What to Eat in Niigata

Salmon

No one does salmon like Japan, and Izutsuya shows you just how good it can be. For centuries, this delicious fish has been a staple of the Japanese diet, especially in areas like Murakami. For over 400 years, the Kikkawa family has been in the business of drying fish using traditional air-drying methods. The family also established Izutsuya on the grounds of their operation to create an exquisite culinary experience for salmon lovers.

Their menu consists mainly of course options that highlight different salmon recipes. You select courses based on how many dishes you want to try. For example, the seven-dish course is 1,950 yen, and the menu becomes more expensive as you work your way up to the 21-dish course that features nearly every part of the salmon for 5,900 yen. This restaurant is a salmon lover’s dream.

Niigata Ramen

Niigata Prefecture is well known by ramen lovers in Japan and ramen shops fiercely compete with one another to be the best. The ramen scene in Niigata is quite diverse, with shops trying their best to perfect their recipes. Chiyuukatei in Sanjo is a Chinese fusion restaurant that offers its own delicious takes on traditional ramen, as well as Chinese dishes such as chow mein, porridge, and dumplings. At 700 to 1,100 yen, this restaurant offers plenty of cheap options that will leave you satisfied.

Sushi

Niigata is known for its delicious sushi, and no place in the city is known for its sushi better than Benkei Sushi. This moderately priced sushi restaurant uses a conveyor belt with color-coded dishes that denote the price. Plates of sushi range from 130 to 520 yen for the really nice stuff. You might want to go at off-peak hours to avoid waiting.

Sasa Dango

In the West, sweets tend to be modern concoctions meant to overload your taste buds with tooth-achingly sweet flavors. Of course, Japan has these kinds of things as well (though they’re not nearly as sweet), but most people have a fondness for traditional sweets that have been around for hundreds of years. Sasa dango is one such sweet that people visiting Niigata should try. Sasa dango is made by pounding glutinous rice into a cake, flavoring it with mugwort, and filling it with a sweetened red bean paste. To finish it, the rice ball is wrapped inside a bamboo leaf, but you don’t need to eat that part.

Coffee

Lots of trendy coffee shops have been popping up all over Japan recently. For example, right next to Benkai in the Pia Bandai Market, is a new coffee shop that you might want to check out. Niigata Coffee Donya focuses mainly on selling a variety of beans to take home, and their coffee is incredibly cheap, starting at 200 yen a cup, and it has a really relaxed atmosphere. It’s always a breath of fresh air when you find a locally run cafe that tries to do things right, so this could be a good place to take a break before hitting the market again.

Niigata

Nigata Pref

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JR-EAST HOTEL METS NIIGATA

1-96-47 Hanazono, Chuo-ku Niigata

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Sennenzake Kikkawa Izutsuya

4.5

14 Reviews

Niigata Murakami-shi Komachi 1-12

0254537700

11:00-14:00(L.O.)

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Chinese Cuisine Tei

4.5

5 Reviews

Niigata Sanjo-shi Ura 1-chome 14-21

0256330466

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Sushi-Benkei (Niigata Pier Bandai Store)

4.0

278 Reviews

Nigata Pref. Nigatashi Chuou-ku Bandaijima In 2-4 peers bandai

0252556000

10:30-21:30(L.O.21:00)

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Hotel Nikko Niigata

5-1,Bandaijima,Chuo-ku Niigata

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