiwa 7In the ward's own words: “In order to put vacant houses to good use and encourage them onto the market by publishing information about the vacant houses in Nishikan Ward, Niigata City, to prevent poorly managed vacant houses from arising, and to revitalise the district, the Nishikan Ward Vacant House Bank started on 1 April Reiwa 7.” The listings appear on at home's Nationwide Vacant House Bank.
Counted on 26 August 2026, there were 5 registrations (all detached houses for sale). The other 7 wards had none. Once a month there is also an advice session on registering with the Nishikan Ward vacant-house bank. The contact is the Regional General Affairs Division of Nishikan Ward Office (0256-72-8129).
Two grants are available for registered vacant houses1. The Nishikan Ward grant towards the cost of disposing of household goods — “a grant covering part of the cost for people who remove, transport and dispose of household goods from a vacant house registered with the Nishikan Ward Vacant House Bank”.
2. The Nishikan Ward grant towards renovation — “a grant covering part of the cost of renovating or professionally cleaning a vacant house, for people who will live in a vacant house registered with the Nishikan Ward Vacant House Bank”. Both require the house to be registered with the bank. For the amounts and the conditions, see the grant rules and leaflet published by the ward.
The city also has a Vacant House Utilisation ProgrammeSeparately from the vacant-house bank, the city runs a Vacant House Utilisation Programme (Housing Environment Policy Division, Building Department, 025-226-2813). It covers the whole city and exists to encourage vacant houses back into use.
Whether it can be combined with the relocation grants of §8 depends on the ward and on the year. Before you settle on a property, telephone both the Housing Environment Policy Division and the office of the ward you will live in. The schemes change every year, and many of them close as soon as the budget runs out.
Akiya bank — 5 listings
All 5 houses for sale registered with the municipal vacant-house bank (as checked on 26 August 2026), listed cheapest first. For 1 of them the floor area is not published, so the floor-plan button does not appear.
Nishikan Ward, Niigata Makiko¥800,000
Akiya bank of View listing →
Nishikan Ward, Niigata Endo¥2,000,000
Akiya bank of View listing →Nishikan Ward, Niigata Makiko¥2,500,000
Akiya bank of View listing →
Nishikan Ward, Niigata Higashinaka¥3,500,000
Akiya bank of View listing →
Nishikan Ward, Niigata Kunimi¥4,000,000
Akiya bank of View listing →How much does a house cost here?
There are 725 pre-owned detached houses on the market, from ¥500,000 to ¥120,000,000, with a median of ¥18,990,000. The median plot is 184 square metres, the median building 122 square metres, and the median year of construction 1991. 604 are ¥30,000,000 or less (83%) and 193 were built in 1981 or earlier, to the old earthquake standard (27%). 🔴 A median of ¥18,990,000 is the lowest figure among the designated cities this site has surveyed in full.
CHAPTER 05Is the ground safe?
Niigata City is not designated under any of the three national earthquake schemes. Even so, at the point where the city hall stands the chance of shaking of intensity 6-lower or above within 30 years is 15.2% (6-upper or above, 4.5%). The surface ground is delta and coastal lowland with an AVS30 of 157 metres per second — soft ground. And on 1 January Reiwa 6, in the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, Niigata City suffered liquefaction. From the city's own record: “Liquefaction occurred over a wide area, above all along the edges of the dunes and the former river courses in Nishi Ward. Large amounts of sand and water erupted at the surface, and buildings tilted and sank while roads collapsed and heaved one after another.” Damage to homes came to 102 destroyed, 4,041 half destroyed and 14,695 partly damaged (as of 5 January Reiwa 8). This is the chapter to spend the most time on if you are buying a house in Niigata City.
Is this town inside a national earthquake-preparedness zone?
For each major earthquake, national law designates the areas where preparation is to be advanced. Whether a town is designated tells you directly how the national government views the shaking and tsunami expected there.
| Nankai Trough Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area | Not designated (the whole of Niigata Prefecture is outside this scheme) |
|---|---|
| Tokyo Inland Earthquake Emergency Measures Area | Not designated (the whole of Niigata Prefecture is outside this scheme) |
| Japan Trench / Kuril Trench Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area | Not designated (the whole of Niigata Prefecture is outside this scheme) |
| Shaking of intensity 6-lower or above within 30 years | 15.2% (6-upper or above, 4.5%) At the point where Niigata City Hall stands. Surface ground: AVS30 157 m/s, delta and coastal lowland |
This probability is for the single 250-metre grid square the city hall stands in.
The Niigata City town hall stands ondelta and coastal lowland (AVS30 157 m/s), and the 15.2% above is the value for that point. Even within Niigata City it varies greatly between the low ground along the rivers and the terraces.
When a listing interests you, look it up by its street address.Enter an address on the J-SHIS map and it shows the probability and the ground for that 250-metre mesh.
Look up an address on J-SHIS → Designations from the Cabinet Office list of designated municipalities (Nankai Trough Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area／Tokyo Inland Earthquake Emergency Measures Area／Japan Trench / Kuril Trench Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area ) / probability and surface ground from theNational Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience, J-SHIS earthquake hazard information API(2024 edition, average case, all earthquakes), queried at the coordinates of the city hall / checked 26 August 2026
Look up an address on J-SHIS → Designations from the Cabinet Office list of designated municipalities (Nankai Trough Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area／Tokyo Inland Earthquake Emergency Measures Area／Japan Trench / Kuril Trench Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area ) / probability and surface ground from theNational Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience, J-SHIS earthquake hazard information API(2024 edition, average case, all earthquakes), queried at the coordinates of the city hall / checked 26 August 2026
The damage from the Noto Peninsula Earthquake differed completely from ward to wardHere is the damage to homes by ward, from the city's record (as of 5 January Reiwa 8). Of the 102 homes destroyed: Nishi Ward 81, Chuo Ward 11, Nishikan Ward 8, Akiha Ward 1, Minami Ward 1, none elsewhere. Of the 4,041 half destroyed: Nishi Ward 3,069, Chuo Ward 427, Konan Ward 300, Nishikan Ward 103, Minami Ward 62, Akiha Ward 41, Kita Ward 21 and Higashi Ward 18. Of the 14,695 partly damaged: Nishi Ward 7,468, Chuo Ward 2,138, Konan Ward 1,402, Nishikan Ward 1,012, Minami Ward 900, Akiha Ward 840, Higashi Ward 551 and Kita Ward 384.
79% of the homes destroyed and 76% of those half destroyed were in Nishi Ward. The shaking measured intensity 5-upper in Chuo, Minami, Nishi and Nishikan Wards, and 5-lower in Kita, Higashi, Konan and Akiha Wards. The difference in the ground told far more than the difference in the shaking — that is how to read this table.
The city names the places where liquefaction happenedQuoted word for word from the city's recovery and reconstruction page: “Damage from liquefaction was concentrated mainly in the Amano district of Konan Ward, the area around Terao in Nishi Ward and the Kurosaki district, which lie at the foot of the dunes or on filled land along former river courses.”
“The foot of the dunes” and “filled land along former river courses” — those two are the key words when buying a house in Niigata City. As §2 shows, in Higashi Ward “the land form runs in dune ridges parallel to the shoreline from the coast inland”, and in Konan Ward “the land is flat, and much of it lies at or below sea level”. Use the maps below to make sure you know whether the address you are considering is on top of a dune, at its foot, or on an old river course.
There are two liquefaction mapsThe city points to 1. the Liquefaction Susceptibility Map (produced by the Hokuriku Regional Development Bureau and the Hokuriku Branch of the Japanese Geotechnical Society, “drawing on records of past liquefaction and on information about land form and geology”), and 2. the Niigata Prefecture Liquefaction Risk Map (based on the prefecture's earthquake damage assessment published in March Reiwa 4, viewable through the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's Overlay Hazard Map).
The city also has a comprehensive hazard map for each junior high school district, bringing together flooding, tsunami, landslide, inland flooding and reservoir hazards. The tsunami hazard maps cover 7 wards — the city notes that “(note) there is no assumed tsunami inundation in Akiha Ward”. There is also a list and map of places where roads are expected to flood.
The city is now carrying out block-by-block liquefaction worksIn three districts — Amano in Konan Ward, the area around Terao in Nishi Ward, and Kurosaki — the city writes that it is “working on block-by-block liquefaction countermeasures that treat public facilities and residential land as one, with the aim of suppressing liquefaction should an earthquake occur in future, raising safety in a disaster, and creating a place where the next generation too can go on living safely and securely”.
Between December Reiwa 6 and May Reiwa 7 it carried out borehole and soil surveys at 27 points in the affected areas, and at a review meeting in July Reiwa 7 it judged the groundwater-lowering method to be applicable. General briefings for residents were held in August and October Reiwa 7, and the work is now at the stage of briefings for individual neighbourhood associations and a survey of residents' intentions. If you are looking at a property in these three districts, ask the city how far the works have got.
This city has 8 natural disaster monumentsThese are the natural disaster monuments in Niigata City registered with the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. The city describes each one.
The Yokota Breach water-level marker (Makio, Nishi Ward, at Hokoin temple) — “On 22 July Meiji 29 (1896) heavy rain caused the Shinano River to overflow. The embankment failed in several places including Yokota Village, and the whole area from Nishikanbara to Niigata City became a sea of mud for three months.” The site of the Kizu Breach (Kizu, Konan Ward) — “From Hoei 4 (1707) to Taisho 15 (1926), the embankment of the Ko-Agano River broke more than ten times and struck this place.” The Sogawa Breach monument (Sogawa, Konan Ward) — “On 2 October Taisho 6 (1917), after days of heavy rain, 200 metres of the Sogawa embankment gave way and turned the area around Lake Toyanogata and the whole of Kamedago — one city, one town and five villages — into a scene of chaos.”
The Niigata Earthquake of Showa 39 is remembered in stone tooThe Momoyama monument (Momoyama-cho, Higashi Ward, in the grounds of Niigata Municipal Momoyama Primary School) — from the city's description: “In the Niigata Earthquake at 13:02 on 16 June Showa 39 (1964), 26 people died; tsunami and liquefaction flooded a wide area and fire broke out at the port. In the confusion, the staff of Momoyama Primary School led 1,388 children to safety, and are said to have kept watch over some of them for two days and a night, and others for three days and two nights.”
The Michibiki statue (Chuo Ward, in the grounds of the Niigata Prefectural Civic Center) was built “together with the Niigata Prefectural Civic Center, which commemorates the recovery from the Niigata Earthquake, in memory of the time of the earthquake”. This city went through liquefaction 60 years ago as well. That fact still stands in the middle of the built-up area.
There are 2 flood monuments as wellThe 7.17 flood water-level marker (Higashisakae-machi, Kita Ward, in the grounds of Kita Ward Office) — “On 17 July Showa 41 (1966), record rainfall in the Kaetsu region broke the embankments of the Kaji River and others, flooding a wide area from Lake Fukushimagata in the south to around Shiunji Town in the north. The red lines on the poles on either side show the water level during the flood. In the former Toyosaka Town, 67 people were killed or injured, 503 homes were destroyed or half destroyed, 1,810 homes were flooded above floor level and 1,410 below floor level.”
Takuryu-wasui (Kusozu-cho, Akiha Ward) — “Record rainfall struck the Kaetsu region from early afternoon on 28 August Showa 42 (1967), and the winding Noshiro River overflowed. In the former Niitsu City, 2 people were killed and 9 injured, 40 houses collapsed, 216 homes were flooded above floor level and 1,872 below floor level.” The monuments stand on the spot. When you walk near an address you are considering, look out for them.
The heavy rain of 26 July 2026 belongs here tooA month before this page was written, the heavy rain from 26 July Reiwa 8 caused damage in Niigata City. The city is currently accepting applications for disaster certificates and damage-report certificates, and is publicising support in 8 areas: special collection of household waste created by the rain (until 31 August), reductions in fixed asset tax and city planning tax for Reiwa 8, and help with rebuilding homes and flood protection, temporary housing, and reductions or deferrals of city taxes and insurance contributions.
The city has published a single PDF gathering “the support schemes you may be able to use”. If you are house-hunting here, treat the very fact that such support is ready and waiting as part of the picture of the town.
Is there a risk of earthquakes or other disasters?
It is not designated under any of the three national earthquake schemes, but at the point where the city hall stands the chance of shaking of intensity 6-lower or above within 30 years is 15.2%, and the surface ground is delta and coastal lowland with an AVS30 of 157 metres per second. 🔴 In the Reiwa 6 Noto Peninsula Earthquake, 102 homes were destroyed, 4,041 half destroyed and 14,695 partly damaged. The city writes that liquefaction was concentrated in “the Amano district of Konan Ward, the area around Terao in Nishi Ward and the Kurosaki district, which lie at the foot of the dunes or on filled land along former river courses”.
CHAPTER 06What summer and winter are like
Summer in Niigata City is almost the same as in Tokyo. In the Japan Meteorological Agency normals (Niigata observatory, 1991 to 2020), the daily high in August is 30.8C — 0.5C lower than Tokyo's 31.3C. There are 3.6 days a year above 35C (Tokyo 4.8) and 10.9 tropical nights (Tokyo 17.8) — fewer than Tokyo on both counts. Winter is where it differs. Total snowfall is 139 centimetres a year and the maximum snow depth 32 centimetres (Tokyo: 8 and 6 centimetres). There are 38.9 days a year below freezing (Tokyo 15.2) and 0.4 days that stay below freezing all day. Annual rainfall is 1,845.9 millimetres, 248 millimetres more than Tokyo, and the wettest months are in winter: 225.9 millimetres in December, 203.5 in November and 180.9 in January. “Summers no different from Tokyo, and snow and rain in winter” — that is the Niigata year.
Being on the Sea of Japan side does not make the summers coolLet us be straight about it. The August average is 26.5C (Tokyo 26.9C), the daily high 30.8C (Tokyo 31.3C) and the daily low 23.3C (Tokyo 23.5C) — much the same. There are 36.3 days a year above 30C (Tokyo 52.1) and 100.1 days above 25C (Tokyo 118.5).
The difference shows in the 3.6 days above 35C (Tokyo 4.8) and the 10.9 tropical nights (Tokyo 17.8): it is only “the hottest days, and the nights” that are a little easier. For comparison, Sapporo has an August daily high of 26.4C and 0.1 days above 35C. Summer in Niigata City is not cool in the way Sapporo is. You will need air conditioning.
139 centimetres of snow — but not the snow Niigata Prefecture is known forTotal snowfall 139 centimetres a year, maximum snow depth 32 centimetres. Within the same prefecture, Joetsu City (Takada observatory) has 413 centimetres of snow a year and a maximum depth of 96 centimetres — three times Niigata City. Niigata City sits at the edge of the plain, facing the Sea of Japan, and its winter is a different winter from the heavy-snow country up against the mountains.
For comparison, Sapporo has 479 centimetres of snow a year and a maximum depth of 97 centimetres, and Sendai has 59 centimetres. Niigata City's 139 centimetres sits between them. There are 38.9 days a year below freezing and 0.4 days that stay below freezing all day — only 0.4 days a year when it never rises above zero. It is a winter where the snow settles, and then melts.
Winter fuel bills run about ¥6,000 a month higher than in TokyoThese are the figures the city itself gives when comparing with the Tokyo area: fuel, light and water (households of two or more) come to ¥28,903 in Niigata against ¥22,846 in Tokyo (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Family Income and Expenditure Survey, Reiwa 4). A difference of ¥6,057 a month, about ¥70,000 a year.
In exchange, rent is ¥53,312 in Niigata against ¥105,104 in the 23 wards of Tokyo (a 1K flat, Heisei 30), the expected monthly mortgage repayment is ¥90,500 in Niigata against ¥132,600 in Tokyo, and the floor area per dwelling is 144.7 square metres in Niigata against 109.2 square metres in the 23 wards of Tokyo. Heating costs more, the house costs less, and the house is bigger — those three are one and the same story.
The wettest month is DecemberRainfall by month runs 225.9 millimetres in December, 222.3 in July, 203.5 in November, 180.9 in January and 163.4 in August. The driest is May at 94.4 millimetres, then April at 97.2. Spring is the driest season and early winter the wettest — the opposite of the Pacific side.
The annual average temperature is 13.9C (Tokyo 15.8C), and January averages 2.5C with a daily high of 5.3C and a daily low of 0.1C (Tokyo: 5.4C, 9.8C and 1.2C). Assume that washing and bedding will be slow to dry from November to February. Putting a bathroom dryer or a dehumidifier on your checklist when viewing a house is simply how it works here.
The twelve months of temperature, set out as they are
The left end of each bar is the average daily minimum for that month and the right end the average daily maximum (Niigata, the 30-year average for 1991–2020).
10.9 days / 38.9 days
10.9 tropical nights (Tokyo 17.8) and 38.9 days below freezing (Tokyo 15.2).
These are the numbers for how summer nights and winter mornings compare with Tokyo
These are the numbers for how summer nights and winter mornings compare with Tokyo
| Days per year | Niigata | Tokyo |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical nights minimum 25°C or above | 10.9 days | 17.8 days |
| Days above 35°C maximum 35°C or above | 3.6 days | 4.8 days |
| Days above 30°C maximum 30°C or above | 36.3 days | 52.1 days |
| Frost days minimum below 0°C | 38.9 days | 15.2 days |
| Days below freezing all day maximum below 0°C | 0.4 days | 0.0 days |
For snow, the annual total snowfall is 139 cm and the normal maximum snow depth is 32 cm.
Source:Japan Meteorological Agency, normals for Niigata (by month) /the same, day counts by class (view=a2)／the same, Tokyo (all 30-year averages for 1991–2020) / verified 2026-08-14 Sources: temperature, precipitation, day counts and snow are fromJapan Meteorological Agency, “Past Weather Data: Normals (annual and monthly values), Niigata” (normals for 1991 to 2020 / observatory number 47604 / annual average 13.9C, annual rainfall 1,845.9 mm, annual daily high 17.8C, daily low 10.5C / January: average 2.5C, daily high 5.3C, daily low 0.1C, rainfall 180.9 mm / August: average 26.5C, daily high 30.8C, daily low 23.3C, rainfall 163.4 mm / December rainfall 225.9 mm, November 203.5 mm, May 94.4 mm, April 97.2 mm / 38.9 days below freezing, 0.4 days below freezing all day, 100.1 days above 25C, 36.3 days above 30C, 3.6 days above 35C, 10.9 tropical nights / total snowfall 139 cm, maximum snow depth 32 cm) / the comparison with Tokyo uses the same normals for Tokyo (observation point number 47662) (annual average 15.8C, annual rainfall 1,598.2 mm / January: average 5.4C, daily high 9.8C, daily low 1.2C / August: average 26.9C, daily high 31.3C, daily low 23.5C / 15.2 days below freezing, 0.0 days below freezing all day, 118.5 days above 25C, 52.1 days above 30C, 4.8 days above 35C, 17.8 tropical nights, total snowfall 8 cm, maximum snow depth 6 cm) / the snow and temperatures for Sapporo, Sendai and Joetsu (Takada) are from this site's own area pages, using the same Japan Meteorological Agency normals (Sapporo: August daily high 26.4C, 0.1 days above 35C, total snowfall 479 cm, maximum snow depth 97 cm / Sendai: total snowfall 59 cm / Takada [observatory number 47612]: total snowfall 413 cm, maximum snow depth 96 cm) / the comparison of daily life with the Tokyo area from the “Niigata compared with the Tokyo area” page of Niigata City's relocation and settlement site “HAPPY Turn” (fuel, light and water [households of two or more]: Niigata ¥28,903, Tokyo ¥22,846 [Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Family Income and Expenditure Survey, Reiwa 4] / monthly rent [1K flat]: Niigata City ¥53,312, the 23 wards of Tokyo ¥105,104 [Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Housing and Land Survey, Heisei 30] / expected monthly mortgage repayment: Niigata ¥90,500, Tokyo ¥132,600 [Japan Housing Finance Agency, Flat 35 User Survey, fiscal Reiwa 3] / floor area per dwelling: Niigata 144.7 m², Tokyo 109.2 m²) / checked 2026-08-26What are summer and winter like?
Summer is almost the same as in Tokyo — the August daily high is 30.8C (Tokyo 31.3C), there are 3.6 days a year above 35C (Tokyo 4.8) and 10.9 tropical nights (Tokyo 17.8). Winter is where it differs: total snowfall 139 centimetres a year, maximum snow depth 32 centimetres, and 38.9 days a year below freezing. Annual rainfall is 1,845.9 millimetres, and the wettest month is December at 225.9 millimetres.
CHAPTER 07Shops, hospitals, schools
Niigata City has a paediatric service that stays open through the night. At the Niigata City Emergency Clinic (3-3-11 Shichikuyama, Chuo Ward, on the first floor of the Comprehensive Health and Medical Centre, 025-246-1199), internal medicine and paediatrics run from 19:00 to 07:00 the next morning on weekdays, from 14:00 to 07:00 on Saturdays, and from 07:00 to 07:00 the next morning on Sundays, public holidays and over the new year. Orthopaedics runs from 19:00 to 22:00 on weekdays, from 15:00 to 09:00 the next morning on Saturdays, and from 09:00 to 22:00 on Sundays and public holidays. On Sundays, public holidays and over the new year, obstetrics and gynaecology, ophthalmology, ear, nose and throat and neurosurgery are also open from 09:00 to 18:00. There is free parking for 188 cars. For schools, the city runs 106 primary schools (34,059 pupils in 1,259 classes) and 57 junior high schools (17,801 pupils in 564 classes) (as of 1 May Reiwa 8). The city writes that it has 91.2 nurseries per 10,000 children aged 0 to 4, first among the designated cities, and no children on nursery waiting lists.
If your child develops a fever in the nightInternal medicine and paediatrics at the Niigata City Emergency Clinic are open from 19:00 to 07:00 the next morning on weekdays. Reception runs from 19:00 to 06:30 the next morning on weekdays, from 14:00 to 07:00 on Saturdays, and from 07:00 to 06:30 the next morning on Sundays, public holidays and over the new year. As a rule, reception closes 30 minutes before the end of the session.
If you have a fever, telephone before you come (025-246-1199). The city writes: “If you come without contacting us first, we may not be able to carry out tests.” There is also a page showing the current state of the clinic and how busy it is, in real time. The city also states plainly: “The emergency clinic is a place for first aid. It is not a place that treats an illness through to a full recovery, so please see your own doctor from the following day onwards.”
There are 2 numbers to call when you are unsure#8000 for children under 15 and #7119 for people 15 and over — both are Niigata Prefecture's emergency medical advice lines. The city lists those two alongside a symptom checker (Niigata City Medical Association) and “When you are unsure whether to call an ambulance” (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare).
There is also an app for emergency medical advice through LINE (Niigata Prefecture). Nishikan Ward has a separate Nishikanbara District Holiday and Night Emergency Centre. The city writes: “Niigata City has an emergency care system in which first aid for mild cases is handled by first-line facilities such as the Niigata City Emergency Clinic, while hospitals in the city take turns treating serious cases needing admission or surgery.”
First among the designated cities for nurseriesFrom the figures the city gives when comparing with the Tokyo area: there are 91.2 nurseries per 10,000 children aged 0 to 4 in Niigata against 70.7 in Tokyo (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare survey of social welfare facilities, Reiwa 3; population from the Reiwa 2 census), and the city writes “nurseries per 10,000 children aged 0 to 4: first among the designated cities!” Children on waiting lists: 0 in Niigata, 32 in Tokyo (April Reiwa 4).
The employment rate for women in their thirties is 75.2% against 54.7% in Tokyo, the share of dual-income households 52.0% against 43.9%, and the share of women with children who are in work 74.6% against 61.6%. The city's own figures say this is a town where both parents working is the norm. Public parks per 10,000 people also run 18.2 against 4.5.
School numbers are allocated by wardFrom the municipal school directory (as of 1 May Reiwa 8): 106 primary schools with 34,059 pupils in 1,259 classes, and 57 junior high schools with 17,801 pupils in 564 classes. School numbers are divided by ward: the 100s for Kita, the 200s for Higashi, the 300s for Chuo, the 400s for Konan, the 500s for Akiha, the 600s for Minami, the 700s for Nishi and the 800s for Nishikan.
The city publishes, in both PDF and Excel, the number of pupils, classes and staff at every school. You can check the size of the school in any catchment you care about, one school at a time, in this directory — “a small school or a big one” varies a great deal even within a single ward (in Nishikan Ward, for instance, there is a primary school with 61 pupils and another with 461).
What are the hospitals and schools like?
🔴 Internal medicine and paediatrics at the Niigata City Emergency Clinic are open from 19:00 to 07:00 the next morning on weekdays (Saturdays 14:00 to 07:00 the next morning; Sundays, public holidays and the new year period 07:00 to 07:00 the next morning). For schools, the city runs 106 primary schools (34,059 pupils) and 57 junior high schools (17,801 pupils). The city writes that it has 91.2 nurseries per 10,000 children aged 0 to 4, first among the designated cities, and no children on nursery waiting lists.
CHAPTER 08What it costs you every year after you buy
Niigata City's water charges were revised in January Reiwa 7. On the current table, for a 13 mm connection using 40 cubic metres over 2 months (a guide for a family of four), the water charge is ¥6,468 and the sewerage charge ¥6,094, ¥12,562 in total (tax included, for 2 months). And whether the sewers reach you differs greatly by ward. Across the city the sewerage coverage rate is 87.4% (end of fiscal Reiwa 6), but by ward it runs Higashi 99.6%, Chuo 99.1%, Akiha 96.1%, Konan 92.1%, Nishi 92.0% and Kita 77.7%, against Minami 39.2% and Nishikan 38.8% — Minami and Nishikan Wards have not yet reached 40%. Fixed asset tax is 1.4% and city planning tax 0.28% (inside the urbanisation promotion area). A 45 litre rubbish bag costs ¥45.
| Item | Amount | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Water + sewerage | ¥12,562 (2 months, tax included) | For a 13 mm connection using 40 m² over 2 months. Water ¥6,468 + sewerage ¥6,094. Revised 1 January Reiwa 7. The standing water charge (2 months, before tax) is ¥2,360 for a 13 mm connection, ¥5,580 for 20 mm and ¥8,720 for 25 mm. Sewerage is a standing charge of ¥2,380 (up to 20 m², before tax) plus a charge for use above that |
| Property tax | 1.4% | Taxable base x 1.4%. The exemption threshold is judged “within the same ward” (land ¥300,000, buildings ¥200,000, depreciable assets ¥1,500,000). Besides payment in full or in 4 instalments, direct debit also allows monthly payment |
| City planning tax | 0.28% | Only land and buildings inside the urbanisation promotion area. It is 0.28%, not 0.3%. Residential land is reduced to one third up to 200 m² and to two thirds above that. If the fixed asset tax is below the exemption threshold, this tax is not charged either |
| Rubbish bags | 45L＝¥45 | Burnable and non-burnable waste go in the city's designated bags. Large 45 L ¥45, medium 30 L ¥30, small 20 L ¥20, extra small 10 L ¥10 and smallest 5 L ¥5. Sold in packs of 10. Bulky waste stickers come in 4 values: ¥100, ¥200, ¥300 and ¥500 |
| Children's medical costs | ¥530 per outpatient day | From age 0 to the end of high school. Outpatient care is ¥530 per medical institution per day (free from the 5th visit onwards in the same month), inpatient care ¥1,200 per medical institution per day. Dispensing pharmacies and therapeutic appliances are free |
Minami and Nishikan Wards have not reached 40% sewerage coverageThe sewerage coverage rate by ward at the end of fiscal Reiwa 6: Higashi 99.6%, Chuo 99.1%, Akiha 96.1%, Konan 92.1%, Nishi 92.0%, Kita 77.7%, Minami 39.2% and Nishikan 38.8%. In Minami Ward only 16,466 of 41,991 people, and in Nishikan Ward only 20,255 of 52,206, live in an area served by sewers.
Where the sewers do not reach, you use a combined treatment septic tank. That means paying for cleaning once every 5 years and an annual service and statutory inspection. The city writes: “In order to clear the areas without wastewater treatment as soon as possible and to run wastewater treatment sustainably, we have drawn up maps of the wastewater treatment areas and a new grant scheme for installing septic tanks, aimed at promoting comprehensive wastewater treatment through a proper division of roles between sewers and combined treatment septic tanks”, and it publishes maps of the wastewater treatment areas in the urbanisation control area as PDFs for all 8 wards. Before you buy, make sure you know which applies at that address.
Fixed asset tax arrives ward by wardThis is peculiar to designated cities. The city explains: “2. The exemption threshold is judged ward by ward, and the tax calculated accordingly”, and “If the total taxable base of the land, buildings or depreciable assets you own within the same ward falls below the following amounts, no tax is charged”. If you own property in more than one ward, it is worked out separately for each.
The counters are divided too: Higashi, Chuo and Nishi Wards are handled by the Property Tax Division, Kita, Konan and Akiha Wards by Property Tax Annex 1, and Minami and Nishikan Wards by Property Tax Annex 2. And Niigata City's city planning tax is 0.28% — slightly below the 0.3% of most cities this site has looked at. With a direct debit you can also choose to pay monthly.
If you are moving from the Tokyo area, there is a relocation grantThe Niigata City Relocation Support Grant pays ¥600,000 for a single person and ¥1,000,000 for a household of two or more, plus ¥1,000,000 for each household member under 18.
To qualify you must have “lived in the 23 wards of Tokyo, or lived elsewhere in the Tokyo area outside the designated disadvantaged districts and commuted into the 23 wards, for a total of 5 years or more within the 10 years immediately before moving your residence registration”, and have “lived in or commuted into the 23 wards of Tokyo continuously for 1 year or more immediately before moving your residence registration”. On the Niigata side you must apply “within 1 year of the date you moved in” and “intend to go on living in Niigata City for 5 years or more from the date of application”. Applications are taken at the counter.
There is also a scheme for teleworkers moving from the three big metropolitan areasThe Niigata City Special Relocation Promotion Grant (teleworking relocation) pays ¥500,000 for a household of two or more and ¥300,000 for a single person. To qualify you must have “lived continuously for 1 year or more in one of the three big metropolitan areas (Tokyo, Nagoya or Osaka) immediately before moving your residence registration to this city”, and you apply within 6 months of the date you moved in.
On work, you must “have moved of your own accord rather than on the instruction of your employer, make this city your base, and continue the work you did before the move for 1 year or more” and “telework for 20 hours a week or more”. It cannot be combined with the relocation grant above. Applications close as soon as the budget is used up, so telephone the Employment and Niigata Living Promotion Division (025-226-2149) as soon as your move is decided.
What does it cost every year once you have bought?
For a 13 mm connection using 40 cubic metres over 2 months: water ¥6,468 + sewerage ¥6,094 = ¥12,562 (tax included). Fixed asset tax is 1.4% and city planning tax 0.28%, and 🔴 the exemption threshold is judged “within the same ward”. A 45 litre rubbish bag costs ¥45. 🔴 Sewerage differs greatly by ward: Higashi 99.6% and Chuo 99.1%, against Minami 39.2% and Nishikan 38.8%.
CHAPTER 09What happens when you want to sell
Land prices in Niigata Prefecture have fallen for 31 years in a row, but Niigata City alone is rising. In the Reiwa 8 published land prices (base date 1 January Reiwa 8), residential land in Niigata Prefecture was -0.5% (a 29th straight year of decline since Heisei 10) and the all-use average -0.4% (a 31st straight year of decline since Heisei 8). In Niigata City, by contrast, residential land was +0.6% (+0.5% the year before), commercial land +1.3%, industrial land +1.9% and all uses +0.8%. Of the 83 residential sites in the prefecture where prices rose, 61 were in Niigata City. Of the 29 commercial sites that rose, 22 were in Niigata City. Within the prefecture, the places where prices are moving are gathered here.
The rises are in Chuo Ward and Konan WardIn the Reiwa 8 published land prices, residential land rose fastest in 1. Chuo Ward +1.8% (22 sites), 2. Konan Ward +1.5% (13 sites), 3. Kita Ward +1.3% (10 sites) and 4. Higashi Ward +0.9% (13 sites). For commercial land, 1. Chuo Ward +2.5% (19 sites); for all uses, 1. Chuo Ward +2.1% (41 sites), 2. Konan Ward +1.7%, 3. Higashi Ward +1.1% and 4. Kita Ward +1.0%.
The most expensive residential land is in Suido-cho 2-chome, Chuo Ward, at ¥172,000 per square metre (first for a third year running since Reiwa 6, change 0.0%). The fastest rise was in Abumi 1-chome, Chuo Ward, at +5.6% (¥150,000). The highest commercial land is in Higashiodori 1-chome, Chuo Ward, at ¥659,000 (+6.3%), which the prefecture notes has been “first for 39 years in a row since Showa 63”.
The falls are inside the same cityAmong residential land in the prefecture, the largest fall was at Teraoasahidori in Nishi Ward, Niigata City, at -4.1% (¥49,200), and the second was also in Nishi Ward, at Yamada, -3.8% (¥53,400).
Teraoasahidori is in “the area around Terao in Nishi Ward” from §5 — the district where liquefaction was concentrated in the Noto Peninsula Earthquake. The photograph of liquefaction on the city's record page was taken at “Teraoasahidori, Nishi Ward, Niigata Nishi Post Office”. Within a single city, the places that rise and the places that fall are divided by the ground beneath them — and that matters more than anything, whether you are buying or selling.
The market in pre-owned houses runs on 725 listingsAs §4 shows, there are 725 pre-owned detached houses on the market, with a median of ¥18,990,000 and 83% at ¥30,000,000 or less. The median year of construction is 1991, with 193 built in 1981 or earlier, to the old earthquake standard (27%), and 212 built in 2000 or later (29%).
That this many are on the market every month in a city of 750,000 people means there will be buyers when you come to sell. On the other hand, in the districts where homes were destroyed or half destroyed in the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, a gap may open up between blocks that have had liquefaction works and blocks that have not (§5). Thinking once, when you buy, about “who would buy this house in 20 years' time” will change how you spend on renovation.
You can look up the going rate yourselfThe Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's Real Estate Information Library lets you look up published land prices and actual transaction prices across Japan from a map. Published land prices use 1 January as the base date each year and are released in March; the prefectural land price survey uses 1 July.
Niigata City also has its own fixed asset tax street values and lot maps, viewable through a map service called Niigata e-Map. For an address you care about, put the published land price, the street value and the hazard maps (§5) on the same map and look at them together.
What happens when you want to sell?
🔴 Residential land in Niigata Prefecture has fallen for 29 years in a row, and Niigata City alone is rising — in the Reiwa 8 published land prices the prefecture was -0.5% and the city +0.6%. Of the 83 residential sites in the prefecture where prices rose, 61 were in Niigata City. By ward: Chuo +1.8%, Konan +1.5%, Kita +1.3% and Higashi +0.9%. The largest fall in the prefecture was also here, at Teraoasahidori in Nishi Ward, -4.1%.
CHAPTER 10Who lives here, and how many
Niigata City's population has been falling since its peak in Heisei 17. The preliminary Reiwa 7 census figure is 759,618, down 29,657 (3.8%) from 789,275 in Reiwa 2. The city writes: “By ward, the population fell in all 8 wards of the city, as it did at the previous census.” Households, by contrast, rose by 3,791 (1.1%) to 335,063 — which the city notes is “the highest ever”. Fewer people, more households — something that feeds directly into the second-hand housing market of §4 and §9. The population peaked at 813,847 in Heisei 17. It rose 2.4 times over 85 years from 333,746 in Taisho 9, and has fallen by 54,229 in the 20 years since — that is the shape of this city's population.
| Ward | Reiwa 7 (2025) | Change since Reiwa 2 | Households (Reiwa 7 (2025)) | Change in households |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chuo Ward | 177,404 people | ▲2,941 people (▲1.6%) | 92,891 | +2,031（+2.2%） |
| Nishi Ward | 154,243 people | ▲6,413 people (▲4.0%) | 68,781 | ▲225（▲0.3%） |
| Higashi Ward | 127,698 people | ▲6,748 people (▲5.0%) | 57,207 | ▲284（▲0.5%） |
| Akiha Ward | 71,594 people | ▲3,475 people (▲4.6%) | 28,198 | +195（+0.7%） |
| Kita Ward | 70,218 people | ▲2,586 people (▲3.6%) | 28,439 | +1,021（+3.7%） |
| Konan Ward | 66,863 people | ▲1,109 people (▲1.6%) | 25,916 | +1,025（+4.1%） |
| Nishikan Ward | 50,411 people | ▲4,135 people (▲7.6%) | 18,675 | ▲6（▲0.0%） |
| Minami Ward | 41,187 people | ▲2,250 people (▲5.2%) | 14,956 | +34（+0.2%） |
The rate of decline differs 4.7 times between wardsThe fall over the 5 years from Reiwa 2 to Reiwa 7, ward by ward: Nishikan -7.6%, Minami -5.2%, Higashi -5.0%, Akiha -4.6%, Nishi -4.0%, Kita -3.6%, Chuo -1.6% and Konan -1.6%. Between the ward that fell most and the ward that fell least, a factor of 4.7.
The smallest falls are in Chuo Ward and Konan Ward. Those are exactly the wards where land prices are rising in §9 (residential land: Chuo +1.8%, Konan +1.5%). “The wards where people are least likely to leave” and “the wards where land is rising” are the same wards — and if you mean to keep the house for a long time, that matters.
Households are growing in Konan Ward and Kita WardThe change in households over 5 years: Konan +4.1%, Kita +3.7%, Chuo +2.2%, Akiha +0.7% and Minami +0.2%, against Higashi -0.5%, Nishi -0.3% and Nishikan -0.0%. Across the city it is +1.1%, the highest ever.
Fewer people but more households means fewer people in each household. Across Niigata City, 759,618 people in 335,063 households comes to 2.27 people per household. One- and two-person households are increasing — and set beside the figure that 307 of the 725 listings in §4 have 200 square metres of land or more (42%), it shows the city has entered a period in which large houses are being handed on to smaller households.
Niigata Prefecture as a whole fell 6.0% in 5 yearsIn the preliminary Reiwa 7 census, Niigata Prefecture had 2,068,476 people — down 132,796 (6.0%) from 2,201,272 in Reiwa 2. Japan as a whole fell 2.5%, so the prefecture is falling 2.4 times as fast as the country.
Within that, Niigata City fell 3.8% — more gently than the prefecture. As §9 shows, 61 of the 83 residential sites in the prefecture where prices rose were in Niigata City. 36.7% of the prefecture's people live in Niigata City. It is the place within the prefecture where both people and prices are gathering.
The city's population grew 2.4 times in 105 years, and then began to fallFrom the series the city publishes: Taisho 9, 333,746 → Showa 22, 515,243 → Showa 45, 631,923 → Showa 55, 730,733 → Heisei 7, 796,456 → Heisei 17, 813,847 (the peak). From there: Heisei 22, 811,901 → Heisei 27, 810,157 → Reiwa 2, 789,275 → Reiwa 7, 759,618.
Households have risen throughout that same period — from 61,010 in Taisho 9 to 335,063 in Reiwa 7, without a single fall. The city puts it in one line: “Households have increased year on year.”
Share of foreign residents
1.06%national average 3.26%
Of the 755,462 people living in Niigata City, 8,017 are foreign residents. That is below the national average of 3.26%.
Across Japan, foreign residents make up 3.26% of the total population (4,031,159 of 123,767,642).
34 municipalities in Japan are above 10%.
Source: calculated by this site from the municipality-level tables of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "Population, population change and households based on the Basic Resident Register" (as of 1 January Reiwa 8, published 2026-07-29). The ministry's publication page / verified 2026-08-17
Who lives here, and how many?
The preliminary Reiwa 7 census figure is 759,618. That is down 29,657 (3.8%) on Reiwa 2, with falls in all 8 wards. Households, by contrast, rose by 3,791 (1.1%) to 335,063, the highest ever. The falls range from -7.6% in Nishikan Ward to -1.6% in Chuo Ward, and the population peaked at 813,847 in Heisei 17.
CHAPTER 11Community life and the year's events
Community life in Niigata City has two storeys. The ground floor is the neighbourhood association, and the first floor is the community council. The city sets out the division of roles between them in plain words: “the neighbourhood association, closer to daily life and better versed in the problems immediately at hand” and “the community council, working over a wider area, respecting the independence of each group while valuing the way the groups complement one another and the district connects sideways”. A community council is “based on a primary or junior high school district” and is made up of neighbourhood associations at its core, together with the PTA, the youth development council, the seniors' club, the women's association, NPOs, and welfare and children's commissioners. The list the city publishes by school district contains 86 councils (counted by this site). Above them sits the ward council, to which each community council also sends members.
| Neighbourhood associations (jichikai / chonaikai) | Community councils (komi-kyo) | |
|---|---|---|
| Area covered | What you would call “the neighbours”. 100 to 500 households, roughly 2,000 people | Generally formed for each primary school district. 500 to 2,000 households, roughly 10,000 people |
| Character | “Close enough that you greet each other daily and learn faces and names” / “There are activities where people help and work together in daily life: cleaning, funerals, fire prevention, crime prevention and disaster preparedness” | “Close enough to walk between, and to know each other by sight” / “There is contact through children, typically through the PTA of kindergartens, nurseries and primary and junior high schools” / “There are activities and exchanges that cut across several neighbourhood associations and groups” |
| Examples of activities | Circulating and delivering local notices / running the women's association, children's association and seniors' club / maintaining the security lights / looking after the rubbish collection point, cleaning the gutters and other tidying of the area / social events such as the summer evening party and the new year party | Publishing a community magazine / coordinating between the member groups and running networks / organising and running crime prevention patrols / the joint clean-up of school routes and the tidying of rivers and waterways / holding sports meets, district athletics days and local culture festivals |
The community councils were formed together, around Heisei 12 to 14Looking at the list of formations the city publishes, the dates cluster between about Heisei 12 and Heisei 17 (in Kita Ward, for instance, Community Kizakimura on 13 March Heisei 13, the three Kuzutsuka councils on 13 July Heisei 14, and Matsuhama, Minamihama and Nigorikawa in August Heisei 17).
Heisei 17 is the year of the merger with 13 municipalities (§1). Around the time of that merger, the receiving structures on the community side were put in place all at once — that is what the dates in the list say when you line them up. You can also find, in the same list, when the community council was formed in the school district you are thinking of moving to.
There is a scheme called “model relocation districts”The city designates districts where the community itself is working on attracting and settling newcomers as “model relocation districts” and supports what they do. There are three kinds: the HAPPY Turn model (“a district whose advanced efforts have produced results such as an increase in the number of people moving in, and which serves as an example for other districts”), the relocation promotion model (“a district where the community itself, through its neighbourhood associations and the like, will actively work on attracting and settling newcomers from here on”), and the local revitalisation model.
The districts currently named are Kanazu Satoyama in Akiha Ward (the “Akihasumu Project”) and Shirone town centre in Minami Ward, plus Kosudo in Akiha Ward and Echizenhama in Nishikan Ward, whose designations have since ended.
In Echizenhama the neighbourhood association even sells building plotsFrom the city's description: “Echizenhama in Nishikan Ward, Niigata City is a village rich in nature, close to both the hills and the sea, yet easily reached from the centre of the city, about 30 minutes by car from Niigata Station. Led by the neighbourhood association, it actively works to welcome newcomers, selling building plots to families with children and matching owners of vacant houses with people who want to move here.”
Of Kosudo the city writes: “A town that grew from the Edo period as a river port on the Shinano River route linking Nagaoka and Niigata, its shopping street still holds many old machiya townhouses”, and “Schools, nurseries, supermarkets, banks and clinics all sit within about 1 km of each other, making it an easy town to live in”. Being able to tell by name which places have made themselves ready to receive newcomers is a real head start.
Worth asking before you joinAs the city's list shows, the typical activities of a neighbourhood association are passing round the circular board, maintaining the security lights, looking after the rubbish collection point, cleaning the gutters, and the summer and new year parties. For a community council they are the joint clean-up of school routes, the tidying of rivers and waterways, the district athletics day and the local culture festival.
The fee, how the circular board is passed, whose turn it is at the rubbish point, which day the cleaning falls on — all of that is decided by each association, so it is not on the city's pages. When you go to view a property, ask a neighbour what this particular association does. The city's contacts are the Citizen Collaboration Division (025-226-1102) and the Regional Division or Regional General Affairs Division of the ward you will live in.
What is community life, such as neighbourhood associations, like?
It has two storeys: the neighbourhood association (100 to 500 households, roughly 2,000 people) and, above it, the community council (based on a primary or junior high school district; 500 to 2,000 households, roughly 10,000 people). The list the city publishes by school district contains 86 councils. The city also designates “model relocation districts” where the community itself works on attracting newcomers.
CHAPTER 12Things nearby that move land prices
What is moving most in Niigata City right now is Niigata Station and the area around it. The city writes that “Niigata City has reached a great turning point in its development, with the first refurbishment of JR Niigata Station in about 60 years and the joining up of the built-up areas north and south of the railway”, and it has named the roughly 2-kilometre city-centre axis linking Niigata Station, Bandai and Furumachi “Niigata 2 km”. The other is the liquefaction works of §5. In three districts — Amano in Konan Ward, the area around Terao in Nishi Ward, and Kurosaki — “block-by-block liquefaction countermeasures that treat public facilities and residential land as one” are under way. These two will do more than anything else to shape land prices in Niigata City from here on.
What “Niigata 2 km” isHere is the city's explanation, word for word: “The city-centre axis linking Niigata Station, Bandai and Furumachi is roughly 2 kilometres. Wishing to make the shaping of Niigata feel closer to our citizens, and to turn that into a sense of excitement and anticipation, we have named the area along this axis ‘Niigata 2 km’.” The Niigata 2 km area covers Niigata Station, Bandai, Bandaijima and Furumachi, the heart of the city.
The city also writes why it is putting its weight behind this: “one of the strategic efforts to thicken the flow of the local economy across the Niigata region, raise citizens' incomes and secure revenue, and through that improve residents' welfare — safety and security, support for raising children, and better care and social services”. The guiding policy is “City-centre development: the awakening of Niigata 2 km” (adopted 15 February Reiwa 4).
The Bandai Plaza at Niigata Station will be fully complete in spring Reiwa 9The city refers to “the full completion of the Bandai Plaza at Niigata Station, planned for spring Reiwa 9”. The Niigata Station bus terminal opened on 31 March Reiwa 6, the airport limousine bus moved to bay 18, and changing between train and bus can now be done under the station (§3).
In June Reiwa 8 a preliminary event for the Machinaka Hana-Midori Fair was held in the station's south plaza and at CoCoLo Niigata. As §9 shows, the highest commercial land is in Higashiodori 1-chome, Chuo Ward (¥659,000 per square metre, +6.3%) — immediately north of Niigata Station. How the station works progress and what that site is worth move together.
The liquefaction works are at the stage of asking residents what they wantAs §5 shows, the city is carrying out block-by-block liquefaction countermeasures in three districts. General briefings for residents were held in August and October Reiwa 7, and the city writes: “From here on, so that landowners within the area under consideration can decide how they feel about carrying out the works, we will hold briefings at the level of individual neighbourhood associations and use a survey of intentions to establish, district by district, whether people want the works to go ahead.”
In other words, which blocks get the works and which do not is about to be decided in these three districts. As §9 shows, Teraoasahidori had the largest fall of any residential land in the prefecture in the Reiwa 8 published land prices (-4.1%). If you are looking at a property here, ask the city whether that particular block is covered by the scheme.
The city calls the Sado Island Gold Mines a tailwindFrom the city's Niigata 2 km page: “And, thanks to the great efforts of everyone concerned, the inscription of the Sado Island Gold Mines as a World Heritage site has been decided. Taking this good fortune as a tailwind for Niigata City”. Boats to Sado leave from Bandaijima in Chuo Ward (§3).
Other large projects the city is pursuing include the Future Vision for the Niigata Station and Bandai Area (adopted 10 March Reiwa 5), the South Toyanogata development plan, the Future Vision for Furumachi and urban redevelopment. They are all gathered on the city's “City Planning, Development and Town-centre Regeneration” page, so before you sign, check whether the place you are buying falls inside a planned area.
How will the city change from here?
The first refurbishment of Niigata Station in about 60 years is under way, and the city has named the roughly 2-kilometre city-centre axis linking Niigata Station, Bandai and Furumachi “Niigata 2 km”. The Bandai Plaza at Niigata Station is due to be fully complete in spring Reiwa 9. The other is the block-by-block liquefaction works in the Amano district of Konan Ward, the area around Terao in Nishi Ward and the Kurosaki district, where the decision to proceed with the groundwater-lowering method was taken in July Reiwa 7.
CHAPTER 13What this place makes
What a place earns its living from shows up both at your dinner table and in your work once you live there. The amount raised through the hometown tax scheme is a rough measure of how many products a place has that people all over Japan choose.
¥995,140,000
Furusato tax donations received in fiscal Reiwa 7 (33,603 donations).
That is 339th of the 1,788 municipalities in Japan, and 13th within Niigata Prefecture
That is 339th of the 1,788 municipalities in Japan, and 13th within Niigata Prefecture
What this town names as its own products
Niigata City has the largest area of paddy field of any municipality in Japan. The city's Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Department writes: “The Echigo Plain, nurtured by the two great rivers Shinano and Agano, spreads out here, and on this fertile land blessed with abundant water and nature lies the largest area of paddy field of any municipality in Japan, making this one of the country's leading agricultural cities.” In figures, that is 32,700 hectares of cultivated land (28,200 of it paddy), 45.0% of the city's area — 45% of the city is field and paddy. Agricultural output of ¥53,480,000,000, 9,675 farm households and 10,379 people whose main work is farming are all first in Niigata Prefecture. And the city designates 28 items as its “Fine Products of Food and Flowers”, the farm, livestock and marine produce it is proud to set before the whole country.Kurosaki chamame (edamame) — edamame grown in the Kurosaki district of Nishi Ward. The city writes: “It snaps crisply, and an elegant sweetness and rich fragrance spread through the mouth; the distinctive flavour it gives off is why it is called the king of edamame.” It was the first edamame registered under Japan's Geographical Indication (GI) protection scheme (registration No. 29 by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, dated 21 April Heisei 29). The season runs from early July to early September. It began, the city writes, when in the early Showa period a farmer's daughter from the Kohirakata district (now Nishi Ward) married into Tsuruoka City in Yamagata Prefecture, was given chamame seed, and brought it home with her on a visit • The western pear “Le Lectier” — it began around Meiji 36, when Sakichi Koike, a farmer in the Shirone district (now Minami Ward), brought saplings over from France. The city writes: “It has a gentle sweetness and a distinctive rich fragrance, and melts on the tongue. It is very difficult to grow and the quantity is limited, so it was called the phantom western pear. Even now, almost all of it is grown in Niigata.” The season runs from late November to late December, and it is grown across the whole city. It went by various names — Rokuchi, Rurukuchi and others — until they were unified as “Le Lectier” in Showa 58 • Vegetables — Niigata juzen aubergine, yakinasu aubergine, meikena greens, yawahada-negi spring onion, Niigata watermelon, Chinese yam, tomatoes (large varieties), the sweet potato “Imojenne” and the edible chrysanthemum “kakinomoto”. All are among the city's Fine Products of Food and Flowers. Meikena is a winter vegetable — the city writes: “Buried in snow and enduring the hard cold of Niigata, ‘haruichiban meikena’ takes on a full sweetness and a distinctive fresh flavour, and is a taste that speaks for spring in Niigata.” The season runs from early December to late April, and it is grown in the Meike and Toyano districts of Chuo Ward, where it has been raised for more than 100 years, since the middle of the Meiji period. Yawahada-negi comes from the Shimoyama district of Higashi Ward, where the ward writes that “a range of crops is grown, such as yawahada-negi spring onions in the Shimoyama district and potatoes in the Ogata district” • Fruit — the strawberry “Echigohime”, the Japanese pears “Niitaka” and “Shinko”, the grape “Kyoho”, Togoro plum, Koshiwa okesa persimmon and the fig “Koshi no Shizuku”. Minami Ward is the centre of the city's fruit growing, and the ward itself writes that “Minami Ward is the fruit kingdom of Echigo” and that “about 70% of the annual farm output by volume is rice” • Flowers — 4 items are named: tulips, azaleas, flowering quince and hellebores. Akiha Ward is a producer of flowers and flowering trees, above all azalea and flowering quince, and the ward writes that “brightly coloured flowers, above all satsuki azalea, flowering quince, azalea and winter plum, give colour to the town, and large numbers are shipped every year to the Kanto and Tohoku regions”. Tulip bulbs are grown in the Kowatari district of Kita Ward • Fish — 5 items: nanban shrimp, cherry salmon, tilefish, yanagi flounder and blackthroat seaperch. That this is a port city facing the Sea of Japan at the mouths of the Shinano and Agano rivers is written straight into the list • Meat — Shirone pork (Minami Ward). The ward's own introduction lists it as “pork (Shirone pork)” • Rice — separately from the list of fine products, the city writes: “Across the city, rice such as Koshihikari is grown, along with a range of vegetables, fruit and flowers of a quality we can be proud of nationally, and food-related industries such as rice crackers, sake and fermented foods have also grown greatly.” The area planted with paddy rice is 24,400 hectares, first in the prefecture and 21.1% of the prefecture's total • Where to buy them — the city publishes a leaflet on the Fine Products of Food and Flowers and an English leaflet, “The Food and Food Culture of Niigata City”. The fine products carry a logo mark, so you can spot them in the shops.
Source:Niigata City, “Fine Products of Food and Flowers” (Food and Flower Promotion Division, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Department / “The Fine Products of Food and Flowers are the farm, livestock and marine produce this city is proud to set before the whole country; 28 items are designated and promoted nationwide” / the 28 designated items: Niigata juzen aubergine, Niigata watermelon, Kurosaki chamame, meikena greens, the western pear “Le Lectier”, the edible chrysanthemum “kakinomoto”, the strawberry “Echigohime”, tomatoes (large varieties), yakinasu aubergine, Chinese yam, the Japanese pear “Niitaka”, the Japanese pear “Shinko”, the grape “Kyoho”, Togoro plum, Koshiwa okesa persimmon, tulips, azaleas, flowering quince, Shirone pork, nanban shrimp, cherry salmon, tilefish, yanagi flounder, blackthroat seaperch, hellebores, the fig “Koshi no Shizuku”, yawahada-negi spring onion and the sweet potato “Imojenne”)／Niigata City, “Kurosaki chamame” (“It snaps crisply, and an elegant sweetness and rich fragrance spread through the mouth; the distinctive flavour it gives off is why it is called the king of edamame” / the first edamame registered under the Geographical Indication (GI) protection scheme [registration No. 29 by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, dated 21 April Heisei 29] / season early July to early September, grown in the Kurosaki district of Nishi Ward / “The story opens in the early Showa period, when a farmer's daughter from the Kohirakata district (now Nishi Ward, Niigata City) married into Tsuruoka City in Yamagata Prefecture and was given chamame seed”; “The village head of Kurosaki at the time named this bean Kurosaki chamame, and that has carried through to today's brand name”)／Niigata City, “The western pear Le Lectier” (“It has a gentle sweetness and a distinctive rich fragrance, and melts on the tongue. It is very difficult to grow and the quantity is limited, so it was called the phantom western pear. Even now, almost all of it is grown in Niigata” / season late November to late December, grown across the whole city / “The hundred-year story of Le Lectier begins around Meiji 36, when Sakichi Koike, a farmer in the Shirone district (now Niigata City), brought saplings over from France”; “The names were unified as Le Lectier in Showa 58”)／Niigata City, “Meikena” (“Buried in snow and enduring the hard cold of Niigata, ‘haruichiban meikena’ takes on a full sweetness and a distinctive fresh flavour, and is a taste that speaks for spring in Niigata” / season early December to late April, grown in the Meike and Toyano districts of Chuo Ward / “Meikena has been grown since the middle of the Meiji period, above all in the Meike district (now Chuo Ward, Niigata City), and has been raised with care through more than 100 years of history”)／Niigata City Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Department, “Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Niigata City (April Reiwa 6)” (“The Echigo Plain, nurtured by the two great rivers Shinano and Agano, spreads out here, and on this fertile land blessed with abundant water and nature lies the largest area of paddy field of any municipality in Japan, making this one of the country's leading agricultural cities” / cultivated area 32,700 ha [paddy 28,200 ha, field 4,470 ha], first in the prefecture, 19.6% of the prefecture's total [Crop Statistics Survey, 2023] / 86.2% paddy, 45.0% of the city under cultivation / 7,032 farm businesses, 9,675 farm households, 10,379 people whose main work is farming, ¥53,480,000,000 of agricultural output [2022], all first in the prefecture / area planted with paddy rice 24,400 ha, first in the prefecture, 21.1% of the prefecture's total)／Minami Ward, Niigata City, “Ward Profile” (“Minami Ward is the fruit kingdom of Echigo”; “About 70% of the annual farm output by volume is rice”; “The main produce of Minami Ward: fruit (strawberries, peaches, grapes, Japanese pears, Le Lectier and others) / vegetables (edamame, the edible chrysanthemum kakinomoto, cucumbers and others) / flowers (tulips, lilies, flowering quince, satsuki azalea and others) / rice / pork (Shirone pork)”)／Akiha Ward, Niigata City, “Ward Profile” (“Brightly coloured flowers, above all satsuki azalea, flowering quince, azalea and winter plum, give colour to the town, and large numbers are shipped every year to the Kanto and Tohoku regions”)／Higashi Ward, Niigata City, “Ward Profile” (“Besides rice growing on the paddy fields that spread across the south-east of the ward, Higashi Ward has peri-urban farming, producing a range of crops such as yawahada-negi spring onions in the Shimoyama district and potatoes in the Ogata district. Tulip bulbs are also grown in the Kowatari district”)/ Verified 2026-08-26You can support a town without living there
Even if a move is still some way off, you can be involved from today through the hometown tax scheme. Your donation goes straight to the municipality, and you choose what it is spent on. A way to give something back to a place you got to know here.
Source:Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "Survey on the state of the hometown tax scheme (conducted FY Reiwa 8)", the table of amounts and numbers received (provisional FY Reiwa 7 settlement), tallied by this site. The rank is out of all 1,788 municipalities in that table / verified 2026-08-14What are Niigata's local specialities?
The city designates 28 items as its “Fine Products of Food and Flowers”: Kurosaki chamame (the Kurosaki district of Nishi Ward, the first edamame registered under Japan's Geographical Indication (GI) protection scheme), the western pear “Le Lectier” (from the Shirone district, around Meiji 36), meikena greens, the strawberry “Echigohime”, Shirone pork, nanban shrimp and blackthroat seaperch, among others. Furusato tax donations received in fiscal Reiwa 7 came to ¥995,140,000 (33,603 donations).
CHAPTER 14A message from Niigata City
Here are the words the city itself uses to introduce Niigata on its relocation and settlement site “HAPPY Turn”, exactly as written.
Good food. Good transport. A good place to raise children. In a community rich in nature, safe and secure, spending precious time with your family in a home with room to spare. Life in Niigata has that kind of luxury in its ordinary days.
In a safe community, spending precious time unhurriedly with your family in a home with room to spare. Ordinary days of that kind are one of the great attractions of life in Niigata.
And these are the words Mayor Yaichi Nakahara wrote to the people of the city in January Reiwa 8, two years after the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.
Two years have now passed since the Reiwa 6 Noto Peninsula Earthquake, which struck on 1 January Reiwa 6 and brought severe damage to the Hokuriku region, above all to the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture. I offer again my sincere condolences to those who lost their lives, and my heartfelt sympathy to everyone affected.
I would also like to express my deep gratitude to the organisations that worked on emergency recovery from the moment the disaster struck, to the volunteers, and to everyone across the country who gave us their warm support.
In this earthquake, strong shaking was recorded across the Noto Peninsula and the Hokuriku region as a whole, and within Niigata City too there was damage over a wide area: homes broken, roads and school buildings damaged. In Nishi, Chuo and Konan Wards in particular, liquefaction of the ground was confirmed in many places, with serious effects on daily life and on the local economy.
Niigata City has worked with all its strength, from the moment the disaster struck, to support those affected and to make emergency repairs to infrastructure. We are still steadily advancing the recovery and reconstruction of the affected areas, working on support for rebuilding people's lives and on the restoration of public infrastructure.
Working with the organisations concerned, we will press ahead further with disaster prevention and mitigation, towards a Niigata that is safe, secure and resilient to disaster.
Where to ask about moving hereThe city's contact for relocation and settlement is thethe Employment and Niigata Living Promotion Division of the Economic Affairs Department (1010 Furumachi-dori 7-bancho, Chuo Ward, Niigata City, Furumachi LeFlu 5F, 025-226-2149 / open 8:30 to 17:00, Monday to Friday / email kurashi@city.niigata.lg.jp).
There is a desk in Tokyo too——the Niigata City Tokyo Office (2-4-1 Hirakawacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Nihon Toshi Kaikan 9F, 03-5216-5133 / 4 minutes' walk from the Hanzomon-side exit of Kojimachi Station on the Yurakucho Line, or 4 minutes from exits 4 and 5 of Nagatacho Station on the Yurakucho and Hanzomon Lines).Online consultationsandan email form are also available.
Open Niigata City's relocation advice desk →
The city has its own relocation website“HAPPY Turn”（iju.niigata.jp）。a page introducing each of the 8 wards in turn (§2 is drawn from these), the comparison between Niigata and the Tokyo area(§6, §7),the text of the relocation grant rules（§8）、moving Q&A、the steps to relocating、Interviews with people who have moved here、the model relocation districts（§11）、the Community-Reactivating Cooperator Squad、“Life in Niigata in manga and video” are all there.
The site describes itself as “Niigata City, a garden city reachable from Tokyo in about 2 hours by Shinkansen. This is a portal site carrying interviews with people who have moved to Niigata City, information on grants and subsidies, frequently asked questions, and comparisons of life here with life in the Tokyo area.”。
Open HAPPY Turn →
There are seminars and online consultationsThe city holds various seminars on relocating and online consultations on a regular basis. There are also pages of interviews with people who have moved here and interviews with people working in Niigata, and the city's promotion site carries the accounts of people who actually made the move, under headings such as “Getting rid of the stress of commuting, and finding a way of living that suits me” and “The wish to spend more time with my parents grew stronger, and I decided on a U-turn to Niigata”.
There is also a Niigata City marriage and childcare support site and the city's discovery site Gatapura. If you do not know where to start, the page “Steps to relocating” is the one to read through first.
There is a mayoral election on 25 October 2026As decided by the Niigata City Election Administration Commission on 1 December 2025, the election is announced on Sunday 11 October 2026 and voting is on Sunday 25 October 2026. The current term ends on 17 November 2026.
Mayor Yaichi Nakahara began his first term in November 2018 and his second in November 2022. Depending on when you read this page, the mayor may have changed, so please check the city's official site for the latest position. See §13 as well.
Where should I go for advice about moving here?
The Employment and Niigata Living Promotion Division, Economic Affairs Department, Niigata City (025-226-2149, 8:30 to 17:00, Monday to Friday). There is also the Niigata City Tokyo Office (03-5216-5133). The city has a dedicated relocation and settlement site, HAPPY Turn, and the relocation grant is ¥600,000 for a single person, ¥1,000,000 for a household of two or more, plus ¥1,000,000 for each person under 18.
CHAPTER 15A year in Niigata
The Niigata year has two great festivals back to back in June. The Shirone Giant Kite Battle in Minami Ward (early June) is a 300-year-old event in which kites the size of 24 tatami mats are flown from both banks of the Nakanokuchi River, tangled together, and hauled at until one line snaps. The Kanbara Festival in Chuo Ward (late June) is one of the “three great fairs of Niigata”, with more than 450 stalls along a full kilometre. Then comes the Niigata Festival in August — born in Showa 30 when four festivals, the Sumiyoshi Festival, the commerce festival, the river-opening and the port-opening anniversary, were brought together as one — and 2026 marked 300 years since the Sumiyoshi Festival began. October brings the Niigata City Marathon, and in winter the swans arrive on the lagoons.
| When | What | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Early June | The Shirone Giant Kite Battle (Minami Ward) | In 2026, Thursday 4 to Monday 8 June, 13:00 to 18:00 (until 17:30 on the last day). Kites the size of 24 tatami mats are flown from both banks of the Nakanokuchi River (about 80 metres wide), tangled in the air, brought down into the water, and hauled at until the opponent's line snaps. “A stirring battle scroll with 300 years of tradition”. The venue is the Nakanokuchi River embankment at Shirone and Nishishirone in Minami Ward. Parking for about 1,000 cars. A children's kite battle is held the day before |
| Late June to July | The Kanbara Festival (Chuo Ward) | In 2026, Tuesday 30 June to Thursday 2 July. At Kanbara Shrine and the streets around it (3-18 Nagamine-machi, Chuo Ward, about 15 minutes' walk from the Bandai exit of JR Niigata Station). “Together with the Murakami Grand Festival in Murakami City and the Kashiwazaki Enma Fair in Kashiwazaki City, it is counted as one of the three great fairs of Niigata”. More than 450 stalls along a full kilometre, and the Niigata speciality poppo-yaki. There is also the otakusen, a rite with more than 800 years of tradition that divines whether the rice harvest will be good or poor that year |
| 🔴 Early August | The Niigata Festival (Chuo Ward) | In 2026, Friday 7 to Sunday 9 August. “Born in Showa 30, when four historic festivals — the Sumiyoshi Festival, the commerce festival, the river-opening and the port-opening anniversary — were brought together as one”. On the first day the grand folk-dance procession (19:00 to 20:30, on the Bandai Bridge and Masayakoji; “anyone who wants to join in on the day is welcome”); on the second, the Sumiyoshi procession and the waterborne portable-shrine crossing (a decorated barge carrying the shrine crosses the Shinano River escorted by about 15 boats); and on the last day the fireworks. 2026 marks 300 years of the Sumiyoshi Festival, with a Bandai Bridge parade and an evening lantern procession as well |
| month 10 | The Niigata City Marathon | In 2026, Sunday 11 October, starting at 8:30 (the middle day of a three-day weekend). The marathon (42.195 km) starts in front of Denka Big Swan Stadium and finishes at the Niigata City Athletics Stadium. There are three events: that, a fun run (10.6 km), and a “universal run” held along Niigata 2 km, open to all ages and to people with and without disabilities (Furumachi crossroads to the east end of the Bandai Bridge, 2 km a lap). It is run in partnership with the Sado Toki Marathon in Sado City, and anyone who finishes both full marathons receives a double-finisher medal |
| month 11–month 3 | The swans arrive | The city bird is the swan (adopted October Heisei 26). The city writes that “it has the largest wintering population of Bewick's swans in Japan”. The numbers arriving in fiscal Reiwa 6 (Ministry of the Environment survey of geese and ducks) were 3,814 at Lake Sakata, 3,613 on the Agano River, 2,852 at Lake Fukushimagata and 635 at Lake Toyanogata. Bean geese arrive at Lake Fukushimagata in Kita Ward in particular, and the bean goose has been adopted as the bird of Kita Ward |
The information on this site is gathered by an AI that visits primary sources — municipalities, the Japan Meteorological Agency, national statistics — on a regular cycle, and it is updated with a source and a date of verification attached.
What events are there through the year?
The Shirone Giant Kite Battle in Minami Ward (early June) is a 300-year-old event in which kites the size of 24 tatami mats are flown from both banks of the Nakanokuchi River and hauled at. The Kanbara Festival in Chuo Ward (late June) is one of the three great fairs of Niigata, with more than 450 stalls along a full kilometre. The Niigata Festival in August was born in Showa 30 when four festivals were brought together as one, and October brings the Niigata City Marathon.
CHAPTER 16The people who run this city
When you are thinking of moving, who is running this town, and where they are trying to take it, is something a future resident wants to know even more than a current one. This chapter sets out only what Niigata City publishes itself, with the sources given. 🔴 As of 26 August 2026, following the official site, I (the AI) was able to find 5 of the 6 items below. The mayor of Niigata City is Yaichi Nakahara (confirmed on the city's own introduction page).
| What is published | Published | What you can read |
|---|---|---|
| About the mayor | Welcome to the Mayor’s Office | Name, career, greeting |
| Policy address | Could not find one | What they say they will do this year |
| List of council members | List of council members | Who the members are, and their groupings |
| Council broadcasts and recordings | Council broadcasts | Whether you can watch the council in session |
| Searchable minutes | Minutes search | Whether you can search past debates by wording |
| Master plan | Niigata City Comprehensive Plan 2030 | How many years ahead this town has decided |
The mayor of Niigata CityYaichi Nakahara. The page carrying that name was last updated2022-11-18.
🔴 A Niigata City mayoral election will be held on Sunday 25 October 2026.The Niigata City Election Administration Commission decided this at its meeting on 1 December 2025, and the election is announced on Sunday 11 October 2026, voting is on Sunday 25 October, and the current term ends on 17 November 2026.Mayor Yaichi Nakahara began his first term in November 2018 and his second in November 2022. From the city's “Mayor's Profile”: born in the former town of Uchino (now Nishi Ward) in 1959、1978, graduated from Niigata Nishi High School, Niigata Prefecture、1984, graduated from the Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Meiji University。four terms as a member of the Niigata Prefectural Assembly from 1995、2010, member of the House of Councillors、2013, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and from there became mayor.Depending on when you read this page, the mayor may have changed.Source:Niigata City, “The Date of the Mayoral Election Has Been Set” (1 December 2025 / “Regarding the polling date and the announcement date for the Niigata City mayoral election arising from the expiry of the term on 17 November Reiwa 8, the Niigata City Election Administration Commission decided as follows at its meeting on 1 December Reiwa 7” / 1. Polling date: Sunday 25 October Reiwa 8 / 2. Announcement date: Sunday 11 October Reiwa 8) and Niigata City, “Mayor's Profile” (April 1959 [Showa 34], born in the former town of Uchino [now Nishi Ward, Niigata City]; March 1978 [Showa 53], graduated from Niigata Nishi High School, Niigata Prefecture; March 1984 [Showa 59], graduated from the Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Meiji University; April 1984, became secretary to Motoji Kondo, then a member of the House of Representatives; April 1995 [Heisei 7], elected to a first term in the Niigata Prefectural Assembly; April 1999, second term; April 2003, third term; April 2007, fourth term; July 2010 [Heisei 22], elected to the House of Councillors; September 2013 [Heisei 25], Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism; November 2018 [Heisei 30], elected Mayor of Niigata City for a first term; November 2022 [Reiwa 4], elected for a second term)/ Verified 2026-08-26
🔴 Age and gender have not been guessed from the name.Only what is published is reproduced here, as published.Niigata City introduction page →
🔴 A Niigata City mayoral election will be held on Sunday 25 October 2026.The Niigata City Election Administration Commission decided this at its meeting on 1 December 2025, and the election is announced on Sunday 11 October 2026, voting is on Sunday 25 October, and the current term ends on 17 November 2026.Mayor Yaichi Nakahara began his first term in November 2018 and his second in November 2022. From the city's “Mayor's Profile”: born in the former town of Uchino (now Nishi Ward) in 1959、1978, graduated from Niigata Nishi High School, Niigata Prefecture、1984, graduated from the Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Meiji University。four terms as a member of the Niigata Prefectural Assembly from 1995、2010, member of the House of Councillors、2013, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and from there became mayor.Depending on when you read this page, the mayor may have changed.Source:Niigata City, “The Date of the Mayoral Election Has Been Set” (1 December 2025 / “Regarding the polling date and the announcement date for the Niigata City mayoral election arising from the expiry of the term on 17 November Reiwa 8, the Niigata City Election Administration Commission decided as follows at its meeting on 1 December Reiwa 7” / 1. Polling date: Sunday 25 October Reiwa 8 / 2. Announcement date: Sunday 11 October Reiwa 8) and Niigata City, “Mayor's Profile” (April 1959 [Showa 34], born in the former town of Uchino [now Nishi Ward, Niigata City]; March 1978 [Showa 53], graduated from Niigata Nishi High School, Niigata Prefecture; March 1984 [Showa 59], graduated from the Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Meiji University; April 1984, became secretary to Motoji Kondo, then a member of the House of Representatives; April 1995 [Heisei 7], elected to a first term in the Niigata Prefectural Assembly; April 1999, second term; April 2003, third term; April 2007, fourth term; July 2010 [Heisei 22], elected to the House of Councillors; September 2013 [Heisei 25], Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism; November 2018 [Heisei 30], elected Mayor of Niigata City for a first term; November 2022 [Reiwa 4], elected for a second term)/ Verified 2026-08-26
🔴 Age and gender have not been guessed from the name.Only what is published is reproduced here, as published.Niigata City introduction page →
How much of the council can you see?A list of members, live or recorded broadcasts of full sessions, and searchable minutes — where these three are published, you can read a town's debates for yourself before you ever move there.
🔴 The names, photographs and social media of individual council members are not carried on this site. We point you to where you can read them.
Once you have moved, when your own turn to decide comes round is something those three will tell you.
🔴 The names, photographs and social media of individual council members are not carried on this site. We point you to where you can read them.
Once you have moved, when your own turn to decide comes round is something those three will tell you.
How many years ahead has been decidedIn Niigata City,Niigata City Comprehensive Plan 2030. A master plan usually sets outwhat the town has decided to do and by whenand ,where it intends to halt its population decline. 🔴 The period and the population target are not copied out on this site — plans get revised, and a misreading changes the meaning.Please check the official text from the link below.Niigata City Comprehensive Plan 2030 →
🔴 What I do not do in this chapter① I do not try to guess sex or age from a name. Only what is published is shown. ② I do not write judgements of good or bad. Only what someone has set out, and where it says so. ③ I do not compare election candidates.
🔴 And mayors change. This site always records the date it checked (26 August 2026), and reopens the original page each time to verify mechanically that the name is still there. If you notice something out of date all the same, please let us know.
🔴 And mayors change. This site always records the date it checked (26 August 2026), and reopens the original page each time to verify mechanically that the name is still there. If you notice something out of date all the same, please let us know.
What is the mayor of Niigata City like?
Mayor Yaichi Nakahara. He began his first term in November 2018 and his second in November 2022. 🔴 A Niigata City mayoral election will be held on Sunday 25 October 2026 (announced 11 October 2026; the current term ends 17 November 2026). What the city publishes is an introduction to the mayor, the list of council members, council broadcasts, a minutes search, and the comprehensive plan (Niigata City Comprehensive Plan 2030).
CHAPTER 17Where to go on a day off
Something that never shows up in the numbers of house-hunting, yet bears directly on how satisfied you are once you have moved, is days off. This chapter counts, on the same yardstick used for every area, the places you can go on a day off in Niigata and the places family and friends can stay when they visit. This is a town with Sado-Yahiko-Yoneyama Quasi-National Park. The area currently has 19 hot springs and day bathing facilities, 6 amusement parks, zoos and aquariums, and 3 roadside stations. 🔴 All the counts are the number registered in the map data (OpenStreetMap) — in reality there may be more.
| What | Number counted, and names |
|---|---|
| ⛰ National and quasi-national parks | Sado-Yahiko-Yoneyama Quasi-National Park |
| ♨ Hot springs and day baths | Niitsu Onsen, Niigata City Katahigashi / Yugakukan, Aqua Park Niigata, Komatsuyu, Gokurakuyu Meike, Sakaiyu, Meike / Yuttarien, Gokurakuyu and 19 in all |
| 🏯 Castles and castle sites | the Ninomiya Family Residence |
| 🎡 Amusement parks, zoos and aquariums | Ponshukan, Niigata Furusato Mura, Niigata Senbei Okoku, Kura no Yado Rippuso, the Animal Contact Centre and Marinepia Nihonkai, the Niigata City Aquarium (6) |
| 🖼 Museums, galleries and memorial halls | Niitsu Museum of the World of Oil, the Nakano Residence Museum of Art, the Kozu Hachimanyama Yayoi Hill Exhibition Hall, the Niigata City Niitsu Art Museum, the Niigata Prefectural Museum of Archaeology, the Tsurui Museum of Art, the Niigata City Manga House and the Meiwa Gijin Museum and 45 in all |
| ⛩ Shrines and temples | 266 shrines and 202 temples. Those with a Wikipedia entry are Kaiun Inari Shrine, Shokakuji, Fukuoji, Kannonji, Kamedaji, Isurugi Shrine, Myoshoji and Fukumyoji |
| 🚗 Roadside stations | Niigata Furusato Mura, Kamuri Niitsu and Toyosaka (3) |
| 🐕 Dog runs | Not found in the map data |
Somewhere to stay — for family and friends, and for your own travels
| What | Number counted |
|---|---|
| 🏨 Hotels and ryokan | 81 |
| 🏠 Guesthouses and hostels | 5 |
| ⛺ Campsites and auto-campsites | Akiha Park Campsite, Camp Site and Kakudahama Campsite (3) |
| 🏕 Glamping | Not found among the campsite or hotel names |
| 🚐 RV parks (overnight in your vehicle) | RV Park CARSLAND |
This table is the result of me (an AI) putting the same question to the map data for every area (areas are retrieved in batches, so the verification date on some pages is a day apart). Facilities not registered on the map are not counted. "Not found" does not mean "there are none" — nor that the town is any the lesser for it.
Sources: the counts and names of facilities fromOpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL) / RV parks fromJapan RV Association, list of certified "Kuruma-tabi" RV parks / roadside stations fromMinistry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, list of "michi-no-eki" roadside stations / national parks were determined from the overlap of area data from the Ministry of the Environment Biodiversity Center with National Land Numerical Information (administrative boundaries); for quasi-national parks the municipalities concerned were checked on the page linked from the park name / checked 2026-08-26Where can you go on a day off?
This is a town with Sado-Yahiko-Yoneyama Quasi-National Park. Counting from the map data, there are 19 hot springs and day bathing facilities, 45 museums, art galleries and memorial halls, 6 amusement parks, zoos and aquariums, and 3 roadside stations. For staying, there are 81 hotels and inns, 5 guesthouses and 3 campsites. In winter the swans arrive at Lake Sakata, Lake Fukushimagata, Lake Toyanogata and on the Agano River.
What I (an AI) was able to find on this town's official site
This site reads the official websites of every area it covers against the same 30 items, out of 100, measuring how quickly someone thinking of moving can reach the information they need. What was measured is the official website of Niigata City, and the total was 59 points (measured 26 August 2026).
"Not found" does not mean "there is none." It means I followed the official site and could not find it. Tell us the published page and the next measurement will reflect it.
| Area | Score | What was found |
|---|---|---|
| Getting started with a move | 3 / 20 | There is a dedicated relocation site |
| Housing | 10 / 15 | There is an akiya bank; listings carry photographs, price, year built and floor area; completed deals are organised |
| The money side of living here | 10 / 15 | Water and sewerage charges are readable from a rate table; child-raising support is specific about amounts and scope; there are explanations of national health insurance tax and fixed asset tax |
| Disaster information | 20 / 20 | Hazard maps are published by district; flood, landslide and earthquake are all covered; the year the assumptions were last reviewed is stated; and 2 more |
| Industry and local produce | 7 / 10 | A list of local speciality products on the official site; support schemes for businesses and industry |
| Transport | 4 / 10 | There is a community bus timetable |
| Can an AI read it? | 5 / 10 | Every page carries an updated date; statistics are published as Excel or CSV; open data is published |
See all 30 items and the pages used to judge them
0 / 3 There is a relocation and settlement pageNot found 3 / 3 There is a dedicated relocation site
HAPPY Turn (Niigata City's relocation and settlement site) Go and see → 0 / 3 A contact point (department, telephone, opening hours)
0 of department, telephone and opening hours were stated 0 / 5 Support schemes state amounts and conditions
Not found 0 / 3 There is trial housing or a trial-stay scheme
Not found 0 / 3 Vacancies in trial housing are published
Not found 4 / 4 There is an akiya bank
There is a municipal akiya bank 2 / 4 Listings carry photographs, price, year built and floor area
3 of the 5 (60%) have all 4 items 4 / 4 Completed deals are organised
No completed deals appear in the list 0 / 3 The conditions of use are stated
Not found 4 / 5 Water and sewerage charges are readable from a rate table
The charges are given as figures in the text Go and see → 5 / 5 Child-raising support is specific about amounts and scope
The scope of free and subsidised care is stated down to the age Go and see → 1 / 3 There are explanations of national health insurance tax and fixed asset tax
There is a tax page Go and see → 0 / 2 Tie-ups with banks for mortgages and the like
Not found 5 / 5 Hazard maps are published by district
15 documents by district Go and see → 5 / 5 Flood, landslide and earthquake are all covered
Flood / landslide / earthquake Go and see → 3 / 3 The year the assumptions were last reviewed is stated
prepared in fiscal Heisei 30 Go and see → 4 / 4 Is it machine-readable (a map system or a text PDF)?
Viewable in a map system Go and see → 3 / 3 Disasters are announced through more than one channel
Disaster email / disaster app / social media / municipal loudspeakers / TV and radio Go and see → 5 / 5 A list of local speciality products is on the official site
9 items (on the city's official site) Go and see → 0 / 3 Hometown tax results are published year by year
Not found 2 / 2 There are support schemes for businesses and industry
Business location Go and see → 4 / 4 There is a community bus timetable
Go and see → 0 / 3 Fares are stated
Not found Go and see → 0 / 3 The date of the last revision is given
Not found Go and see → 3 / 3 Every page carries an updated date
18 of the 20 pages read Go and see → 0 / 2 There is a sitemap.xml
Not found 0 / 2 Site search runs on the server side
We could not find a search form Go and see → 1 / 2 Statistics are published as Excel or CSV
There is a statistics page Go and see → 1 / 1 Open data is published
Go and see →
Compare with other towns → For municipalities and local organisations (get in touch here) →
Measurement by this site. The URL of each official website comes from the municipal information published by Furusato Choice. The score is a score for publishing information, not a score for how good a place is to live / checked 26 August 2026Compare with other areas
Every page has the same 17 chapters in the same order. Move between them and you can compare the same line.
Areas in the Chubu region
Noto (Nanao, Wajima, Suzu and 9 other municipalities)Nanao, Wajima and Suzu Cities and others, Ishikawalistings37 listings / ¥500,000–Joetsu (Takada and Naoetsu)Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecturelistings184 listings / ¥430,000–Kanazawa (2 hr 27 min to Tokyo by Shinkansen, the castle town of the Kaga domain)Kanazawa City, Ishikawalistings406 listings / ¥800,000–Ueda (the Bessho Line and the Shioda plain)Ueda City, Nagano Prefecturelistings111 listings / ¥880,000–Places you could look at for a similar price
Awaji (an island reached by the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, a city with no railway)Awaji City, Hyogo Prefecture24 listings / from ¥500,000Hirosaki (Hirosaki Castle and Mt. Iwaki; the town of apples and cherry blossom)Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecturelistings126 listings / ¥500,000–Matsue (1 hour 25 minutes by air to Haneda; the castle town of Matsue Castle, a National Treasure, and Lake Shinji)Matsue City, Shimane Prefecturelistings158 listings / ¥500,000–Noto (Nanao, Wajima, Suzu and 9 other municipalities)Nanao, Wajima and Suzu Cities and others, Ishikawalistings37 listings / ¥500,000–Is there a mistake on this page?
This page is made by an AI. A number transposed, a scheme that has since changed, a link that no longer works — if you find one, please tell us. No name and no email address are needed. Just what is wrong, and how.
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