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【Media Invitaion】Promotion for International Media

Commemorating Registration as a World Heritage Site

Food and Culture of Sado in Niigata Prefecture

- The diversity fostered in the largest remote island along the Sea of Japan coast -

Date: 11:00–13:30, Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Venue: Ginza Niigata Information Center, THE NIIGATA

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■Tourism demand has expanded with World Heritage registration! Niigata Prefecture's Sado in the spotlight

Located in the western part of Niigata Prefecture, Sado Island is the largest remote island on the Sea of Japan coast. On July 27 of this year, the Sado Island Gold Mines were registered as a World Cultural Heritage site.

The Sado Gold Mine tourist facility had its highest number of visitors in the past 10 years in August, suddenly turning Sado into a popular tourist destination.

 

■In addition to the World Heritage Site, other attractions of Sado will be introduced!

For this event, to introduce the diverse attractions of Sado, such as its food and culture, we will invite overseas media and embassy officials to the Ginza Niigata Information Center THE NIIGATA, which opened in August this year.

 

Following an introduction to Niigata Prefecture, we will have Obata Rumiko, Managing Director of Obata Sake Brewery Co., Ltd., and Aida Tadaaki, Representative Director of Sado Aida Rice Farming Co., Ltd., who are both active in promoting Sado's local industry and culture, take the stage to talk about sustainable brewery efforts that promote reuse, as well as Sado's world-renowned food and traditional performing arts.

 

You will also be able to see a demonstration of onidaiko, traditional Sado drumming that has been passed down for over 400 years, performed to wish for good health, prosperity for the region, and bountiful harvests!

 

Additionally, there will be exhibits and information about winter tourism at Snow Resort Niigata, as well as information about nishikigoi, a type of ornamental carp that Niigata is known for.

We look forward to welcoming you with a treasure trove of Niigata foods, as well as sake from five breweries in Sado, so you can taste what Niigata has to offer for yourself.

 

Please refer to the following information and register by email!

 

Program Outline
Date	11:00–13:30, Tuesday, November 26, 2024 (Registration opens at 10:45)
Venue	3rd floor Event Space, Ginza Niigata Information Center, THE NIIGATA （5-6-7 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo）
Host	Niigata Prefecture (co-operated by: Foreign Press Center Japan)
Registration Fee	Free of charge (Maximum no. of participants: 16） ※In case the number of applicants exceeds the maximum, we will notify you in advance whether or not you will be able to participate.
Language	Consecutive English interpretation will be included
Program	Introduction/Lectures 11:00–11:05　　Introduction to Niigata 11:05–11:20　　The Sado Gold Mines, a World Cultural Heritage site 11:20–11:40　　Food and Culture of Sado Island ①  "Conveying the appeal of Sado through a sustainable brewery that promotes circulation" Obata Rumiko, Managing Director, Obata Sake Brewery 11:40–12:00　　Food and Culture on Sado Island ② "Sado’s World Class Cuisine and Entertainment" Aida Tadaaki, Representative Director, Sado-Aida Rice Farming 12:00–12:20　　Q&A Session Chatting/Mingling (Cocktail party style, eating while standing) 12:20–13:30  ・Niigata dishes using local ingredients presented by THE NIIGATA Bit GINZA ・Local sake from five breweries on Sado Island,  and other beverages *English interpretation will be available
Registration	Please apply by email with the following information to [ sc@fpcjpn.or.jp ] (Deadline: 12:00, Monday, November 18) ①Name of participant ②Name of affiliated organization *For media entities: Format (newspaper/magazine/TV/etc.) and nationality ③Mobile phone number ④Others (food allergies, questions for interview)
Inquiries	Ms. Ishida Megumi, Media Communication and Planning Division, Foreign Press Center Japan Tel: 03-3501-5251 Email: sc@fpcjpn.or.jp
Notes	・Please note that the event will be filmed, and photos and videos may be posted on the Niigata Prefecture’s website, social media, etc. ・Please also note that Niigata Prefecture journalists may cover the event. ・We ask that copies of any reports based on the event (articles, videos, etc.) be submitted through the Foreign Press Center Japan.

Map of Venue

 

Sanwa Suzuran Bldg., 5-6-7 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

　Tokyo Metro: 2 min. from Ginza Station Exits A2/B5

JR: 8 min. from Yurakucho Station
https://the-niigata.jp/store_info/#access

 

 

 

 

Lecturers

Obata Rumiko, Managing Director of Obata Sake Brewery Co., Ltd.
The 5th generation owner of Manotsuru. Born as the second daughter of the owner of Manotsuru in Sado. Graduated from Sado High School and Keio University Faculty of Law. After graduating from university, she stayed in Tokyo and joined the PR department of a film distribution company. She was in charge of PR production for foreign films such as Basic Instinct and Leon. In 1995, she married an editor at a publishing company (currently the president of Obata Sake Brewery Co., Ltd.) and took over the brewery in her hometown. She is the mother of two daughters. In 2014, she started the School Brewery Project, which renovated an abandoned school in Sado into a brewery. They make sake using 100% local resources and renewable energy from solar panels.

In addition, they opened a cafe, accommodations, and a co-working space in the school brewery. They are striving to become a self-sustaining, zero-carbon brewery that circulates resources, energy, and people.

 

 

Aida Tadaaki, Representative Director of Sado Aida Rice Farming Co., Ltd.

Born April 1974 on Sado. After graduating from the Graduate School of Science and Technology at Niigata University, he worked for a construction company.

In 2002, he returned to Sado Island and worked at the city hall for eight years before joining his family’s farming business. He then founded Sado Aida Rice Farming Co., Ltd.

In April 2020, he founded Sadoya Nippon Co., Ltd. as a company to preserve local festivals, and continues to do so to this day. He also serves as chairman of the Sado Festival World Tour Executive Committee, advisor to the Niigata Prefecture Volleyball Association, and vice president of the Sado Sports Association.

 

 

 

Food
THE NIIGATA Bit GINZA
The first location of this Italian restaurant is based in Tsubame-Sanjo, Niigata Prefecture, a city of artisans. We provide our customers with three exciting experiences: the richness of Niigata's food, an experience that enables touching the souls of artisans, and genuine service, and we are promoting Niigata’s attractions to the world through food and drink.

Food menu (TBD)
・Noppe: Traditional Niigata dish
・Salad: With Sado Okesa persimmon
・Pasta: With Sado oyster and olive oil
・Broiled fish: Red snapper from Sado
・Rice with pickles: Aida’s Sado Super Koshihikari rice with pickled vegetables
・Seasonal desserts

 

Niigata Sake from Five Breweries on Sado Island

Obata Sake Brewery, Kato Shuzoten, Tenryohai Brewery, Henmi Shuzo, Hokusetsu Shuzo
Sado is the largest remote island on the coast of the Sea of Japan, with a circumference of 260 km and an area approximately 1.4 times the size of Tokyo's 23 wards. Sado Island is blessed with the Osado Mountains to the north and the Kosado Mountains to the south, with the abundant snowfall in winter nurturing high-quality water. Thanks to the prosperity of the Sado Gold Mine, the rice harvested from the Kuninaka Plain, sandwiched between the mountains to the north and south, as well as the rice harvested from the fields developed in the mountains, boasts a quality that rivals that of Uonuma. Sado is full of elements that produce fine sake, but what makes the area unique is the individuality of each brewery. Starting from the north, there is Tenryohai Sake Brewery adjacent to Lake Kamo; Kato Sake Brewery, which makes Kintsuru, located at the foot of the Osado Mountains; Henmi Sake Brewery, which makes Shinryo; Obata Sake Brewery facing Mano Bay and the Kosado Mountains, which makes Manotsuru; and Hokusetsu Sake Brewery, located at Akadomari Port in the south. Each of the five breweries exudes its own unique character.

 

※Pictures on this program are for illustrative purposes only